A little bit of inspiration.

Hello beautifuls.

Today's blog is a bit of a cop-out on my part due to the fact that the phylogeny of vertebrate evolution is a lot more difficult to memorize than I thought it would be...

BUT never fear!  Instead of writing an article, I decided to post a few of my favorite quotes about loving and accepting yourself and your body, quotes that I go back to when I'm having a hard time doing the same thing myself.  I definitely think they'll speak to you, hopefully they'll inspire you, and just maybe you'll have one of those awesome "aha!" moments that so many of these have brought to me.

One of my favorite things about quotes, really good quotes, is that you can hang onto them.  I keep a list of the ones that inspire me most on my phone so that I always have them with me for those moments I need a little push in the right direction.  I truly believe that the attitude you have approaching problems big and small determines 99% of your success, and so when I just can't seem to put a smile on, sometimes I can find solace in these.  Hopefully you can do the same!

So check it out!  I find it most productive to read one of them, pause, and really consider it.  I know that sounds so 6th grade ("don't forget to pause and think about what you've just read!"), but it really does help get the message across.  Here are 8 of my favorite quotes about loving and accepting yourself just as you are:

 

There you have it!  If you don't have time to go through and think on them right now, no worries.  Maybe you can find a few minutes over the upcoming holiday to really meditate on a few of your favorites and see where that takes you!

If, on the other hand, you need a little something extra to get you through the holidays (which are unfortunately sometimes filled with the innane opinions of family and old friends about who you should be and how you should get there and why whatever you're doing right now is somehow wrong), I also maintain a Pinterest board where I pin tons of quotes and pictures that I find inspiring and encouraging.  Check that out here: "One Size Does Not Fit All".

More than anything, just remember that, even if certain others don't recognize how amazing you are, even if you can't see it in yourself yet, you truly are beautiful and wonderful and inspiring, just the way you are.  And once you realize that, nobody can take it away from you.

One more for the road, party rockers:

And that's the slice!

Enjoy,

Sonja

VS Fashion Show (Round Two)

Alright, ladies, today's the day, the day when millions of beautiful and amazing young women will sit themselves down in front of their TVs with a pint of Haagen Dazs and try to figure out where they went wrong, why they will never have the big breasts or the slim waist or the long, lanky legs society demands from them...  Today is the day of the annual Victoria's Secret Fashion show.

Before we dive in, I just want to put the disclaimer out there that I'm not saying you can't watch the show or even that you shouldn't watch it.  I love the spectacle of the thing just as much as you do!  Who doesn't want to see a $10 million bra paraded down the runway amidst a surely even-more expensive production?

What you aren't allowed to do is sit there and wallow in your own misfortune, wishing you could look like one of those women.

Why, you ask?

Well, first of all, if you've been following me for a while, you'll remember that in my last post about the VS Fashion Show, I explored a professional make-up artist's take on how to pull off the VS look.  (If you haven't read that post or would like a little refresher, find it here: "Victoria's little secrets.")  Spoiler alert: throw in some extensions, a fake tan and some HAC-ing and we could all look like a VS Angel.

Still not convinced?  I have proof (a picture's worth a thousand words, after all). I give to you, for your viewing pleasure, the transformation of a VS Angel, from untouched to photo- or runway-ready:

I'm not the best at recognizing faces, but I'm being honest when I say that if I saw some of these women on the street in normal dress, I really don't think I'd recognize them as models.  In no way am I trying to suggest they aren't beautiful, they're just normal women like you and me.

Feeling a bit better?  Now remember that these beauties don't just go walking around looking like they just got off the runway every day; it takes hours (sometimes even days) of intensive beauty care by industry professionals to get these women looking their best, and that's after all of the months spent with personal trainers and nutritionists.

Adriana Lima (the brunette in the first picture) has spoken at length to the amount of work that goes into her preparation for the show, including "twice-daily workouts, drinking gallons of water (literally) every day, a high-protein diet" and a full-out, liquids-only diet leading up to the show.  And that's before the hours of professional work.  Doutzen Kroes, another Angel, further told the New York Post, "Sometimes it makes me feel guilty now that I am in this profession that makes... girls insecure. I always say, I don't look like [that]."

Just think about this for a second: looking fantastic come show-time is these women's lives.  It's their job.  They are paid millions of dollars a year to look the way they do at this show, and they don't do it on their own.  If you had a personal trainer, a personal chef, and a dozen hair and make-up experts working on you day and night,, don't you think you'd look a lot closer to that ideal you're always aiming for?

But you know what?  That's not your life and it's not your job and it's not your responsibility, no matter how much society would like you to think so.

I'm going to guess that you're a lot like me.  You probably have two or three more commitments in the air than any sane woman would take on, on top of trying to balance school and a job and maybe even a relationship with a healthy lifestyle.  Sound familiar?  Right.  So why in the name of that catrillion-dollar bra do you expect yourself to look like a model while you're doing it?  Unless you're willing to spend 8+ hours a day making this your one and only goal, you shouldn't.

And you know what else? You are brilliant and amazing and wonderful at what YOU do, and that is plenty.  So go, watch the show, but keep in mind that you are just as worthy and just as wonderful as those Angels, and as long as you're doing your best in your own life, that is more than enough.

Enjoy the slice,

Sonja

Transformation tuesday!

Hey y'all! (I spent Thanksgiving with an amazing Southern family and I'm feelin' the vibe.)

You guys know how much I love internet phenomena, so it should come as no surprise that today I'm drawing from yet another picture that's making its rounds in the online community this week.  What's a bit different than usual is that it's actually something positive!

You know those before-and-after photos you see in essentially every weight-loss commercial/ad/etc. known to man?  Yeah, me too.  You know how they make you feel like you're some great, unfinished work and if you could just lose that weight that drives you crazy, you could be as happy as those "after" picture people? Yeah, ME TOO.

So you can only imagine how much it brightened my day when I found this gem from fitness blogger Mel V.:

(Sorry about the awkward sizing, I'm still figuring out the blogging world!)

Here's the full caption that she posted with this photo:

"Check out my transformation! It took me 15 minutes.  Wanna know my secret?  Well firstly I ditched the phonewallet (fwallet) cause that thing is lame, swapped my bather bottoms to black (cause they're a size bigger and black is slimming), Smothered on some fake tan, clipped in my hair extensions, stood up a bit taller, sucked in my guts, popped my hip- threw in a skinny arm, stood a bit wider #boxgap, pulled my shoulders back and added a bit of cheeky/Im so proud of my results smile.  Zoomed in on the before pic- zoomed out on the after & a filter. Cos' filters make everything awesome.  What's my point? Don't be deceived by what you see in magazines & on Instagram.. You never see the dozens of other pics they took that wernt as flattering.  Photoshop can make a pig look hotter than Beyonce."

Cue round of applause!

I actually went to Mel V.'s blog to check out what she's up to, and it turns out this whole "screw the transformation pictures" thing is like, a movement or something. 

Here's another one for all the guys out there reading along!  This is Andrew Dixon, a personal trainer:

The caption on this one reads:

"I decided to take my own transformation photos to see what was possible with just a few easy tweaks...  I was feeling particularly bloated on the day, so I asked my girlfriend to take a before shot.  I then shaved my head, face and chest and prepared for the after shot, which was about an hour after I took the before shot.  I did a few push ups and chin ups, tweaked my bedroom lighting, sucked in, tightened my abs and BOOM!  We got our after shot.  As you can see, I'm no bodybuilder, but I had enough muscle on me to catch some shadows from the all-important overhead lighting."

Here's another one he did where he tries to replicate "a few months of hard work and dieting" over the course of an hour:

Another round of applause?

Alright, enough clapping.  In all seriousness, I think that seeing these is so important for us because we live in what Mr. Dixon calls "a world of manipulation, false promises and exaggeration."  We all see those before-and-after photos and we wish we could be the "after"s- by Christmas or by our next birthday or by our next big date even, we could be thin, tan, beautiful, and (supposedly) so much happier.  But you know what?  Just like the high fashion ads I'm always ragging on, these transformations aren't real.  Not even close. 

I'm going to quote Mr. Dixon again here because he really just gets what I'm all about:

"Forget about the quick transformations and focus on a life of healthy eating, well-managed stress levels, quality sleep and plenty of movement. Spend time with people who have similar goals and values and take time to appreciate yourself the way you are right now. Don't beat yourself up if you eat a cookie, just enjoy that cookie and everything else life has to offer.

We all spend too much time sucking in our guts, trying to look the way we think society thinks we should. Don't waste any more energy trying to compete with everyone else.

It's all smoke and mirrors."

Boom.  If that doesn't inspire you, I don't know what will.

Also, I know a lot of us are entering that high-stress period of finals that drives students crazy, so if this is you, please try to remember that your well-being is the single most important thing in your life.  Take care of yourself, take care of your body and keep everything in perspective- just like a few pounds don't decide your future, neither does a test.  Trust me: I've been there, I've failed that test, and I lived to tell the tale. 

Alright ladies and gentlemen, that's the slice!

Much love, 

Sonja

"I choose to be fat."

An old friend from my hometown sent me a truly incredible piece of writing this past weekend from Laura Bogart, a freelance author who recently wrote an article called "I choose to be fat" (find it here).  It's a piece in which she discusses the self-esteem issues she's dealt with for the majority of her life as a result of being overweight. If you've struggled with your weight at any point in your life, as I have, it's a wonderful read.  But even if you haven't, this piece is truly empowering in that it speaks to the underlying issue most of us routinely face: never feeling like we're enough.

I would highly recommend you take the time to read the full article at some point, but in case you only have a few minutes right now, here are two of my favorite points:

• Whenever the women around me talk about how great so-and-so looks now that she’s joined that pricey gym or gone under the knife (even if so-and-so is still sort of a bitch), I remember purging and popping pills and eating three well-balanced meals a day; binging and starving and reading “Anna Karenina” on a StairMaster. But none of it left me happier or healthier. Just hungry.
• In every special episode about weight loss, tearful brides lament how big they look in wedding photos, as if the 26-inch waist they have now negates the husbands who’ve always loved them. Fathers choke up remembering the day they knew they “had to make a change,” the day their toddlers randomly called them fat, as if that observational indictment means more than all those “I love you’s.” There’s always a former Miss Lonelyheart, a thirtysomething virgin who — after a gastric bypass or militant adherence to the Paleo diet — has shed half her body weight and is finally ready for Mr. Right. I’ve no doubt that they really do feel healthier and happier, and honestly (truly) good for them. I just wish that the entirety of their lives weren’t reduced to a single achievement. 

Ms. Bogart hits on something really important here, and that thing is that your body does not define you.  Yes, it's where you live and it's what you carry with you through life, but the number of calories you eat or the size of your waist has nothing to do with who you are really are.  I've spent years watching people judge me for my weight - cashiers asking if I'm making a "good choice" when I buy brownie mix at the market instead of some sort of cruciferous vegetable; a man laughing at me in disbelief when he overheard me talking about how I had recently completed a triathlon; a nurse retaking my vital stats twice because she couldn't believe that they were all within the "optimal" range.  However, they know nothing about the groundbreaking work I've done in the animal welfare field or how much I love Christmastime or how I hope to open a bakery someday or really anything that defines who I am as a person.  And even worse, I carry this constant fear that even if they knew me, really knew me, none of it would matter; all they would see is "fat."

The point is this: you are so much more than your appearance.  Even if you were to transform yourself and reach that body you've always dreamed of, it certainly wouldn't be the most important thing you'd do in this world.  The amazing things you think about and feel and love and want to change are so much more important than any pair of jeans could ever be.  So how about this Thanksgiving, instead of putting even more energy into worrying about those few pounds you're constantly trying to stave off, try instead to be thankful for the beautiful body you were given, a body that allows you to do some pretty amazing things in this world.  You are not the size of your pants or the number on the scale.  You are real and you are incredible in the very body you're sitting in right now, and that is enough.

Oh, and have that second slice of pie if you have room.  Trust me on this one, you deserve it.

Enjoy the slice,

Sonja

All kinds of shapes and sizes.

Today I have something really amazing and inspiring for you guys!  

Howard Schatz is an American ophthalmologist-turned-photographer whose recent work focuses primarily on exploring the human form.  His most recent publication, a coffee-table book called "Athlete," is a collection of the world's most successful athletes in essentially every major sport imaginable.  He photographs each athlete oiled up, in the same black underwear and under the same lighting, and the results are incredible.

Have a look:

I'm hoping that by the time you've looked through all of these pictures you're as taken aback as I was when I first found them.  What should strike you as so incredible and so inspiring about this photo series is that these athletes (every single one of them) are in top physical condition; these are world champions, gold-medal Olympians who represent the absolute ideal form for their sport, yet their bodies could not be more different.

I'm hoping you've already drawn some conclusions for yourself, but let me point out the most obvious: there is no "perfect" body.  You may have some concept in your head of what you "should" look like, and it probably revolves around some unattainable standard of beauty that is based in marketing campaigns and Photoshop.  As Tina Fey writes in her recent Bossypants,

"Now every girl is expected to have Caucasian blue eyes, full Spanish lips, a classic button nose, hairless Asian skin with a California tan, a Jamaican dance hall ass, long Swedish legs, small Japanese feet, the abs of a lesbian gym owner, the hips of a nine-year-old boy, the arms of Michelle Obama, and doll tits."

And she could not be more right.  Looking through these photos that represent the ultimate extremes of diversity in a healthy human form, it should become clear to you that there is no one "perfect" body.  In fact, I'm sure even some of the athletes photographed, who are considered the absolute ideal for their sport, struggle with the very same body-image issues we do and the wish that they looked more like whatever Victoria's Secret Angel or Giorgio Armani underwear model currently captivates the American advertising titans at the moment. 

So the next time you're standing in the mirror wishing your thighs didn't touch or your lips were fuller or whatever has caught your eye today, keep in mind that the human body comes in all shapes and forms, and not only is that diversity healthy, it's beautiful.  Let's reject this quest for the perfect waist once and for all and instead focus on being the best possible version of ourselves we can be, women who are healthy, happy, and proud of the amazing things we can accomplish in the body we were given.

Enjoy your slice!

Sonja

Excerpt from Oprah!

For this week's blog, I would like to share with you the work of another sister-in-body-love's work that my wonderful mother sent to me over the weekend and which captures the true essence of what I hope to convey to all of you.  The full article, written by Amy Bloom (totally worth the read!) can be found over here but I've included my favorite excerpts below... enjoy!

"You cannot be a healthy person, let alone hope for healthy children, if you sigh and moan every time you encounter your own image, eat a cookie, or see an airbrushed supermodel on a billboard. Even if it amounts to wholesale pretending—go pretend. Walk around pretending to be a woman who likes her body. Pretend you think your thighs are not disgusting appurtenances but normal, flesh-covered limbs that help you get from place to place. Likewise your not-so-taut arms and not-so-flat tummy. Because every step toward self-love you take, and every inch of confidence you give someone's daughter, makes the world a better place."

"My hobby is watching people, and what I see is that even the most Botoxed, lipo'd, lifted woman cannot conceal herself. If you hate yourself, it shows through every cream and cure there is. Until we stop trying to exorcise our own imperfect selves, driving out normal physical traits as if they were signs of pathology, there will always be some misery in the eyes that nothing can hide."

Ms. Bloom touches on two critical points here: the first is that, even if you don't love your body right in this moment, even if you can't really ever imagine loving your body the way it is right in this moment, you have to try.   I'm a huge proponent of the "fake it 'til you make it" rule; there are certainly days where I look in the mirror and can't stand what I see.  But I stand there anyway and tell myself that every little flaw I pick out is actually what makes me human and what makes me woman and what makes me beautiful.  And you know what?  When I started playing this game with myself, it felt like a big bowl of crap.  But after years (years!) of playing pretend, I'm finally starting to believe it.  Use the power of persuasion to your advantage and start trying to convince yourself that you are, in fact, beautiful, however small that first step you have to take may be.

The second point Ms. Bloom makes that I feel is dead-on is the reality that if you don't truly love yourself, you always know it on some level and so does the rest of the world.  I've said this before and I'll say it again: the simplest, fastest and most efficient way to look better and feel better is to begin to love yourself for the woman you are right now.  Because you know what?  Fixing that one little thing you're always worrying about isn't going to change much. Sure, maybe you'll feel a bit more confident for a moment, but what women struggle with isn't one single issue, it's perfection.  And the problem with perfection?  It's unattainable. 

Take it from someone who knows: I was sure that if I lost the 25 pounds I needed to lose to get down to my goal weight, the heavens would open up and angels would come down singing on glittering clouds and every guy within a five-mile radius would come flocking to me for my autograph.  Or something like that.  You know what actually happened? I was no longer worried about my weight, but then I became worried about the musculature in my back (I know, right?).  And the fact that my flat hair would not keep sex-hair volume no matter how much mousse I used and no matter how much hot air I blow-dried it with.  And I also didn't like my hips or my nose or the way my thighs spread out when I sat down... the list goes on. 

Whatever you can't stand right now has nothing to do with that actual thing, it has to do with the fear of never being enough.  So instead of going through life trying to fix each flaw you find one by one, how about we start learning to accept ourselves for who we are, right here and right now, regardless of what the future might hold for us.  I promise you, starting down this road and taking this journey is not going to be an easy one; in fact, it will be full of tough days and tougher nights.  But it will also be one of the most rewarding things you could ever do for yourself, or any of the other beautiful women you care about.  This journey is going to be one of the hardest of your life, and it's going to be worth the effort a thousand times over, especially when you can become a role model to our mothers, our sisters, our girlfriends, and most importantly, our daughters.

Photoshop madness!

Hey y'all!

As most of you know, I've written a lot of posts on photoshop in the past, namely because I feel it's essentially the scourge of modern society and the empowerment of women in general.  They say a picture is worth a thousand words, and so this week I have something that should be worth a million: a video!!

This video has been making the rounds on social media, but in case you haven't seen it yet, here it is! 

You guys know I love talking about "real" women, and this is a perfect example!  First of all, the amount of change we are now able to digitally accomplish is ridiculous.   But what's even more amazing to me in watching this video is the fact that by the time you reach the end of the video, you have lost any grasp on the reality of what this woman actually looks like!  The woman at the beginning of this clip is someone you can identify with: she's normal.  She's someone you might see on the street, she's someone you can imagine yourself having coffee with.  The end product, however (and note the use of the word product), is entirely superficial.  The image produced is fake; it's a creation of computer imaging, and the danger in this retouching is the fact that ad companies allow you to believe the woman they've created is somehow real.  

This leaves women feeling that there's no way they can possibly live up to the standards of this real-life Barbie.  Importantly, they can't; she's a figment of the imaginations of social branding specialists and in no way does she represent reality or any sort of attainable ideal.  And neither does any other picture you'll find in advertising!

So!  The take-away message is as such: never should you ever compare yourself to any kind of advertising, commercial publication, or the like.  Those representations of women are not real.  Not even the women used in the construction of these ads look anything like the final product!  So stop flipping through Cosmo wishing for smooth, cellulite-free legs or a gap between your thighs. You are real (and you are beautiful) and that is more than a computer image can ever be!

Enjoy your slice!

Sonja