As a woman, I’ve pretty much struggled with my body image most of my life.   I have a feeling that most women reading this are nodding their heads in agreement – that they too, have struggled most of their lives as well.   How sad is that?   We can blame it on the media and the distorted image of beauty that they propel.  We can blame it on peer pressure.  We can blame it on genetics.  We can even blame it on that extra helping of dessert.    The cause is not so much important as the solution or rather the resolution. 

I’ve always carried extra weight around my middle.  That’s just where my family and I carry our baggage.  Self consciously, I would always suck in my belly.  In other pathetic attempts, I would hide myself in huge tops.    I felt inferior to those thinner than me. 

Even when I began dating my husband and realized that he thought I was beautiful and loved me exactly the way I was, I still felt like a failure.  

Quite honestly, the more I felt like a failure for not falling into society’s ideal of the perfect body, the more I sabotaged myself by emotionally eating. It would temporarily quiet down my feelings of inadequacy. 

Then I became pregnant and a lot of wonderful things began happening.  My body inside and out was changing as I began to help G-d prepare this miracle for the world.  As I realized all that my body was doing, something else changed – I started looking at my body in a new light and started seeing something that was beautiful!  As my stomach continued to round, I embraced the changes and often stared at my naked self in the mirror. 

After Tangerine’s birth, I continued (and still continue) to love my body.  I realize that I carried something so special, something so rare, and something so miraculous inside.  I am now, with that same body, nourishing the life of my beautiful daughter.  

Is my body perfect? Hardly.  But I’m now embracing my imperfections as something so natural and so beautiful. 

I continue to exercise and try to eat as healthy as I can.  But I no longer hide behind tents – I wear tops that fit me.  Most times, I don’t even suck in my belly (some habits are hard to break all together). 

When I do start to have a negative feeling about my body image, I just look at my daughter and realize just how beautiful we both are.

So what’s the resolution to poor body image?  Is it go out and have a baby?  Only if that’s the point you’re at in your life and it’s part of your plan.  The real resolution is to realize all that your body can do – even just eating, sleeping, breathing, and circulating blood.  We’re all natural and authentic.  To me, there is nothing more beautiful than that.  Each perceived “flaw” makes us unique.   That mole on a cheek, that quirky smile, the droopy breasts and even the flabby stomach – it’s all a part of who we are.  It all tells a story.  It doesn’t change who we are on the inside.  If we embrace ourselves – all of ourselves, how much happier we’ll all be.  I hope I can impart this message to my daughter.  I hope she learns to love herself and her body.  She is a creature of G-d.  She is beautiful.  She will always be beautiful.