I’m a girl’s girl. A supporter, encourager and cheerleader of other women doing positive things. Whether your goal is to better yourself, your family, community, or the world, I’m down. I’ll admit, I even love to see a woman succeed over a man. Sexist — I know, I know. Don’t tell my guy friends.
That’s why it saddens me so to see women putting themselves on the back burner as far as their health, well-being and even appearance goes. I’ve always said that you have to take care of yourself first before you take care of anyone or anything else. Because when you’re well cared for you have more to give, right? Makes sense to me.
Now, I’m well aware that this is easier said than done. As born caregivers with careers, family, spouses, kids and a gazillion other responsibilities and obligations, time is precious to us women and should be used wisely. But really, what better way to use your spare time than to care for yourself so that, in turn, you can be the best “you” possible?
So many woman let themselves go after they get married or have children, myself included, minus the children. Let’s face it, it’s just easier in the short term to not take care of the superficial things. In my case four years ago, working from home led to staying in my pajamas all day. I mean, why get all dolled up when I’m going to get covered in sawdust and paint anyway?
Little did I know that the painting-in-my-pjs-all-day habit that was fun and comfy at first would end up being the death of the girl I knew as “me” and the addition of more weight than I care to mention. The process of finding that fabulous girl I used to be has less to do with my 75-pound weight loss and more to do with realizing that I’m worth the effort of taking care of myself and putting my best foot forward, no matter what the scale says. When I began to put value in my health, well-being and, yes, especially my appearance as the world sees me, things began to change. Sometimes it just takes that slight shift in perception to get the ball rolling.
As superficial as it may sound, never take for granted the self-empowerment a little lipstick, freshly shaved legs or a sassy outfit has on your self-confidence. And please don’t wait until you’ve reached your weight loss goal to “treat” yourself to these things. Self-care is not a treat, it’s a must. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: When you look good, you feel good, which translates into better workouts and better choices — which gets you closer to your health goals, which isn’t superficial at all.
My point is this: Don’t wait until you’ve reached your goal weight to place value in yourself. Because, No. 1, you may never reach the perfect ideal you have set in your mind. And No. 2, you’re worth the investment now. Right now.
No matter what the scale says, you deserve a fresh coat of nail polish and a cute new figure-flattering dress. Take some much-needed time to make yourself look, and more importantly, feel good on a regular basis and things just might start to fall into place. It worked for me.
The Dispatch Editorial Board is made up of publisher Peter Imes, columnist Slim Smith, managing editor Zack Plair and senior newsroom staff.
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