This Woman Says What We All Want to Say About the Pursuit of the "Perfect" Body

By Jenny Sugar

Published on 5/5/2017 at 9:35 AM

It's hard for most people to accept the idea that I may not want to change my body – that I may not want to spend my day racking up steps on a FitBit or use up six months recovering from a tummy tuck or commit to "losing the last 20 pounds" or spend 60 days doing some shred/cleanse that will help me "shrink the evidence" massive weight loss has left on my body. But here's the thing: even if my body composition was something I could control (🙄🙄🙄can't wait for the health and fitspo trolls to come after this one), even if dieting DID work (🙄🙄🙄🙄🙄), even if I could restrict my food without a massive psychological implosion – why should I have to? So what, because my body is not the ideal, I have an obligation to make my body my primary project for the rest of my life? I have to sacrifice my mind, my energy, my time, my schedule, my relationships, my plans, my goals, my dreams in pursuit of a flatter stomach and better toned arms? What if I say no? What if I decide I have more important things to worry about – like writing a book or going back to school or finding love and filling my life with adventures? What if we chose to stop "perfecting" our bodies like it's all we've got to offer the world?

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Every waking moment, we are inundated with messages from social media, magazines, and TV about what our bodies are "supposed" to look like. We count calories, count the miles on the treadmill, and pour sweat (and tears) into the pursuit of that "perfect" body.

This Instagrammer named Clare says she's pretty much sick of it, and we couldn't agree more. "I may not want to spend my day racking up steps on a FitBit or use up six months recovering from a tummy tuck or commit to 'losing the last 20 pounds' or spend 60 days doing some shred/cleanse that will help me "shrink the evidence" massive weight loss has left on my body." She goes on, "So what, because my body is not the ideal, I have an obligation to make my body my primary project for the rest of my life? I have to sacrifice my mind, my energy, my time, my schedule, my relationships, my plans, my goals, my dreams in pursuit of a flatter stomach and better toned arms?" Ugh, it's exhausting just reading that, let alone living it.

Then Clare says what we all want to say, "What if I say no? What if I decide I have more important things to worry about . . .?" While being healthy and taking care of you is essential, it shouldn't be the only thing you think about, and it definitely shouldn't make you feel worse! Clare says, "What if we chose to stop "perfecting" our bodies like it's all we've got to offer the world?"