Your body does not owe you beauty.
Your body's job is to literally keep you alive, allowing you to move throughout the world in whatever manner you choose. It's not meant to be flawless, it's not meant to stay in the same form it was when you were in your "prime" (whatever the fuck that means), you are not entitled to a body of societal beauty standards...because that is not your body's job.
Imagine yourself at work. Wherever that is for you: it could be at an office, playing with kids, on a construction site, taking care of the elderly, or being creative, whatever. Now, let's assume that you are amazing at the tasks laid out for you by said profession. You show up when you are asked, you diligently perform the tasks no matter how much crap your boss throws your way, you try to go above and beyond in every possible form for your job. Now, imagine while you are doing such an amazing and consistent job when your boss comes up to you every day and says "You are ugly. Why can't you look prettier? Why aren't you stronger? You are gross and jiggly. You are disgusting. I wish you would go away. I wish you were someone else."
I can imagine you wouldn't appreciate it. I mean, on top of all the other stuff you are doing your best at, now you have to look a certain way and you are constantly being critiqued every day?? That would suck immensely and, I would hope, many of us would quit.
Well, you should thank your lucky fucking stars that your body doesn't quit regardless of the terrible things you say and do to it.
It shows up every damn day to do it's best and work as hard as it can to keep you alive and breathing. It's trying incredibly hard to do the tasks laid out before it, but it's still not good enough? Come on.
Your body does not need to be reminded that it's not good enough, when in fact it must be good enough if you are reading this. I am not saying you have to be in love with your body, but you certainly have to be appreciative of the fact that it is literally the only reason you are alive in this very instant. Despite the constant hate, anger, frustration, pinching, poking, squeezing, lifting, sighing, and verbal & physical abuse, your body shows up every day to do it's job to the best of it's ability.
We talk a lot about telling yourself that your body is beautiful. But it doesn't have to be in order for it to be valuable. Why do we have to associate our appreciation for our body immediately with beauty? Maybe we need to take a step back and really think about why we have to deduce everything about ourselves to being "beautiful" as if once we recognize our beauty THEN we become valuable. Maybe we never recognize that we are "beautiful", does this make us less valuable?? Fuck no. We have to realize that ourSELVES can be so much more than just "beautiful".
So, stop expecting your body to fall into a societal standard of beauty that changes every 10 years, because that is not it's fucking job.Your body deserves a break from the verbal and physical abuseYour body deserves recognition of it's talents and abilities at keeping you alive