Features

The "F" Word...

Thursday, 26 January 2017 23:10

The MTN Guys are big fans of Meredith Atwood's blog.

By Meredith Atwood (triathlete.com and swimbikemom.com)

A healthy body image can be frustratingly elusive, especially when old habits—and thought patterns—die hard.

I am a mom of two children, ages 7 and 8, who could not be more different in looks and in personality. When asked about nature versus nurture, I always say now that I am a parent that it’s absolutely nature—these kids escaped the womb with the same personalities that exist today. As a totally unfair...

generalization about two real, live humans who will have the chance to read this in the future, I would say that our son is most like me in personality and looks, and my daughter most certainly takes after my husband. The boy loves to curl up with a book, to draw, to do quiet things; at the same time, he has many friends and is deeply compassionate. The girl child is adventurous, could care less about being a bookworm—she wants to be a star. I love watching both of them in social situations because they could not be more different. I can see the beautiful strengths, while vastly different, in both of them.

As a child, I remember being embarrassed by my body very early on. I learned at a very young age what the word “fat” meant, and I also learned that it applied, in some respect, to me. I am not sure of the exact age this “body image innocence” (as I like to call it) was lost, but I have spent the greater part of my adult life trying to recover from it, only recently making real strides. I think because of my personal experience, I am hyperaware of body image and its impact on children. The “F word” in our house—fat—is punishable by far more than the other “F word” would ever be. I try desperately to protect both of my children from the body image dysmorphia that has unnecessarily and detrimentally occupied so much of my headspace over the years.  READ MORE