“I want to be strong.”
Not thin.
Not smaller.
Not “I’m getting fat” or “I wish I looked different.”
Strong!! She adds MORE weight today!
She’s never once said she wanted to be skinny. She’s never looked in the mirror and critiqued herself the way so many of us as girls/women have done. Instead, she talks about muscles. She talks about abs. She talks about what her body can do!
That feels like music to my ears.
When I was her age, the goal was skinny because that was the culture and the message we got. Strong wasn’t even part of the conversation. You didn’t lift weights! You did endless cardio in hopes of being SMALLER.
Tatum has never heard me say, “I want to be skinny,” and she’s never watched me stand in front of a mirror shaking my head in disappointment. (Okay… I’ll be honest, I’ve done that, just never when she’s watching.) What she has seen is me going to the gym and lifting weights. Getting strong was my goal.
We took a break from the gym for a while, and lately she’s been begging to go back. And now that we’re there again? She is doing HARD things! LIKE…
Sled pushes (125 lbs!!)
Squats
Push-ups
Shoulder presses
Bench press
SHE LOVES IT!. She asks for more weight. She wants to know what muscle she’s working. She’s proud when something feels challenging. Watching her is pure joy because she’s learning, early on, that her body is capable. OH, to save her from what I did to myself!
I don’t know what she’ll believe about her body years from now, but I do know that she can build this confidence and muscle now!!
I am proud of you, Tot!! Keep it up because we have a tough critique’y world, so be PROUD OF YOU!