Not that I have not known that I want to or need to get in shape, but I saw a couple of pix of myself on Facebook, and I just feel disgusted by them. Maybe that is good but is this self loathing I feel when I see them healthy?

Thank you.

You know, recognizing that you need to make a change to make your life better is one thing...and totally a powerful motivator! But I've never met ANYONE who got more motivated based on self-loathing or self-deprecation.

I, personally, think that the commitment to lose weight and the perseverence to stick to that commitment come from believing that you, AS YOU ARE TODAY, are worth the effort to make yourself the best you that you can be. And hating where you are today isn't going to get you any closer to that goal.

So time for some thinking...what do you LIKE about yourself? What are your unique, wonderful qualities that make you, you? If you can't list any, it may be time to get some professional help to improve your self-image. All of us have worth, whether we see it or not, so if you're not seeing it, you may need some expert help in finding it for yourself.

Regardless of your weight, you are a worthy person...SO worthy, in fact, that you're definitely worth the effort to get healthier and stronger.

Thank you for the help and reminder.

It's also difficult to view ourselves without the lens of society's "ideal feminine figure" (aka size 0) and see our curves as beautiful, as we should.

And remember that your appearance can change. You can lose weight. Perhaps you are too blinded by your appearance to realize that the person inside you is strong, worthy, and beautiful.

What we all want is to feel at peace with the way we feel in our hearts, with the way we look and feel physically, to be HEALTHY. Even though our bodies may not look the way we would like them to, this is due to poor diet choices, or lack of exercise, or simply lack of knowledge of how to improve. And these can all change. Being overweight does not make you a bad person. Being a bad person makes you a bad person.

Our world today has put so many negative associations with being overweight that it's no wonder people feel self-loathing just for looking in the mirror. I say, let them say whatever they want. You know you're none of those things, and your reasons for being here aren't to prove them wrong. It's to prove to yourself that you can set out and do something that you decided to do, for your own health and well-being.

Sorry if I went a little too far with this whole "society" thing, I just know that I get down on myself when I really shouldn't, and it's because of the millions of unrealistic images that bombard my brain of how we, as women, "should" look. And I'm so sick of it.

Go you!

I agree with the whole society thing as well. Not that I don't want to make changes and be and look my best and be healthy. But what we "shown" is not healthy and supposedly those models and whoever else don't really even "look" like that except in a single moment in a camera lens and shutter.

I have been thinking lately that when I see a footage of a fashion show with all the stick figure models, and supposedly designers want that because the clothes "hang" like they are on a hanger, I think they look unappealing. Where is the healthy medium?