Carrying My Own Weight

I think I owe my body an apology. 
Well to be honest, I think I owe my body hundreds of thousands of apologies for the ways over the years I have mistreated it, starved it, hid it, and hated it.

I'm sorry for taking you for granted, for not taking care of you, and for wishing you looked different. One of the hardest things for me at times has been accepting you the way you are. But as I have slowly learned to do so, it makes me take better care of myself.
Just as our bodies need steady diets of fruits and vegetables, they also need a steady diet of positive self talk and confidence. Instead over the years, I fed it with diet of negativity, mindless eating, and yo-yo dieting. I used to carry my body in this resentful, unloving, negative self-talk kind of way.
Realizing I need healthy physical activity like running began to teach me how to carry my body in a healthy, respectful way. I am learning to carry my own weight around not as some number that labels or defines me; but rather, in a way that allows me free to be me just the way I am.
Learning to carry your own weight may be easy or more difficult for you. Wherever you are on that journey of self-acceptance, hold yourself to a standard of grace not perfection. Sure its much easier said than done. But the older I get, the more amazed I find myself at the capabilities of the human body, both physically and emotionally.
Making the time to care for myself physically has increased my positive self talk and decreased the negativity. Making the time to exercise has grown my interest in eating healthy, and seeing how the right fuel can help my body work in the best condition.
Work on carrying your own weight with grace and patience. Ditch the negative self-talk and set alarms on your phone to verbally affirm yourself each day (I promise you eventually start to believe it!). I know that sounds crazy, but that small change has made a huge difference in my own life. Make exercise a non-negotiable part of life as you would with daily prayer or eating dinner every day. Refuse to give in to those little gremlins in your head that whisper you're not good.pretty.thin.fast. enough.
If I can run a half marathon, I promise you can carry your weight while showing grace and patience to yourself. ;-)

Do you owe your body an apology? What are ways you try to live a lifestyle of "grace not perfection" when it comes to exercise, food, and your body?