For many years, I chased the societal ideal of what a woman should look like. From the heroin chic of the 1990s to the thigh gap to the Kardashian-inspired craze of a tiny waist, large hips, & big breasts, the standards kept shifting, & I tried to keep up.
As a teenager, I had trouble finding jeans that fit. If they fit my hips, they were too big in the waist, & vice versa. It wasn't until jeans with stretch were invented that I finally found a pair that fit right.
Over the years, I went on countless diets & took diet pills. I stopped listening to my hunger cues, thinking that my body was wrong & that I couldn't trust it.
But then I started to make changes. I stopped putting myself down & started to embrace my authentic self. I learned to listen to my hunger cues & cravings. I ate until I was satisfied & gave myself permission to indulge in my cravings from time to time.