Dear Belly

Dear Belly,

We haven’t always gotten along, have we? I hated how you pushed against my shirts and jeans. I raged against you and denied you nourishment. There were times I stared at you with more disgust than I had ever felt for anything. There were times I moved my body not in joy, but in attempt to get rid of you… to shrink you out of existence.

I thought I’d be happy without you. I’d been told that I’d be happy if I did everything I could to make you go away. I listened to everyone who said I should get rid of you. I followed every scheme, every gimmick, every plot that made me hate you and, therefore, hate myself. I honestly believed there was a “good” me trapped behind you

Dear Belly,

I am so sorry. I know now that you are part of the me that is good and bad, happy and funny, smart, sweet, sarcastic, apathetic, empathetic, compassionate and naive and perfect. I know that the problem is not with you, but with the world around us. You and me… we can change that.

Dear Belly,

I promise that I will never let you go hungry for days and days. I will never put chemicals in you to force you down. I will never move my body with the goal of changing you. From now on I will move with joy. I will eat for the good of us and I will delight in every bite.

Dear Belly,

I love you. I love your shape. I love your weight. I love the skin that covers you, the dimples that make you unique, the job you do that keeps me alive.

Dear Belly,

Thank you.

Love,

Me.