SMART WOMEN: STEPPING UP TO VICTORY

Shrinking To Fit

At http://www.victoriouswoman.com/, I focus on inspiring women to create victory in their lives.

In contrast, I find the media obsession with body size is a multi-million dollar business that destroys a woman’s true beauty. As the 60th anniversary of the bikini became the centerpiece for many TV and news pieces. One of these included side-by-side pictures of Ursula Andress and Halle Berry - both sex symbols of their generations. Shockingly, Andress looked fat. FAT??!! Why? Because her bikini-clad body revealed voluptuous breasts, thin waist and full, shapely hips – all out of style - while Berry's picture showed no waist and flat hips.

Frankly, while Halle Berry is a beautiful woman who seems to shine from the inside out, if you took that picture only from midriff to thighs and put a man's bathing suit on it, I don't believe anyone would have known the difference between Halle and a male model.

My point: Our culture applauds women who are thin and denigrates women who are successful - and it happens because we buy into it. Having lost fifty pounds and maintained that loss, I know very well that the quest for thin demands a lot of logistical organization and emotional energy.

When you are obsessing about being and staying movie star skinny, you don't have much time or mental clarity to focus on the other, more important and more lasting aspects of your greatest - like your intelligence, creativity, organizational abilities, intuitive gifts.

Sure, I could lose another twenty pounds and be a skinny chick – but why? To do it would mean I’d have to give up some of the great pleasures of life in the process as well as some of my most wonderful victories – like feeling good about myself and reveling in my good health. And, I wouldn’t have been able to harness the energy that results in enjoying my own business and the success of my book, Victorious Woman!

What do you think? Do you think that the time most women spend trying to have perfectly skinny bodies takes time and energy away from doing more meaningful parts of their lives?