“post the one where you look happier, not skinnier”

When I started the #travelbeyondsize account and project, I had to retrain my own mind to look at images in a new way. I was so used to trying to find the photo where I looked the thinnest and would often judge a picture solely based on whether my arm looked too fat, or my belly was sticking out, even if the picture or the message behind the photo had nothing to do with me or my looks. The idea of the perfect body image from magazines, TV, and movies has been so ingrained in me, a former tabloid obsessed fangirl, that re-training my brain has been such a challenge. I even recently talked to a friend about how we hate being on the end of the photo or the person closes to the camera. Fat people think about this stuff all the time. "I can't be on the end because my arm will look too big" or "don't take a picture from that angle, I have too many chins." I have been trying very hard to pick honest, flattering images that speak to me and my journey. Below is an example of one of these posts and my thoughts on it.

I would normally NEVER post a pic like this. Arm fat drooping, belly looking hella rotund, hair gross and sweaty post yoga. It is still so hard for me to look past the exterior to see what this picture was intended to represent... The flexibility, strength, and focus to even balance in a pose like this. I posted this to encourage myself and others to look past the non-idealized exterior in search of the deeper meaning within the pose. For that is when we #travelbeyondsize!