SHE CHECKED ME OUT
She looked me up and down.
I saw her gaze taking in every aspect of my appearance
My clothes
My jewelry
Every wrinkle
grey hair
and fat roll
I saw her assess my size
I heard her mind comparing her body
to my body.
I imagined that she was judging how
good I am at my job based on my size
I felt
Unsafe
Unseen
And
Unloved
And then I remembered
I remembered all the stories
Of all the women who sit with me
to heal their relationship with their body.
And the truth is
Every way she judges and scans my body
In every way she evaluates my self-worth by my shape and size
Is how she judges HERSELF
The way she looks at me
Is the way she looks at herself
I know she gazes in the mirror and judges
Her thighs, her belly, her hips, herself.
I know she bases her value on her size.
I know when I get scanned
With that critical eye
She is body-checking
She is body-hating
She is body-shaming
HERSELF
She is at war with her own body.
And I wish for her
Body-Peace
~ Nina Manolson
For more of my poetic essays: https://ninamanolson.com/food-for-thought/
Nina Manolson, M.A. in Counseling Psychology, Nationally Board Certified Health & Wellness Coach, Psychology of Eating Coach, Body-Trust® Guide.
If you’d like help with navigating an authentic and respectful relationship with your body. Let’s talk.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Nina Manolson, MA, NBC-HWC, board certified Health Coach, Psychology of Eating Coach and Certified Body-Trust Provider, believes that every woman deserves to feel good in her own body.
She helps women create a healthy and positive relationship with their food and body so they can love their body and life! She’s the founder of NinaManolson.com and The Nourished Woman Nation.
She helps busy women feel good in their own body.. She specializes in working with women over 40 who have tried other diets and approaches but are still struggling with their body and food.
She’s the creator of the BODY-LOVE MAP and the recipient of the prestigious Health Leadership Award from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition.
To get your F.R.E.E. ebook: HOW TO BE A WOMAN AT EASE IN YOUR BODY click here.
Nina Manolson, MA, is the founder of Body-Peace®.She helps women end the war with food and body and finally feel truly at home in their body—as it is.
She is known for her deeply feminist, anti-diet, body-peace® approach. She brings her 30 years of experience as a therapist, Body-Trust® Guide and Psychology of Eating Teacher to helping women create a respectful and trusting relationship with their food and body.
Nina’s Body-Peace® work is all in service of helping people get off the diet roller-coaster, and into a compassionate and powerful way of eating & living which creates a positive long-lasting change in and with their bodies. Her courses, coaching, poems and Body-Peace APP positively change the conversation that women are having with their body.
Start your Body-Peace® journey with this free masterclass that will help you understand and shift your relationship with your body.