Today, I’m honored to reprint a beautiful and inspiring post by Sui from cynosure. Sui writes about how each of us deserves better, whether it’s building a positive body image, following our passions, taking better care of ourselves or embracing and loving ourselves.

And as mentioned yesterday, there is another giveaway! Sui is giving away a “you deserve better” poster to one lucky reader. (That’s the poster above!) All you have to do to be eligible to win is a) subscribe to cynosure by email or rss b) subscribe to the newsletter and c) leave a comment letting us know that you did both. That’s it!

Oh, I’ll announce the winner next Friday, so you have plenty of time to sign up and leave a comment.

Have a fantastic weekend everyone!

{Adriana Lima via wikipedia}

“Have you read the article about Victoria’s Secret models and how they get ready for their fashion show?” my mom asked me a few days ago. She always keeps an eye out for me on anything and everything body image-related. (Thanks, Mom!)

I hadn’t, but I basically raced to the computer to read the article, and I learned an important lesson that I sort of already knew but didn’t. (Make sense?)

Turns out, it’s not so easy achieving a model-esque shape even for models. Now, many models do look the way they do because of their genes. (Genetics play a big role in our body shape, size and weight.) But that’s not enough. They take some serious measures to look “naturally” slim and sculpted.

{via pinterest}

On Monday we talked about embracing imperfection, and the fact that the pursuit of perfectionism pervades all areas of our lives, if we let it.

Since then, the topic of perfectionism has still been swirling in my mind. Because so many of us get caught up in striving for a flawless something or everything and live with a fear of making mistakes. Which feeds our negative body image and negative view of ourselves. It holds us to ridiculous expectations, sabotages our success and even erodes our happiness.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

{via pinterest}

In our appearance-obsessed society, we learn at a fairly young age the importance of a flawless figure. We learn to nitpick at our body parts. We  grab at our inner thighs and bash the fat, wondering why we weren’t blessed with a space there. People get liposuction for that space.

{image by Portraits By Lucinda; original here}

Yesterday, I talked about some of my favorite books on body image. Today, I’d like to celebrate my two years of writing Weightless by sharing 10 of my favorite posts from way back when.

By the way, don’t forget to comment on yesterday’s post where you can win a free body image book of your choosing! My treat.

1. 7 Signs Your Body Image is Bruised (and 5 Solutions)

This is the post that started it all.

2. Why it’s Time to Change Our Thinking About Weight: Q&A with Linda Bacon, Part 1 and Part 2

Like I said yesterday, Linda Bacon’s book Health At Every Size: The Surprising Truth About Your Weight really had an impact on how I view health. I love the Health At Every Size movement, and in this Q&A Bacon debunks so many pervasive (and egregious) myths about health, weight and dieting.

{via pinterest}

Ever since I started writing Weightless, I’ve learned so much about building a positive body image, ditching dieting, genuinely accepting myself and embracing true health.

While every day is a process, I’m light years away from where I was: deeply dissatisfied with my body, not knowing who I was, thinking thinness would make me a better and happier person and afraid of relinquishing dieting, because left to my own devices, I’d surely devour everything in sight. (Magazines love to make us think this, but it’s so far from reality.)

{image by Sui; check out more here!}

Today, I’m thrilled to publish a beautiful guest post by Sui from cynosure. On her blog, Sui writes about love, growth, presence, eating and body image. As she says, “I share my journey to help you on yours.”

What I love about her piece is that it has a very powerful and positive message. Very sadly, in our society, hunger is a dirty word or something to be feared. Hunger, we’re taught, is what sabotages dieting. It’s what keeps us from losing weight. It’s a slippery slope to excess pounds and deep dissatisfaction.

How many of us have wished that we didn’t get hungry, that we didn’t have (healthy) appetites?

Below, Sui explores hunger and eloquently explains why it’s actually a necessary, healthy and wonderful thing.