Don Your Helmet

Tonight I went to a presentation about body image by Rachel Stewart and April Price -- More Precious Than Rubies, Truth About Body Image in a World Full of Lies.


I hope this doesn't come across as preachy. I heard a lot of info that I just had to share.



Images of women in the media (movies, TV, magazines, etc) are deceptive. A lot goes into creating the ideal woman.



I had no idea that $60,000 can be spent airbrushing the front cover of a magazine. Many actresses and models have their own airbrush artists.






In 2007, the money spent on ads for products designed to "fix" you equaled $500 billion.



$55 billion a year is spent on diet product ads.



A lot was said tonight about the way children respond to their parents' obsessions with their appearance. Kids pick up on what they should and shouldn't believe from their parents. Makes sense. My kids love to please me. Of course they're going to do what I do.



I also learned that in 2004, more than 300,000 teens (18 and younger) had plastic surgery.



The thing is this: Satan gave up his chance to have a body. Now, he'll do anything in his power to make sure that we mess ours up. Elder David A Bednar said that the tool Satan cannot have or use is his major target: our bodies.



So what do we do?



We fight. The purpose of this blog is to create an atmosphere to share health-related goals. Elder Jeffery R. Holland said that we need to eat right, exercise and find our optimum health. He said, "There is no universal optimum size."



We need to gather our armor and fight this war that is banging on our door. We need to gather our breastplates, no matter what sizes they are. We need to sharpen our swords and shine our shields.



And more importantly, we need to don our helmets. Because this is a mind game, more than anything else.



Here's our strategy of attack:



1. Remember your divine worth and the reason you came to Earth. We came to this Earth to gain a body and be tested. We use our body to take that test. We have to remember that our body is not the test.



2. Forget yourself and serve others. You can't focus on yourself if you're helping others.



3. Fight "Fatism." We can't judge people by their shapes and sizes. It just promotes unhealthy images.



4. Remember bodies have power. "All beings with bodies have power over those that do not" -- Joseph Smith. We have the ability to overcome Satan and his temptations.



5. Question media messages. So many of the messages we see are an illusion.



6. Affirm your body is perfect the way it is. This was the greatest point made, I thought. 70 - 80% of your body is determined by genetics. You didn't come to Earth to get a body, you came to get this body. Your body is the one Heavenly Father wanted you to have, flaws and all. "Therefore, my body is perfect. Heavenly Father does not make mistakes."



I had to stop and think about why I'm making the goals I am. It comes down to this: I want to be healthy. Of course, I also want to be comfortable with how I look. And I know Heavenly Father wants that for me too. He wants me to be happy, but He has also entrusted me with my body. It's my responsibility to care for it. I need to nourish it, exercise it and keep it medically sound.



I need to don my helmet and keep myself in check. I have power and control over my body, whether I recognize that or not. It's up to me to know what I need and not let mainstream media tell me what I need.

I don't need to be stick thin. I don't need to have perfect hair or skin. I've been deceived by the media before. Here's me at age 19:

My eyes have been airbrushed to be more open, my loose strands of hair have been erased, as well as the red birthmark under my right nostril. My lips were added to. I had gone to an acting agency and this was my final headshot. I soon realized that the agency didn't want to promote me. They wanted to promote what I could be after being computerized and altered.

I'm not falling for that again. I'm going to get healthy, but I'm not going to lose myself in this war.