91%. Friends, I have all the feelings about this statistic.

First, can we talk about that volume? Ninety one percent of anything is a lot, but when we're talking about people who are unhappy in their own bodies, that's a staggering number. Our body is literally the ONLY thing that's with us from the moment we're born until the moment we die. It's a major part of our life. To be unhappy with something there's no possible way for us to get away from is nothing short of tragic.

Just imagine all the time and energy that's wasted by this amount of discontent. One statistic even estimates that an average woman spends one third of her life thinking about her body. In a ninety year life, that would be thirty years! Thirty years given over to worrying, stressing, judging, trying to reshape, or hide our bodies. Thirty years of avoiding being in pictures or picking apart our image if we can't avoid the picture. Thirty years of opting out of or being self-conscious during certain activities, like swimming, or clothes shopping, or being intimate with our partner. What could you do with thirty years of freed up time and energy?

Next, this is our bodies we're talking about here. Our own miraculous bodies! This body that the vast majority of us are unhappy about deserves to be honored, even celebrated. Every day. Think about all the things it does all the time, many of which we don't even have to will it to do. It takes in air and food and water and converts them into usable materials for sustaining our life. Our brains think millions of thoughts daily. For most of us, our mouths taste, our eyes use light and darkness to sense images and are fantastic at expressing emotion. Our ears connect us to the world around us through sound. Our noses detect smells that can bring pleasure, or warn us of danger, or give us all kinds of other information. Our skin heals itself and provides the amazing sensation of touch.

This list of things to celebrate about our bodies could go on almost forever. And yet 91% of us are unhappy with them.

Why?

Is it because we're ungrateful, shallow creatures? Nope, not a vast majority of us, anyway. It's because practically from the moment we're born we're smothered with messages that teach us as females that our main value comes from our looks. Even if we're raised in a home that adamantly teaches otherwise, we can't escape the world outside our home that makes it very clear.

So, how can we turn that awful statistic around?

It begins with noticing - noticing our cultural influences and noticing how that affects us. If you're someone who likes to solve puzzles or mysteries, make it a game to find all the clues you can, in as many places as possible, that prove the existence of and promote toxic and inaccurate beliefs about women's bodies. Start with noticing over the course of only one day. At the end of that day, take a few minutes to consider the implications of what you observed. Then expand your observation time to a week, all the while looking for how what your now seeing may be impacting your thoughts and feeling toward your body.

Of course, there are more steps to be taken to move the needle on that horrendous 91% stat, but awareness of the cultural sickness is an important first step. I invite you to take that first step toward removing yourself from the percentage of our sisters who are unhappy with their amazing bodies.

Let's get you living a life that's truly nourished - body and soul. And let's start by seeing the truth of how the world around us views women's bodies.

If this post resonated with you, please consider sharing it to spread the word. It might be of use to someone you know.

If you’d like to learn more about this topic, click HERE to book a session with me, or follow me on Facebook @ Nourishing Body & Soul or on Instagram at tlastle.nourishingbodyandsoul