WHY I'M SMASHING THE SCALE: REBEKAH, KARINA, VIRGIE, PIA, LOUISE, AND JEN!

 (All images by Lisa Foote)

What is Smash the Scale about?

Well, Smashing the Scale isn't necessarily about destroying metal, although any girl (and guy!) at this incredible shoot would tell you that is incredibly liberating. Instead it's about making a conscious decision to detach your worth from that number on your scale. Smashing the Scale isn't about being unhealthy. It's about deciding what your definition of beauty is and knowing that it is enough. Smashing the Scale isn't about exclusion either; you may not understand the concept or be interested. And that's totally okay. Leave us to our crowbars and keep on trucking. We'll always be rooting for you. Smashing the Scale isn't about anger, but instead the joy of calling society on the carpet and telling it how it is. And Smashing the Scale isn't about being perfect at loving yourself, but rather about making a personal commitment to starting your self love journey. Smashing the Scale is much bigger than it sounds, it's the most empowering thing you can do. Try doing it for you.

You can read the original post here.


This entire week will be dedicated to sharing our stories about why we've decided to Smash the Scale this year. Why we've decided to separate our value as a human from the number on a scale. Why we've decided to define our OWN beauty and not buy into what others tell us we should be.

(Rebekah by Lisa Foote)

Rebekah:
“Why’d I sign up for this?!” was the question that ran through my head the entire day of the photo shoot. You see, that morning I woke up feeling ugly, fat and about two inches tall. My stomach felt tight and tense. I ate nothing that morning or afternoon. I got to the location still feeling like I was shaking in my boot’s but I was determined to do it anyways. I observed the faces of the beautiful women around me and witnessed their own vulnerabilities about the whole process. This made me feel so.very.NOT.alone. 
I got to the shoot location and by then my body was in a full out rebellion because I hadn’t given myself any fuel that morning. I was.STARVING. I roared and yelled with the rest of the ladies feeling like such a hypocrite. Here I was railing again the scale and yet I hadn’t bothered to feed myself that morning. I have come so very far from my previous feelings about my own body + image and yet I still have days where I let myself down. At times I still fall back into my old ways of thinking I’ll miraculously drop lbs. if I only just will stop eating for a day. (P.S. This NEVER works) This body love + self acceptance I realize is a journey. For me it has been a process which leads away from the yo-yo dieting B$ toward a healthy love relationship with myself and with food. What I’ve discovered is this. The more I love Bekah, the better I treat her. Simple as that. This day made me realize there are still days that I choose to walk around with an “I AM Hideous!” demon on my shoulder. 
Which led me to wonder. What would that day have FELT like if I’d axed that demon in the morning? What would that shoot have felt like if I had looked in the mirror that morning and said “Babe, you are GORGEOUS!” and then ate a big breakfast. Just saying.

(Karina by Lisa Foote)

Karina:
I am smashing the scale because for over 15 years I battled two eating disorders; bulimia-nervosa and anorexia-nervosa. I started developing a body complex at a very young 
age; before the age of 12, which is when I started drinking slim fast, taking diet pills, and living by the numbers on the scale. I was a tomboy so developing breasts at a young age made me feel "overweight" and the mirror became my own worse enemy. It probably didn't help that I had a father figure in my life tell me at a very young age(s) (4-8 years old) repeatedly that I was "fat, ugly, stupid, and no man in their right mind would ever love me" definitely not the greatest thing to hear as a child, on top of physical abuse. My own personal war within, the emotional and physical abuse from a father figure, along with societies own perception on what is considered attractive took its toll on me. At the age of 14, I was over five foot and I weighed less than 80 pounds; that was my lowest weight, that I can remember, it almost killed me and suicide crossed my mind on more than one occasion. I will always be fighting the demons of my eating disorders, I will never see what everyone else sees when I look in the mirror, but I am a fighter! And I will not ever give up on myself like I almost did, a few times, at a very young age. 

My name is Karina Levine, I am 34, I am 5'4" and I am at a healthy weight...and I am happier now than I was when I was a lot thinner! Do I still have my insecurities and complexes, yes I do...but I am a lot better today than I was 10 or even 5 years ago, hell I'm better today than I was a year ago, and I will continue to fight and continue to get stronger!! I smashed the only scale I own that day and I am not planning on buying another!!! This really has a special place in my heart for so many reasons!! Thank you!!


Listen to why why the phenomenal Virgie Tovar is going to Smash the Scale this year!



Blogger (and Body Love Conference speaker!) Pia tells you why she's going to Smash the Scale too!

Plus-Size Blogger Jen McLellan wrote her story here, and Louise green of Body Exchange blogged too! Both of these ladies will be at The Body Love Conference!

HOORAY!

 (All images by Lisa Foote)
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We want you to join in!
There are multiple ways to do so:

1.) Blog about it, and share your link on The Body Love Conference Facebook. I will also share on The Militant Baker's Facebook and keep an updated roster at the end of this post

2.) Share your story on The Body Love Conference Facebook or in the comments here on this blog. Post it on our wall or post below! We want to read and share both on The Body Love Conference FB and The Militant Baker's. We want you to have a platform in which to announce your mission.

3.) Create your own image with our simple PNG overlay. Instructions on how to do so here. Post it to our wall so we can share this as well!

4.) Tweet and tag @BodyLoveConf. Hashtag the shit outta your posts with #SmashTheScale. Instagram us here.

This is a resolution revolution and we want you to be part of it.

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We can't thank our incredible photographers enough: Liora K, Dominic Arizona, Danni Valdez, and Lisa Foote.
You can also purchase a 2014 Smash the Scale calendar here!

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