Lean Cuisine has a new campaign that asks a simple question:
What do you wish people would weigh you on besides your weight?
What an incredible thing to ask ourselves ladies. When I got all the media attention after my bikini photo went viral questions about my weight were all I got for weeks. How did I lose it? How did I feel about it? What did I weigh before, during and after I had my kids? There was a lot of talk about body image and body shaming. It was an awesome conversation to be a part of and also, totally overwhelming to have hundreds of thousands of people talking about my stomach, my stretch marks and whether or not they thought I looked good in a bathing suit. So when Lean Cuisine told me about their new #WeighThis campaign, I was not only appreciative of the question I was excited to answer it.
As a culture we women are entirely too focused on our bodies. We indulge in food that’s not on our diet and we announce that we were really bad this weekend… as if our food choices determine whether or not we’re good people. We’re not feeling great about ourselves and so we settle on the idea that we’re fat. We are not fat. We have fat on our bodies. We also have hair and teeth and elbows but we don’t go around announcing that we’re any of those things, do we? Consider this question the impetus for a makeover… but not the kind with new clothes and various shades of lipstick. This one is so much better, this is a mindset makeover. Ask yourself what people should weigh you on besides your weight.
I personally wish people would weigh me on my drive. They’d see my eleven years as an entrepreneur. They’d see me starting my business in the basement of my townhouse, taking meetings at the local Starbucks and using my cell phone as an office line. They’d see me work sixty hour weeks for years to build that one man band into Chic Media with gorgeous new offices and a staff of ten. They’d look at me and say Dang girl, your drive weighs a ton!
I wish people would weigh me on my ability to tell a good story. They’d remember when I made them cry from laughing telling the story of the time I had to buy an eye patch from an Italian pharmacist. They’d read my books and laugh and giggle in all the right places. They’d go through this site and find post after post that speaks to them and makes them feel connected. They’d weigh my stories and think they were so heavy.
I wish people would weigh me on my ability as a wife and a mom. Like with any good weight story they’d understand that this is an area of my life that’s a work in progress. They’d know there were times when I struggled, when I felt like I wasn’t good enough or that other women had figured it out while I struggled so hard. But then they’d see me and Sawyer perform our secret handshake (a long and intricate high-five routine we’ve been perfecting over the last four years). Or they’d watch me rock Ford to sleep singing every song I can think of and some I make up. Or they’d catch me playing football in the backyard with the boys. They’d recognize that I’m a little bit afraid of catching footballs, but I do it anyway because I don’t want them to be. They’d see me sending my husband funny text messages to make him laugh when he’s having a bad day. They’d weigh my abilities as a wife and a mom and they’d say, Rach, you are getting better at that every day!
There are so many incredible things about you. Maybe you’re really good at baking. Maybe you’re awesome at algebra. Maybe you’re incredible at ballroom dancing, building sand castles or making the perfect cup of coffee. So what if instead of your weight, we weighed your kindness? What if we weighed how good an employee you are? What if we weighed how well you can do your daughter’s hair, your girlfriend’s makeup or how fast you can run a mile? What if we added up your laughter? What if we tallied your passion for your family? What if you put all of your intelligence on a scale?
Change your mindset ladies. There are so many awesome things about you and not one of them is your weight! So let’s hear it, I want to know what they are! Comment below and tell me what you should be weighed on besides your weight. I’ll choose some of my favorites to highlight in an upcoming post. Use the hashtag #WeighThis on social media and pass the idea along to your girlfriends. Let’s change the conversation, let’s change the way we look at ourselves! xo, Rachel
