Your belly is so cute!

Your belly is so cute!

My one year old son has the most adorable belly.

We all love to tickle it and zerbert it and gently poke his belly button and shout “beep beep” or “hooooonk!”  

We all think it’s hysterical. He loves it so much. He’ll lift up his shirt to show off his belly for more fun and games.

Unfortunately, at a certain point, many kids stop thinking that their belly is “cute” and “adorable.” Most kids become inundated with harmful messages from our diet-obsessed, thin-obsessed, heavily-Photoshopped culture. They become embarrassed about their bellies—and other parts of their bodies, too. They desperately try to shrink themselves and try to take up less space—as if they aren’t worthy or allowed to take up the space that their body requires.

Culturally, we’ve got big issues when it comes to our bellies. I don’t think there’s any other body part that is so disliked by so many people, so intensely—especially women.

Women receive so much pressure to get their baby belly back to their pre-pregnancy days... stat! God forbid there’s any sign that your body grew, carried and cared for another human being for more than a year.

Many women are willing to take drastic, unhealthy, even life-threatening measures to get their stomachs to look flatter. Electro-shock belts that promise to melt fat away from your midsection (remember those infomercials from the ‘90s?), green tea that promises to slim your waistline with every sip, books with titles like Belly Fat Breakthrough and The Ten Day Belly Slimdown... The list goes on and on.

But what if we could hold onto the mindset that bellies are beautiful and adorable? What if we didn’t succumb to unrealistic pressures to look a certain way? What if we could look at our own grown-up bellies the same way we look at a newborn’s belly—with delight, appreciation, even love?

If “loving” your belly feels like way too big of a stretch right now, try to come to a place of “neutrality.” Not hating your belly. Not loving it. Not even liking it, necessarily. Just accepting it with a neutral mindset—just like you accept that the sky is blue, water is wet, and every day contains twenty four hours.

Changing how you think (and feel) about your belly might take practice and repetition. It might happen slowly over the course of many days or weeks or months. The progression might go something like this…

Today, you say: “I hate my belly.” (intense dislike)

Tomorrow, you’re able to say: “I have a belly.” (neutral, simply stating a fact)

Maybe you stay in this neutral place for a while—maybe several days, maybe several weeks.

And then one day, you discover that you’re able to say: “I actually like my belly. It’s the core of me. It’s does amazing things. And it’s cute.” (positive, appreciative)

It’s true. Your belly is incredibly cute. It's the place where the miracle of life takes root and grows.  And I will keep reminding you that it's cute and amazing until it’s something that you see and believe, too.

PS. In case you feel like shaking what you've got...this song will work.  Be confident in all your parts.  

xoxo,