And why shouldn't that be good enough?

The longer I live...

The more TV commercials I watch...

The more magazine headlines I read...

The more I realize that I don't know what it truly means to have self confidence.

Because if I say that I'm OVERWEIGHT and that I need to EXERCISE, the self confident woman tells me that my body is lovely and that I shouldn't obsess over being skinny or muscular.

Because if I decide that my body is beautiful exactly the way it is and there is nothing wrong with it, the health and exercise-conscious woman tells me to exercise self control and get my dumpy ass off the couch.

How do I find the balance of having positive body image while trying to lose weight? Is such a thing possible?

The truth is, I really don't know. I believe self confidence and true body love looks completely different for every single woman. Personally, I'm still figuring out what it looks like for me, but here are a few things that I do know.

#1 I am a size 12 and that is perfectly okay with me.

#2 There are parts of me that jiggle when I walk. This is also okay.

#3 Coming from family with the genetic tendency to be overweight, I know I'm going to have to fight a weight problem my whole life. It will be hard, but I'm up for the challenge. 

#4 Rome wasn't built in a day. Goals will not be met with a quick fix and a half-assed effort. I'm trying to learn this and be okay with it. 

#5 Success in this department does NOT equal a particular size or a particular body type. 

# 6 Success in this department means never giving up on my goals and always striving to love the reflection in the mirror. Because if I don't love my body now, I never will and there won't be a victory that is good enough for me. 

So self-acceptance AND self-love come FIRST.

And why shouldn't that be good enough?