An Apology Letter to my Body

Dear Body,

First off, I'm sorry. It's taken me way too long to realize how awesome you are. You truly are appreciated. And I'm only just beggining to learn these things. I'm sorry for denying you food when you were hungry and overeating when you weren't hungry. I'm sorry for saying mean things about you and calling you names. I'm sorry for weighing you and letting that weight determine my feelings towards you and my attitude. I'm sorry for being obessive over things that don't really matter. I'm really going to start trying to be kinder to you. It's hard and I'm only beginning to learn please be patient with me.

I must make a special apology to my thighs. All the years I spend staring at you and measuring you and complaining about you. I was wrong, you were right. I need you strong so I can do and teach spinning classes. There's nothing like coming out of a spinning class feeling awesome and hearing people talk about how fast you went. I hope you appreciate the new spinning shoes I bought. There just for you.

I have to thank my stomach for keeping a small pooch to remind me that I'm a girl and that pooch is special and serves a purpose. Thank you arms for being able to do push ups and hug the people who matter most in my life. Thank you legs for letting me run and feel powerful. Thank you body. Your amazing. I want to treat you better.

Love,

Leah

-Post your letter of apology to your body!!!

Awww..good times...

 Dear Body,

Specifically, I want to apologize to my skin for what the kids did to you.  They tend to be graffiti artists with that stretch mark thing.  It's all good though.  It makes you look more mature.

Thighs, wow, what can I say.  The cellulite isn't going anywhere.  I can't afford liposuction, so you're going to have just own it girl.   PS..lots of celebs and models have it too so don't feel bad. 

Baby belly, you and I don't get along and probably never will.  If you could just hide out when bathing suit season comes along I'll promise to stop pokin you with anger every morning in the mirror.  I think that is a good compromise.

Love and Kisses,

Dana 

 

 

Dear Body...

Thank you, legs for being strong enough to carry me through all the years of marching.

Although I complain your size is silly, I know that you are big enough to help me walk through the years of my life.

I will try to help you get stronger.

Thank you, back and arms, for being strong enough to help me lift and turn and carry those whose health has failed, those who have always been ill, and those who need a shoulder to cry on.  Thank you for hugging them so hard and strong.

Although I laugh at myself when I feel you jiggle, arms, I know you are strong enough to pull me through.  Although I never see you, back, I know you will carry my load.

And to my ass.  Oh, what an ass you are.  Made even more magnificent by hips that sway to beats of funk and jazz....

I have veered from concious effort to be the strongest me I can be, and have allowed excuses to hurt you, my body.

I am sorry.

Me.

PS-thank you, my clitoris.....

Dear Body,

Wow. What a wild ride it's been, eh? Ups and downs, emotionally and physically, from the 17 year old who weighed 133 and ran--ran! From dance class to marching band to rehearsal just to dance some more, to the 38 year old who can just make it up the stairs and back without gasping for breath.

A marriage. Two wildly beautiful and healthy children. And varying degrees of health. Jazzercise, bikes-- therapy, MORE therapy, diets, anti-diets, snacks of every stripe and flavor.

And yet, despite my burgeoning size, despite my complaints, you have never failed me. And I forget how beautiful you are. The pretty eyes, the soft skin. And the parts I am maybe not so fond of.  The double chin and flabby belly. I promise to respect you and the heritage you come from. I promise to look at you with the eyes of my four year old who pats my face and says "You are soo cuddleeee!"

And I promise you, we will all dance again.

Dear body,

 

I'm sorry for not eating when I should have when I was a little girl. I am sorry that I hated you and wanted to control you because you were the only thing that I had any power over. I'm sorry I wanted to kill you, I didn't even know what anorexia was so I didn't know what we were up against.

I'm sorry for forgetting about you in college and not buying groceries and going days without eating a single fresh vegetable or piece of fruit. I'm sorry for not exercising regularly to keep you strong and healthy. I'm sorry for drinking too much. 

I'm so sorry for constantly comparing you to other bodies. I am sorry for depriving you of pleasure at the touch of a lover because I was not comfortable with you. I am just now beginning to realize that what everybody always says about you is true; you are gorgeous.  

Thank you for not failing me even though I gave you so many reasons to. Even though your immune system is not perfect, you try your best and I am grateful. Thank you for being resilient and strong and efficient. Thank you for carrying me through all the hard times and enabling me to run when I needed to. Thank you for allowing my mind to flourish and for being the best possible vehicle for my soul. 

I promise to take better care of you.

 

Dear Body,

This is a long over due letter and for that I am sorry. Actually that is what the majority of this letter is about- me being sorry for treating you in many ways you don’t deserve. To be honest body you are wonderful. The best Body I have ever had and the only one I will ever have. It's taken me way too long to realize how awesome you are. I'm only just beggining to learn these things. I'm sorry for denying you food when you were hungry and overeating when you weren't hungry. I'm sorry for saying mean things about you and calling you names. I'm sorry for weighing you constantly and letting that weight determine my feelings towards you and my attitude. For comparing you to a shape that you were never meant to be.You have never failed me in the past fifeteen years and for that I am thankful. You are appreciated. You may catch a cold or the sniffles once in a while but you always quickly recover.Thank you for giving me the energy to dance, laugh, run, and sing. Finally, thank you for not giving up on me. I do love you for that.

I must make a special apology to my thighs. All the years I spend staring at you and measuring you and complaining about you. I was wrong, you were right. I need you strong so I can dance and walk.

Skin, I'm sorry I've never really taken care of you. I shower you and dry you, and keep you warm, but I never was much into keeping you moisturized. I know I've left so many scars on you. If I get a zit, I marr up my face with scraches and then I attempt to cover it up with makeup, as if you aren't beautiful. I'm also sorry for the stretch marks I've left on you as well, I know they will fade. Thank you for becoming softer and softer now that Im trying to treat you better
Eyes, I'm sorry I spent so much time in front of a computer. I know that by now without the aid of glasses or contacts, you cannot see the true beauty that there is in this world. You're my only window to the outside. Please forgive me for when I would not wear my glasses and forced you to squint and burn. Im sorry for the tears that I make you shed when I’m hating myself.

Lips, I'm so sorry I keep on forgetting to put on balm, but you always come and stay beautiful. I'll try to take better care of you.
Arms, You are starting to rock. I'm really sorry I've never given you enough exercise in the past. Thank you for recently becoming stronger and shapelier. Im sorry for still comparing you to others. And I know if I tried a bit better, you'd be the most beautiful arms in the world.
Boobs, I'm so sorry. I just... there's nothing else to say. I always wanted other boobs, slightly bigger ones, without appreciating the fact that you're the only ones I have and it doesn't matter what, you'll be there with me. Im sorry for showing you off to the world and feeling like you are just “things”, us women have.
YOU, my friend, Belly. I keep on poking you, pinching you, wishing you were GONE! Please help me out a little though, after all you know I work you constantly. Im sorry that it’s the food I fed you, that expanded you the way you are.

Legs, as much as I love you, I must admit as of lately I've been hating you silently. I thought you were getting too big for me. You carry me around when I want to be carried around, you take me places, you let me experience wonderful things. Thank you.

Dear Brain, I'm so sorry I've underestimated you, especially before exams. Without you, I'd be a vegetable.

Bum. You once were to small, now your to wide. You get constant critisisum from both me and others. I'm so sorry I sat on you so often throughout my life. I'm sure you don't like it. Thank you for filling out my jeans thou. I’ll try to keep you nice and perky for my old age. I'll try to be more active! just for you, baby. Yet I will also remember to know when you need a rest.

Spine, I'll try to sit straighter so you don't ache. Thank you for helping me in ballet.

Thank you, lungs for allowing oxygen to flow through you allowing me to breathe with every move I make.

Heart, all I have to say is, I love you. You're what keep me alive. Im sorry for letting others try to take over you and I promise I will let you know when I find one worthy of you. Im not in a rush though because I know you only deserve the best. Thank you for warming up and giving me a wonderful feeling when im happy.

My dear calves, you won me admiration even when now when im at my heaviest. You help me in ballet and always have had muscle. Im sorry for trying to get you bigger and more defined rather then appreciating you.

To my waist, thank you for remaining relatively tiny and proportionate!

Body thanks for being made even more magnificent by hips that sway to beats of funk and jazz. Im sorry for hating you, but deep down I trully am grateful. You make my waist look smaller, and bring back a bit of Marilyn Monroe to this crazy world. Im sorry for hating that your bigger then most women’s but seriously you are pretty hot.

Knees, thank you for the wake up call. I know you'll always creak and crack now that I have never stopped to tend to you, but thanks for not giving up on me totally. To my Right Knee, I know you'll never be the same but I am grateful for your getting stronger and continuing to let me walk, hike and exercise without a brace. I know I was angry at you and hit you out of frustration for failing me but I know now I failed you.
I blamed you for my stretch marks and cellulite and now I realize that it's not you. After all many people have them and your not alone.

Fingers, thank you for never giving up. Even when I damaged one you all took charge. Now lets please stop poking at the rest of us.

Hair: I treat you the best, even so I still bother you on how fuzzy you are, or when you get oily before the day is done.
There are still going to be days I look at you and cry. Or days when the scale brings me down. Im still learning. Im still trying. But I’ll always try and remember to go back to this letter, and trully appricate you. So I am saying sorry in advance for the time I really should just be thankful and glad you are mine. I have been your worst critic but my best friend.

I like this so here's mine

Dear Body,

Thank you for not giving out on me ever, when I said "walk, you walked, when I said run you ran when I said sleep, um you didn't always sleep but you would lay there and that's good enough.

I do have a few bones to pick with you though, lets start at the bottom FEET: you are a size 10, what's up with that? But you have 5 toes on each of you and you work pretty well, I will continue putting you 3-4 inch heels but I promise to give you a break every so often for some rest. CALVES: your sexy as I don't know what keep up the good work :-) Thighs you are thick but mostly muscle so I won't complain about you. Hips, oh Hips where are you, oh yeah you don;t really exist but I'm sure that will change after my first kid, whenever that will be. Butt, who do you be long to you should be much bigger, but I work with you and you fit me you are not Beyonce's or JLo's but I love you anyway. Stomach, I'm sorry for expecting you to be the same way you were 8 years ago, I used to stuff you with 3-4 bowls of cereal at a time, and lets not forget that 4 day cake binge lol I promise I won't do that to you again I'll eat when I'm hungry and stop when I'm not. Brittany and Dawn (aka the boobs) I couldn't wait to get you guys, I was the last one in my class lol but now you're here I love you, stay perky and we won't have any problems. Arms, every one else seems to love you so perhaps i need to show you some more appreciation, I'm sorry for not recognizing your awesomeness (my own word). Head, apparently I have a good one of you on my shoulders, and if you weren't attached I'd lose you. Thank you for showing a smile to those we love and thanks for being in control of the rest of me. 

One more bone to pick with you, you like weighing 150, I like weighing 140, maybe we can meet at 145, I'll see you there. Luv ya

dear body,

we've never really talked, so i guess i should start off with an introduction. i'm sarah, the neurotic chick who overthinks the insignificant things and who's been controlling you all these years. in all truthfulness, i wasn't "controlling" a thing. like a child, you thrive under discipline combined with love. but i didn't do that. i ignored you, let the stupid parts of me drive you ragged, age you well beyond your years. even though you're young, you sometimes feel older than our grandmother. i'm sorry. i don't want this for your life. you want the chance to feel sexy, right? you've never said it, but i have a feeling that you'd really like to visit a nude beach before we check out. or at least wear a thong bikini. you're so cheeky![pun intended:)]

i know i've driven you far from your dreams of showing yourself unashamed to the world, but there is a way to undo most of what i've done to you. it's hard for me, though, because it's so easy to lean on you when i've given up. but doing that only hurts you more. so i need to learn to be strong for you. to stick to it so you can have the life you've always wanted. or at the very least, an all-over tan for a few weeks.

best, sarah

Dear body, firstly i want to say thank you, for trying your best to keep me healthy.

I am truly sorry for all the times that i have deprived you of the food that you wanted and the food that you needed.

Im sorry for the times that i fed you to much when you didnt want it & fed you nothing when you needed it the most. I am sorry for making you wait half an hour before you can eat,so i can think about the calories im putting into you and making sure i wont gain any weight.

Im sorry that sometimes i wear you out and make you do alot more excercise than you want or feel necessary. You know that i have to do it to feel right, or else i feel disgusting and lazy. I know you prefered me when i was bigger but times change and Im sorry that this time it wasnt for the better like i thought it would be.

I am even more sorry for putting you down and comparing you to other girls bodies, using nasty words to describe you, and letting the scales have control over my feelings towards you.

I must say sorry to my stomach for all the times ive hurt you when i pinch the flesh on my ribs and cry about the amount of fat i can feel, even though i know its just my mind playing games with me.

You have treated me well and taken me places that i want to go. I know that the past months haven't been the best for either of us & we are both exhausted from lack of nutrients, but i just dont know how to get them inside you anymore. What am i meant to do? i am trying & i know you can see this too. The past week ive treated you as much as i can, yet its making my head go crazy out of control, yet the only thing getting me through is Jack.

I know that you like him too because he is truly the only thing that we agree on together. I promise that i will try to make you happier and agree with you on things more. Just bare with me, its taken a long time for me to get this way & i think that it might take me a while to get back to normal. That's if i can even remember what normal is these days.

Again im sorry && i promise to start feeding you better =] <3

Dear body, firstly i want to say thank you, for trying your best to keep me healthy.

I am truly sorry for all the times that i have deprived you of the food that you wanted and the food that you needed.

Im sorry for the times that i fed you to much when you didnt want it & fed you nothing when you needed it the most. I am sorry for making you wait half an hour before you can eat,so i can think about the calories im putting into you and making sure i wont gain any weight.

Im sorry that sometimes i wear you out and make you do alot more excercise than you want or feel necessary. You know that i have to do it to feel right, or else i feel disgusting and lazy. I know you prefered me when i was bigger but times change and Im sorry that this time it wasnt for the better like i thought it would be.

I am even more sorry for putting you down and comparing you to other girls bodies, using nasty words to describe you, and letting the scales have control over my feelings towards you.

I must say sorry to my stomach for all the times ive hurt you when i pinch the flesh on my ribs and cry about the amount of fat i can feel, even though i know its just my mind playing games with me.

You have treated me well and taken me places that i want to go. I know that the past months haven't been the best for either of us & we are both exhausted from lack of nutrients, but i just dont know how to get them inside you anymore. What am i meant to do? i am trying & i know you can see this too. The past week ive treated you as much as i can, yet its making my head go crazy out of control, yet the only thing getting me through is Jack.

I know that you like him too because he is truly the only thing that we agree on together. I promise that i will try to make you happier and agree with you on things more. Just bare with me, its taken a long time for me to get this way & i think that it might take me a while to get back to normal. That's if i can even remember what normal is these days.

Again im sorry && i promise to start feeding you better =] <3

Okay say i know im alittle late but here goes...and you know what thank you for making me think about this i never have....

Dear body,

I am so sorry I have done so many horrible things to year for the past 18 years.Through it all thou you gave me the life of 4 beautiful children. I do not know why you blessed me so much after what i did to you. I still curse you every day I think the only thing I didn't complain about was my blue eyes. I am so sorry the stretch marks are from you love too me that you grew and protected my children, the broken crooked nose again not your fault some one did it to you ,you had no say. The scars were not your fault either they are from all my bad choices i made in men. That they treated you that way. I am so sorry that I did not see how much I abused you that I didn't stop others from abusing you as well. Please find it in your heart to forgive me and I promise from today every time I look in that mirror no matter what you look like I know that it is up to me to love you and to help fix you. I know you are in pain right now from all that yoga but I promise you It will help and make you stronger. I promise not to abuse you anymore in my terrible eating habits or by allowing others to abuse you or break your bones. I will help you grow into a smaller and healthier person as I know you are struggling with the weight. There is some things I know I can not change for you and I promise to love those things (boobs) Its not your fault you had to make them so big to feed my babies. You did what I asked you to. So I am sadly and strangely thankfully that i have any at all no matter how droopy,(btw when looking at the surgery options you aren't that bad as most ) =) sorry for not seeing that. So I have always put you down for your flaws but never really accepted the truth that it was my inner self that was flawed not you. And I am sorry for ever saying you let me down you didnt I let you down!

So no more to drugs,fat or all the starving I put you through,heres to a new day where I truly love you for what you are.

 

 

thank you all for your stories you opened my eyes and my body truly thanks you for ending its criticism and abuse. now i feel so crappy =(

I'm not quite ready for a heart to heart with my body, but I thought I'd give it a bump in case anyone else is...

Dear body,

I want to say I'm sorry for having mistreated you and feeding you with comfort food to hide my feelings. I'm sorry that since you were a little child I kept making you gain weight and lose weight fast. I'm sorry for those couple of years that I drank vodka just to fall asleep, liver especially you I'm sorry. I'm sorry for thinking that if I make myself unattractive enough that it would protect my heart from hurt or abuse from a man. I'm sorry for not honoring your beauty and letting you shine when you clearly were super fantastic. I'm sorry that when we had our daughter, I didn't protect your skin so I gave you stretch marks, I'm sorry for that. I'm sorry that I gained 80 pounds during that pregnancy and gave you gestational diabetes, I was horrible to you, I'm sorry. I've learned from my mistakes and will never do these things to you again or at least try my hardest. I'm sorry I binged on chips and cookies last night -- I know your pissed about that, I'm sorry

So I promise to get you back to your healthy weight and size and let you glow and shine and not be afraid of the attention and tell you every day that you are gorgeous no matter what the scale say's ... I love you so much and will never let you down again and will never put you on this back and forth losing and gaining cycle that I have put you through -- I will get my head and heart together and stay focused to keep you balanced and protected for the rest of your life. I vow this to you! I'm so sorry for guilt I have been putting you through and the depression -- I will take good care of you and feed you what you need to shine again and be gorgeous no matter what size you are. You are so beautiful and I will never let you down again.

I love you,

Soraya

Just stumbled across this thread and felt it deserved a bump.

 

Dear Toes and Penis,

I will, some day, be able to look down and see you. 

Stomach, you have been served and you have 90 days to vacate the premesis.

Right elbow, sorry about banging you on the door while doing laundry last night.  Trust me, I feel your pain.

Cheers,

JTH