Operation Beautiful is a movement started by blogger and new Queen City friend Caitlin to encourage women to build each other and promote positive body image. Her book, duly titled Operation Beautiful, was released this week and has already climbed to one of the top 10 bestsellers in self-improvement! Have you ever walked into a restroom, gym, or anywhere for that matter and seen a post it note like this one?

I posted this one last summer in the restroom of my office hoping that someone who needed it would find it and spread the message. I never knew if anyone found it, but I have to say it made me feel good knowing I might have had a positive impact on someone’s day. This is the idea behind Operation Beautiful. The movement is uplifting, powerful and can honestly change the way you see yourself. In honor of Caitlin’s book release and fantastic appearance on the Today Show this week, I thought I would share my ‘Operation Beautiful’ story:

That girl you see taking photos of her outfits each day and posting them here for all the world to see has not always been so brave nor confident. Matter of fact, she used to be incredibly reserved and didn’t have the guts to wear some of the things you see her sporting here today. It’s no secret I am short. I have always been short and it has taken me a long time to embrace my petite stature. Growing up in dance, it was never easy to be so short and what I felt was ‘fat.’ All the other girls in dance always seemed taller than me, prettier than me, and downright skinnier than me. Don’t get me wrong I LOVED being in dance and still have a strong love of the ‘sport’,’ but being around these girls was hard.

Needless to say, wearing a leotard and tights didn’t help matters. I knew I could never make myself taller so I worked very hard to be thinner, because one pound on my petite frame looked like ten. I still remember going to the mall with my friends and buying diet pills to share at the lunch table (SORRY MOM!). Then I would go to hours of cheerleading, dance and track practices with little to no energy in my body. It’s amazing the effects of peer pressure and now when I think what I was doing to my body, it makes me sick.

(I’m on the right)

After high school, the pressure of dance was gone, so weight matters quit consuming my life. I put myself face first into the college ways, studying the days away and partying my nights away. I gained more than the Freshman 15 and never looked back. It wasn’t even that I was eating ‘that’ bad (I lived on veggie subs and salads), but the alcohol and lack of activity compared to before helped me pack on the pounds quick. I still worked out, but not nearly at the level of my previous life. I certainly didn’t feel good about myself nor did I really care.

(that’s me on the left)

After college, the added weight began to fall off but my self conscience had suffered from the way I had treated my body. I went to grad school, got engaged and began planning my wedding and writing my thesis. I found time each day to work out and found that my workouts were my stress relief and my time to focus inward. It wasn’t about the weight anymore, it was about making myself feel better. This is when my change started. I began to see myself as a person rather than a number in a pair of pants or on a scale.

Right before moving to Charlotte I discovered Kath’s blog and began to realize all the artificial, processed food I was putting in my body was anything but healthy. I started running again, found yoga and zumba as an outlet for my love of dance and actually GAINED 10 lbs. since moving to the Queen City and starting this blog. I have found I don’t care about that number on the scale or a tag anymore and wear what makes me look and FEEL GOOD. I learned to accept my muscular legs and my short stature and learned what looks good on my body and now I wear it with confidence. It took me a long time to get to where I am today, accepting my body the way it is and expressing my personal style no matter what people or a number might tell me. When you get dressed in the morning, put on a fabulous outfit that makes you feel good and go out there and strut your stuff and quit looking at the numbers. You can be a 2 or a 20, but if feel good about yourself, you look good and that is the best feeling of all!

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