Mini Cheesecakes

As mentioned in my previous post, I love to bake.

Recently my good friend Emma (no not me, I do actually have a good friend named Emma who also has a baby, and yes, she does exist. I'm nuts but not completely out to lunch), celebrated a birthday. To celebrate, I made her batch of mini cheesecakes with Oreo cookie crusts. They were awesome! I liked them so much, I made another batch this week.
Next weekend, I'm going on a 'girls weekend' with Emma (yes, the not made up one), and our friend Fiona. I'm super excited to spend some time hanging out with my pals and pigging out on whatever I can bake and fit in the car.

I'm sure many of you are wondering, "Doesn't she work in the fitness industry?". The answer is yes, I do. I'm an interesting paradox whereas I live to both exercise and eat anything I can my hands on. I guess some would say that I exercise so I can eat, but I don't say that. If I didn't exercise, I would still eat. Ask my husband about what I can eat. He's seen me eat on such an epic proportion that I would give the professional hotdog eaters a run for their money.
Here's the thing though, society today celebrates body image as a virtue. Thin is in; diet this, don't eat that; guilt guilt guilt...blah, blah, blah. Unless you are working towards a healthier version of yourself, indulging in the mantra that a certain figure will ultimately increase your self worth is ridiculous. Your health determines your self-worth.
(Side note: Often times, a healthier version of a person is a thinner version. I'm not speaking to that type of thin. I'm talking to the unrealistic images we see in magazines and on TV. All those on a fat-loss crusade, I get it and I'm 100% supportive of fat-loss for health and fitness).
Thin people hate themselves; fat people hate themselves. The problem is that people hate themselves PERIOD.

Are we giving ourselves reasons to be unhappy?
If so, why?
Why do we allow ourselves to be swallowed by the guilt surrounding our behaviour towards striving to acquire a certain body image portrayed by the masses?
Does this theory work in reverse? Meaning, if I praise my 'self' will I be happy?

I can think of a million reasons why people are unhappy and unfortunately, most of the time, it comes down to body image. "I hate the way I look", "I hate the way my body moves", "I hate my hair-line", "I hate my obscenely large baby toe".

My unhappiness stems from the external rather than the internal; but I suppose everyone's does too. People wouldn't hate their bodies if they weren't surrounded by mediums enforcing the negative.

According to my Mom, my grandfather used to say, (in a super awesome Polish accent), "If you don't have your health, you don't have anything."
He's right.
I also believe that mental illness is included in that phrase.

I'm taking the rest of the day to reflect on positive body image to see if making myself feel good about my body, makes me feel good about my self. It can't hurt and it means more cheesecake!