October 06, 2015
Why One Woman Let Go Of Skinny Jeans And Decided To Embrace Her Thighs
Outside of her very young years, Candace Ganger, says she's always been curvy. Shorts were too short, shirts were too tight. She says, "I desperately wanted to be like my friends, I fought the sinking feeling I never would be, could be." As horrible as this feeling sounds, it is not uncommon.
Ganger reports that in the 7th and 8th grade, her weight hit a high. She says, "it was the unhealthiest I’d ever been. Struggling with anxiety and depression, I had no interest in exercise and the bigger I got, the more I binged." She felt alone and that no one understood.
Things changed the summer before her freshman year in high school. She went for a bike ride with her friend one day and that set off a summer of activity and healthy eating. Her body began to change, all but one part. No matter how hard she tried, Ganger could not trim her thighs.
For years, Ganger says, she tried "stuffing them into skinny jeans that didn’t really fit or were unbelievably uncomfortable, doing squats and leg lifts galore, or experimenting with fad diets that left me hungry or binging more than ever before. Post high-school, no matter what I did, this one thing kept me from feeling truly comfortable in my skin. I felt like my thighs were all everyone saw, all they talked about, and for a while, the insecurity consumed me. It was hard to make friends or have relationships because I wasn’t happy with myself."
After two difficult pregnancies, her weight ballooned again and she struggled to slim back down. And she realized something important. She realized she had wasted time. Ganger says, "I never gave myself the credit I deserved and wasted a lot of time obsessing over something that didn’t define me at all."
A year later, she began running. She'd never done it before but she found it comforting. Before long, Ganger was covering distances from 5km to 50km. She says, "I found a comfort in it; a feeling nothing else had given me before. Confidence. I’d soon run a 5k all the way to 50k, proving I could do anything. Through all those miles and reflecting, one thing that was never an issue, even for a second? My thighs."
Granger says she's lost weight since her youngest child was born, however, her thighs remain. But there is a difference in the way she feels about them now.
She says:
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After two difficult pregnancies, her weight ballooned again and she struggled to slim back down. And she realized something important. She realized she had wasted time. Ganger says, "I never gave myself the credit I deserved and wasted a lot of time obsessing over something that didn’t define me at all."
A year later, she began running. She'd never done it before but she found it comforting. Before long, Ganger was covering distances from 5km to 50km. She says, "I found a comfort in it; a feeling nothing else had given me before. Confidence. I’d soon run a 5k all the way to 50k, proving I could do anything. Through all those miles and reflecting, one thing that was never an issue, even for a second? My thighs."
Granger says she's lost weight since her youngest child was born, however, her thighs remain. But there is a difference in the way she feels about them now.
She says:
"I’m okay with my thighs. I’m okay with wearing a bigger size if I need to. I’m okay with not having a thigh gap. I’m taking care of myself and I’m healthy. My kids have a role model now and my thighs have nothing to do with that. My thighs have lived. They’ve cushioned my fall more than a few times. Given my children a place to rests their dreary heads. And most of all, shown me that in my imperfections, I am uniquely perfect."Because of her thighs, Ganger says she came to see that she is so much more than her physical appearance. Without them she says, "I may never have realized that my worth is far beyond the size of my skinny jeans or the way I look in a swimsuit." She goes on to say that she is an example for her daughter, so her daughter can love her own body -- imperfections and all. No matter how it seems, not a single one of us is perfect. Not a one. Sometimes there are things about ourselves we cannot change. We should stop trying and look in the mirror with love and kindness. Have you learned to love your 'imperfections?' Share your story with us. Source: Hello Giggles Featured Image: @biancagabrielaofficial Do you follow us on Instagram? [caption id="attachment_112011" align="alignnone" width="100"]
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