The phrase "body positivity" has gained some attention in the last couple of years. According to The Body Positive movement's website, their motive is to “uncover the messages that have influenced your relationships with your body, food, and exercise and develop a weight-neutral approach to self-care, to become the authority of your own body by sorting out facts from distorted societal myths about health, weight, and identity.” Interesting, right?

At its most basic form, I understand body positivity as feeling comfortable in your own body, regardless of its shape or size. That is a really empowering message for everyone and I totally stand behind that! While it has the right intentions, the intended message and its connotations are easily twisted. Plainly said, there is becoming a difference between the idea of body positivity and the concept of taking care of your body. The two ideas are becoming diametrically opposed, considering that it feels like you have to choose one or the other.

Before you get your pitchforks ready, let me explain. I support body positivity but to an extent. I agree that everyone is uniquely beautiful and should love their bodies. Men and women alike were created in a perfect image and we should always build each other up. With that being said, I do not agree with overlooking unhealthy behavior. I do not agree with people who exploit body positivity into an excuse for an unhealthy lifestyle. I cannot get on board with those who celebrate obese or underweight bodies, even though I do believe they are just as beautiful and cherished as the next.

You should be able to support body positivity and also feel motivated to stay in shape. How are you loving your body if you are not managing it correctly? If your car needs an oil change, would you ignore your mechanic's advice and keep driving it? Would you try to convince other people that your car does not need an oil change and they should love and support your car, as it is? No. You would change your oil because you want your car to last as long as possible. If you love your body, you should strive to take care of it. End of story.

I cannot lovingly support someone if I know that they are engaging in something that is not healthy. While everyone's bodies are beautiful in their own way, that is no reason to neglect your own health. Of course, extenuating circumstances can contribute to weight loss/gain (i.e. hypothyroidism, hormonal imbalances, etc.) that we have no control over. But body positivity tends to justify unhealthy conditions, such as obesity or malnutrition. It is easy to go along with this, simply because we do not want to risk offending someone.

No matter how you feel about yourself, you are beautifully and wonderfully made. With that being said, you were given one body to last you a lifetime. Healthy is beautiful, whatever size it comes in. Because without our health, we have nothing (regardless of whether anyone accepts our weight or not).