Change The Way You See – Not The Way You Look!
Tips for a Healthier, More Positive Lifestyle from Operation Beautiful:
Stopping Fat Talk and Body Acceptance:
- NEW You are More (© of Selah)
- NEW Zumba: My Healthy Fitness (© of Mackenzie)
- Letting Go Of My Negativity (© of Jennifer)
- Don’t Say Something to Yourself that You Wouldn’t Say to a Friend (© of Therese)
- What Does It Mean to Have Healthy Body Image? (© of Food For Thought)
- Teenage Girls and Body Image (© of Food for Thought)
- Self-Discovery to Improve Self-Esteem (© of Tracy)
- How Do I Look? (© of Anywhere There’s an Airport)
- My Health Journey: Body, Mind, and Soul (© of Parita)
- How To Become Fat Talk Free
- Why Fat Talk Rears It’s Ugly Head When You’re Stressed
- How To Look On The Brightside
- 20 Ways to Love Your Body (© of NEDA)
- Not Limited to One Size or Shape (© of Megan)
- Who Says? (© of Heather)
- Dear Society (© of Mackenzie)
- She’s Not “Fat,” She’s Your Sister (© of the Well Read Hostess)
- What’s in a Picture? Not the Whole Story (© of Heather)
- What is Beauty? (© of Lauren)
- I’m Not Perfect But That’s OK (© of Amanda)
- Face Your “Flaws” (© of Meredith)
- More Love for the “Flaws” (© of Ashleigh)
- No More Self-Doubt: Just Bloom (© of Kelsey)
- Learn to Love Your Body Regardless of Size (© of Mara)
- What if I Stopped Comparing Myself to Others? (© of Mara)
- Sing It: Glee’s Message of Confidence (© of Running with Sass)
Bullying:
- Dealing with Bipolar Disorder Beautifully (© of Emily)
- Enough Happiness to Go Around (© of Heather)
- A Tale of Middle School Bullying (© of Anne)
Pregnancy:
- The Size of Your Heart, Not the Size of Your Clothes (© of Stephanie)
Attitude
Healthy Diet and Exercise:
- NEW 5 Ways to Elevate Your Mood (© of Roopa)
- Yoga Love (© of Kate)
- No Pressure: Body Image and Weight Loss (© of Julie)
- Why You Should Stop “Dieting” and What To Instead
- Superwoman Syndrome: The Dangers of Overtraining (© of Oh She Glows)
Eating Disorders:
- You Are Worth It (© of Joy)
- What To Do If You Have Distorted Eyeballs (© of Alex)
- NEDA Week Survivor Stories: Monday’s Stories, Tuesday’s Stories, Wednesday’s Stories, Thursday’s Stories, Friday’s Stories, and Saturday’s Stories.
- Create Your Own Standard of Beauty (© of Cristina)
- A Resolution: Love Your Body (© of Shannon)
- How to Talk to a Friend Who May Have an Eating Disorder (© of NEDA)
- Learn more the symptoms and warning signs of Bulimia, Anorexia, and Binge Eating Disorder (© of NEDA)
- How I Overcome Binge Eating (© of Oh She Glows)
- Binge Eating: While You Shouldn’t Feel Ashamed (© of Oh She Glows)
The Media:
- NEW Beauty, Redefined (© Lexie)
- NEW Beauty… and the Billboard (© of Jamie)
- How to be a Critical Viewer of the Media (© of NEDA)
- Magazines vs. Reality (© of Oh She Glows)
Change The Way You See, Not The Way You Look Week Guest Posts:
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I JUST DONT understand y?? girls always TALKK BAD ABOUT
THEMSELFS !!! ITS WRONG;( ….!THANX!! 2 OPERATION BEAUTIFUL;) THINGS R STARING TO CHANGE;) !! .. <3 ~" what shows on the outside is COVERING UP on UR TRUE .. inside…what u say on the outside is MAYBE not HOW u fell on the inside …WHAT PEOPLE SAY ABOUT UR OUTSIDE CAN BE STRUGLE TO UR INSIDE…….." INSIDE?/! OUTSIDE???… U PICK WHO U ARE?!.. U ARE BEAUTIFUL LIKE A SHINNING STAR UR AMAZING UR DREAMS CAN GO FAR !!! your presious beauty can overcome the ones that put ur shinnying star dark ;( be happy make a sparkkk!! 
!! u r beautiful the WONDERFUL way that u are!! 
ALWAYS REMEMBER YOUR A SHINNING STAR!! LOVE YOUR TRUE SELF 4 WHO U ARE! <3 <3 ,3 XoxO!! 
" i created this poem myself
ITS TRUE LOL I HOPE IT INSPIRED U??! 
"
You seem happy! And you should be…
Nice poem though, I like it.
Such an exciting week! Can’t wait to pick up my copy this week and I’ve got all sorts of stuff brewin in the ol noggin to celebrate this amazing campaign. What a fabulous inspiration and motivator it all is.
i agree!!!
xOXo!! <3
This whole website seems like an alien concept.
For as long as I can remember, through varying stages of being overweight/obese, I’ve had total strangers make snide comments, sometimes yelling out their car windows that I was a pig. I’ve been called: pig, sow, cow, hog, tank, dork, loser, four-eyed freak, (I had the ‘gift’ of being born a bookworm, and wear glasses), hippo, elephant, disgusting, a reject, and more.
When I was 8 months pregnant, a skinny guy on a ten speed yelled, “SlimFast!” because I guess he couldn’t tell I was carrying a child. Men, women, and children have called me fat and ugly, declaring it as if I hadn’t heard it before, or as if I wasn’t aware that that’s what people thought of me.
How am I supposed to undo 38 years of destructive programming? This is just another “positive thinking” gimmick, and it makes me pretty sad–the only kind of pretty I’ve ever been.
you do NOT deserve to be treated like that. I would NEVER do that to someone, nor would any of the other Operation Beautiful do-gooders. Just know that to the people who love you and respect you for who YOU ARE, you are beautiful… you deserve respect. I believe that so strongly as I type, I have tears in my eyes!
Caitlin
If you knew that what they were saying wasn’t true than you just need to learn how to get over it and see whats more important than what you look like.. Life is a gift, and your body is just where you live in right now..Body dies but you don’t. So don’t stress out about it. Now you ve gone thru that and this is your second chance of starting different. Focus on what’s important. Good Luck! You can do it, just give it a try.
when i was in fourth grade, a classmate called me fat. his name was abijit. I’m never going to forget him, but when i wake up in the morning to go on a run, no matter how much i don’t want to or how tired i am, i think about him and wish he could see what a strong person i am now. when someone calls you something, it isn’t true unless you believe it. when i first started trying to get in shape, which is still an ongoing process, i bought all the magazines i could find that would encourage me to be my best and surrounded myself with people who loved me. it works!! you are beautiful. you just have to help yourself believe it =]
Carole-
I do not have exactly the same problem you have, but I do have my own. I have spent my life never being perfect enough….It started out (and continues to this day) as not being the daughter my mother expected me to be, to not being a perfect employee to a boss that is truly impossible to ever please. As a result, I have never felt good enough for myself. I spend as little time in society as possible, because then I do not get judged as much….but I am the one who suffers for that. I have been working very hard at changing my concept and expectations of myself, but it is a very long and difficult (and worthwhile!) process.
You ask, “How am I supposed to undo 38 years of destructive programming?” I can tell you how I am doing it….with one positive thought at a time. I made a list of quotes and affirmations that I read a lot. I memorize some of them and repeat them often. You rebuild yourself with one thought at a time….
I’m 13, you sound beautiful to me.
Hi Carole. I am 15 years old so i may not be the best person to give you advice but i think that i should for some reason. I know how it feels to be bullied and called names all of your life. I had to leave school and start homeschooling because of that. I know how it feels like to be ashamed of yourself. (Btw i also am a book worm a four eyes
) but you have to remember why people decide to do this. They do it because they need to make someone else feel bad so they can feel good about themselves because they have extremely low self esteem. YOU as a person have to be sure of yourself as a person. It is not easy to do i should know. i am still in the process. But i will tell you that there is nothing better. You have to surround yourself around people that love you and accept you just as you are because you are beautiful. No matter what anyone else says. You have to love yourself in order to over come this. And Operation beautiful is not a gimmick. The reason is because when you think about that post- it note that you left is going to help someone that is in a worst situation that you are. You have to give to be happy. N 38 years of messed up name calling can be changed when you love yourself and do something about it. Stop sitting down and feeling bad for yourself. You have to be strong for your children. They deserve to have a mother that loves herself as much as she loves them.
am a woman who amazingly like woman who are fat and you may say what? Yes I love my mom she is a queen a diva and no word can express her and she is over weight even in our country where people think your fat your rich and your life easy ,but my mom thought me that if you are confidence in every aspect of your life you’ll soar when the others sink and now I care more about my studies as medicine student and not about my look
I believe that this site could change the way that people look at themselves, but it will take time for people, like myself, that have been put down or been putting themselves down about how they look. I have been doing that since I was 12 and I am almost 16. I know I am a teenager and teenagers can be alittle drastic but it still hurts to look in the mirror and see yourself as the ugliest person alive. I see myself this way because of the fact that people dont care what they say and how it hurts. They dont understand that every time they say anything hurtful or cruel, just to say it, they are breaking someones spirit and confidence and thrashing their self esteem. I have been called ugly by one of my friends and that hurts. But getting called ugly by strangers hurts even more. My mom is beautiful, she even got an offer to model for a modeling company but turned it down for her kids. I know I look like her but there are many suttle differences. She, my friends, and family can tell me I am beautiful and it doesnt sink in. I think ‘oh they’re just being nice’ or ‘are they blind?!’. People giving strangers little compliments like, “you have beautiful eyes or skin/skin color or hair/hair color”, boosts your confidence for awhile then you feel better and if more people did that for one another maybe everyone would feel better about their image and the way they were made.
I cant’ believe there is this site! I ve wanted to do what you guys are doing
and yall did it before me..lol But that’s just showing me that there are still good people and people that are real. So God Bless all of you!
I agree. (: Thank you all for this. I need it and so do other girls
This whole operation is simply amazing! I just read about it in Glamour magazine and was incredibly moved by this concept. It’s an easy way to help any and every girl feel accepted and confident, something we desperately need in this world. Thanks Operation Beautiful for letting me realize the beauty in myself today! Keep spreading the word! You are all gorgeous, no matter who you are!
just couldn’t wait! I purchased my third copy of your book since it became available on Tuesday. Gave each of my daughters one as I mentioned and was going to wait and read theirs but decided today I HAD to have my own copy…
It’s not just OK to feel good about yourself it is liberating, empowering and beneficial to all who know you… thanks for paving the way to this end for us all!
I love the message of this site! I think it’s so wonderful and that everyone should learn to look at themselves in a more positive light.
I do think that the message should be against more than “fat talk” but also against just negative talk of all kinds. I know a lot of girls who don’t realize how beautiful they are and it has nothing to do with weight.
I only recently discovered this site, and I’ve already fallen in love with it. I’m 18, and I have been battling anorexia since I was 13. When I was fourteen, I hit my lowest point, I was 5’7″ and barely 90 pounds. I’m much better now than I was back then, but I still worry about my weight a lot, and I have to remind myself not to skip meals. I think this site is really going to help me. Thank you. <3
Not only will the site help you but we – the girls of the world- are also behind you 100%
Amazing, that is the only word I can use.
Mothers tell there children daily how beautiful they are, how caring, thoughtful, funny. We advise our girls, friends, sisters, cousin when asked no that looks good on you, no that doesn’t make you look bigger, fatter. We tell the people we love all the words we feel to describe them, do they believe us, no. People close to you feel you say it because you love them, you have a vested interest in making them happy and not hurting them so you say all that nice stuff. Well thank you, thank you for posting your notes for others to find at seemingly just the right moment when they need those words that just seem to spark what has been said to them close and your notes bring it home for them.
I love the idea of focusing on how you “see” not how you look!!! I just finished the book “if You are Going to Eat at the Refrigerator, Pull Up a Chair,” a great read with an easy message: shift the focus away from criticizing- put that energy toward “seeing!!”
I am a teacher and I have had “girl’s club” for fourth and fifth graders at my school and I think this is a WONDERFUL way to continue to boost the self esteem of girls.
GREAT thoughts Caitlin. I am excited to be able to contribute to your cause by making girls feel good about themselves.
Ms. P
I just want to say I think this is a great idea. I remember when I was in HS I made up quotes on cards to be in my car because I figured not everyone who would journey in my car would really be a true friend (how I knew that then is beyond me) so I wanted them to get something positive out of it even if that wasn’t the fact they got to hang with me.
I think I will make up some cards to put in my purse to spread around. I have always had quotes/vs/affirmations in list form, on walls & in notepads. They have always helped me re focus when I was not feeling like I was in the emotional space of Love, Grace & Acceptance that I want to live my life from.
Blessings in your journey! Thanks for the inspiration!
I dont get it:
Why do people look at themselves, then a magazine and cry? What is it about trying to look perfect that makes you want to die? Could it be that all this media is a lie? That perfection is a thought process, not fueled by TV? That we are all perfect, in our own way of beauty? (sry im a poet it just came to me)
I saw your interview on the Today show and was literally on fire with ideas afterwards. I wanted to post notes right away! I went online and ordered the book. I got the box from Amazon yesterday and started reading immediately. I felt the same way–jazzed, excited, on fire! I texted a teen to start a top secret project in our area and school. I can’t wait! Everytime I read a few pages, I get tears in my eyes. I read Carole’s comment above and was in tears again. So many women, of all shapes, sizes, ethnicities and ages, feel so unsure of themselves and I can’t wait to attempt to make a difference! I posted my first note today, compared to my teenage accomplice’s dozens! She’s already been to the gym, workplace and Walmart! I put mine on the mirror of the fitting room I was in, when I realized I had to go up a size.) I wish I could send you a hundred post-it notes, Carole…we can change how we see ourselves and help others too! Thanks, Caitlyn, for giving me a direction for my energy and passion!
Love his mission. God Bless you.
Check out this video. Lyrics fit your mission
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ks3R2BwyO0
I’d just like to say that this site along with givesmehope.com, and sixbillionsecrets.com has inspired me to create a website to help those who are feeling down, or even happy and want to privately and anonymously share it with someone. So THANK YOU <3
hereforyou143.weebly.com
everyone human, as a manifestation of an ever-conscious, ever-creatively (and more complex) evolving universe is an incredible expression of transcendent beauty! glad to see people beginning to celebrate the odds!
I read about this in a blog on thoughts.com… Im going to start doing this! It is a wonderful idea everyone should do it!
Today at school I felt upset overall just not good enough. I was thinking about a relationship I had with a guy, but we’re no longer together because he found someone else. I’ve seen pictures of the girl and she is beautiful. I looked at myself and said ” I don’t blame him..look at me.” I felt horrible about myself. I walked in the girls bathroom and saw two post-it. One said “Smile, you are beautiful even if you don’t see it <3" and "You are beautiful just as you are, you don't need to change a thing
" I started to laugh when I saw those posts, but in the end it put a smile on my face.
This website and cause is truly awsome!
How to be thankful for yourselves if you know that someone would leave if you got uglier/fatter/whatever?
I cannot speak for other people but I don’t think I could love someone if I knew they didn’t truly love me.
If they leave you because in their eyes you have gotten uglier or fatter… then they never truly loved you in the first place and your life would be much improved without them. There should be no room in any ones life for someone who loves them by ultimatums. Love yourself and you will THEN find someone who will love you for who you are, not your jean size.
i wish every girl and women could see themselves as beautiful. i didnt think i was and then i met my boyfriend. he doesnt call me baby or babe or sexy he smiles looks in my eyes and says, “Hey beautiful.” Now i belive him. im gunna start posting stickey notes Everywhere and hope someone else looks at this website its just so inspireing
u r amazing!!!
I just wanted to say thank you. I am reading all of these wonderful comments from wonderful girls and women everywhere. I lead a youth group of high school girls, and we’re planning on challenging them to take part in OB. I’ve had so many issues with my body and my personality, but this actually makes me step back and think, “wow, look at how beautiful I really am.”
idagf what others say about me and how i look. i know im special. i might not be the same way in others eyes, but i dont care about what they think, my family loves me, my friends love me, and my boyfriend loves me. im a size 17 and about 145 lbs. so what personally, i dont want to be skinny. i dont see the point in being skinny. my doctor told me im healthy. and what make me soo angry is that i see skinny girls who are self-conscience about their bodies, but its a physiological thing. i think the main reason why girls are so self-conscience and want to be skinny, is guys. guys think that a hot girl is skinny, and the girls get that mentally, but actually theres never that perfect guy or girl, a true man will accept you for your true self, the biggest turn on in a true mature guy, is the confidence a girl has in her own skin
Reading all of this makes me feel like all of this is too good to be true. I’m only 19 and my family still wants to say that i’m big and ugly and that i need to lose some weight. Even my own mom loves to say these kind of things. Yes, I do think I’m fat. Every time I look into my mirror, no matter what, i still feel fat. Even as of right now, I starve myself so I could be just a little skinnier so that i could fit in because everyone around me is skinny. Very skinny. It gets worse when some random stranger walks up to me and asks “Are you pregnant?” to which I reply a no and then they turn away and start giggling. I’m too afraid to go swimming because i’m not “sexy” enough to work a bathing suit. Then comes a group of men that pass when i’m in my bathing suit and shouts “thunderthighs” and laugh loudly. I just can’t bear the fact that I have a huge belly that really does make me look fat AND make me look pregnant. It’s blown my self-esteem through the roof and it makes me sad to think of how i would feel when I do become pregnant…..
I’m sorry, Sarah. Those things are horrible and serious blows to one’s self-esteem. There are many women out there who are curvy, but they have confidence in who they are and would stare down that stranger who asked if they were pregnant and offer a withering, “No, I am not, but perhaps you are tactless?” I am so sorry you are struggling with this. I would NEVER treat someone else like that. You deserve to be treated a LOT better. The first step is realizing that you deserve this. Your worth is NOT determined by how you look on the outside.
I see you are in college. In college, you can talk to a therapist at the counseling center for free. You can also talk to a dietitian for free. To go talk to someone about how you are feeling and figure out HEALTHY ways to get healthy (and health comes in many sizes!!), it would probably be the greatest gift you could give yourself.
hey beautiful you may be amazed to hear this,in some part of ethiopia women are fed for about two months before their wedding so that they should be beautiful ‘it’s not the size of your jeans its the size of your heart ‘
I love this operation. It has helped me a lot as I sadly suffer great (sometimes manic) highs and crashing lows. In these lows I not only am a hell to talk to I am a hell to myself. I am my own worst demon.
But whenever I am in a low and comparing myself to some stick insect on a catwalk that is considered to be perfect or beautiful, I remember this operation. Watch a few videos from here and read a few articles and it helps me through the terrible lows.
Of course when not manic, or depressed I am almost contempt with my body. I don’t see myself as fat, I just think I need to tone up a bit and eat a little more healthier so that I don’t fall ill again.
It’s the first time I see this blog. And it is so amazing. Learn to love yourself and others for who they are, inside and outside. So different.
I have a cousin, she is 9. She is beautiful, she is and she is very thin even for a 9 year child. But I heard her mother always being rude with her (calling idiot, dumb, …) and one day her sister (20 year old girl) saying her she as a big ass. She is neither a dumb nor a “big ass” girl. Just a 9 year old girl, happy with life, spontanious and a little shy.
It is horrible to hear how mothers talk to their girls essentially. Most of mothers are so rude with her girls, it hurts me.
Even my mother says you “chubby girl” to me. I was almost crying, even if I’m 26 now. It is hard to hear your closest ones tell you that. Please, all mothers, help your daughters to feel confident with themselves. The world is rude enough to them.
After I saw my cousin, I decide to tellher as much as I can how beautiful and intelligent she is. Because she deserves it and she is so young, she needs confidence to grow up happily.
I thought I can’t change the way I look at myself until I come here. I’m crying while writing right now. I’m 26 now and I don’t know how will it work but I find a blog that can help.
And I’m amazed to see a blog like this one among all of these magazines and websites that tell women to change their bodies. Thank you. Your site is so inspiring.
It’s sad that the current American generation needs a site to tell them to think positive. I grew up in a third world country and to us, it’s common sense- don’t downgrade yourself. The media really messes with insecure people’s minds.
Although I approve with this message, does it excuse obese/overweight men and women from losing weight because they’re “beautiful” the way they are? They might think they are beautiful but their arteries say otherwise. In that case, it is beneficial to change your appearance/lose weight, not because you’re taking example from fashion magazines but because you want to live life to the fullest and be healthy.
No, Operation Beautiful encourages people to focus on being healthy, not to focus on size or weight. Size and weight do not equal health.
My mother has always told me “if you do this, you’ll look ugly” or “don’t get fat… you’ll be ugly like me”. She tries to tell me anyway, “you are pretty emily, just be careful”, but I wouldn’t believe her. This site has taught me that my mother has always had self-confidence problems, and she has been passing this onto me for my whole life. I plan to change how I see myself now… because I know I’m beautiful, and no one, not even my mother, can tell me otherwise.
Thank you operationbeautiful!(:
U know now that i looked up this site i have felt better about myself and its all because of u!! Now i felll beautiful inside and out!! THANK YOU!!!
LOVE ,
DEAVON
It’s very important to start thinking this way NOW, because the self-criticism – especially about your looks – can only get worse as you age. I am now 60 years old, and believe me, society is as merciless to older women as it is to teenage girls and 20-somethings who are not “perfect”. Basically, when older women are not being portrayed as someone’s fat, jolly, sexless old grandmother, we are usually seen as boring, sagging old hags. I know that sounds harsh, but try being a dating site, where men do not even LOOK at women over 50.
In any case, there are some very positive aging things happening – there’s a terrific blog called “Advanced Style”, for example. Great inspiration (perhaps for YOUR grandmother!!)
And, btw, I was super-impressed by that group of girls in Texas who stopped wearing makeup. Very, very cool girls.
this website helped me so much its amazing! My friend and i are teaming up to try to make other feel beautiful. Because i know before I found this website i was one of those people who thought they were ugly and what a horrible feeling that was. So for the creators of this or whoevers idea this was thank you. God bless you for helping all the women out there! <3
This is awesome!:)its inspired me to start doing that also.
Guys today are SO judgmental, I think us women need to be encouraged more so than usual in this day and age because clicks and guys write us off because we aren’t their version of ‘beautiful’! I love Operation Beautiful because it helps everyoneee be encouraged about their body and who they are! I still struggle with how I look, but I wont let my insecurities define me. Thanks Operation Beautiful! ?
i see those post-its all over my school. mostly in the girls bathroom. i love the idea of doing this. i’m very tempted to put some up myself. thanks to operationbeautiful.com, the girls in my high school can think good about themselves.(: <3
last year when i was i grade 6, i was THE ONLY fat/ugly kid IN THE WHOLE SCHOOL. every one was skinny and beautiful. and whenever someone asked me how much i weighed and i told them, they would all start laughing at me… and be like, ” OMFG! r u serious!” i was 120 lbs then, now i’m almost 140 lbs. and there was one time.. toward the end of the year… i was at the playground at recess with my 2 of my friends. we were on the teeder todder, and they were both on one side and i was on the other side by myself… and it was level.. so it looked like they both equaled one of me it was so emberassing… and the were like, ” holy crap! fatass much!! hahaha” i struggled with what i looked like then… but now it’s even worse.
i know you are a beautiful person, hanna. life is not school! trust me.
thanx : )
Some lovely ladies have been posting little notes in the girls’ bathroom at Sunshine Coast Grammar School in Queensland Australia. It makes me smile everytime I see one, Operation Beautiful is kind of amazing.
Being in 8th grade almost in high school, is hard. Being made fun of my whole life for the way I look is challenging. I’ve noticed that I’m not ugly. But my weight is the problem. Everyone says ‘guys don’t just want looks’ ha. I wish that was the case at my school. All the guys at my school are complete JERKS. Yes, I understand it doesn’t matter what they think. But only being 13, being made fun of by the same people since I was in 3rd grade kills me. My mom is always on me about loosing weight. Trust me. I TRY. But I guess my best isn’t ever enough. I feel like every where I go I’m being judged. I want it all to stop but it never will. I’m told by my friend ‘Oh Madison you’re so gorgeous’ or ‘Madison you’re soo pretty’ ‘Madison you’re so beautiful’. Being told that, then walking into school every morning and having people look at you like you’re some disease, really gets to you.
I want it to all STOP.
But it feels like it never will.
It is so true Madison. You know what guys really want? A girl who is confident and loves life. Focus on that and trust me – middle school and high school does last forever.
I promise you it gets better.
I am a mom of a 15 year old daughter. (and a 12 year old son, who I am trying to teach to see the beauty in all women from the inside out) She is trying to help girls understand that it doesn’t matter what is on the outside that the inside is really what counts. She loves the idea of the redefining beauty idea that the girls in Tx started and is trying to start it at her school in Plant City Fl. She is very inspirational to me even though from the age of 2 we taught her that it doesn’t matter what others think as long as you are happy and love yourself. I have had alot of self esteem problems and my daughter is helping me see that God made each of us different for a reason… so we can show others that the beauty is inside. I have realized that when i am happy on the inside my outside shows it.
) and we are trying to find other ways to show other women they are loved. This sticky note project will be great to get it going… Especially when we have the Strawberry Festival in Plant City.
She has started a facebook page (redefining beauty … gray back ground pink writting and a pink heart… everyone join
I hope one day to be able to have you come and visit my daughters group of girls. Thank you for this website and the idea of spreading the love.
I really like the idea of this, but there’s one thing that’s bothered me about all of these websites.
Most of them don’t ever say how hard it is being skinny. I know being skinny is supposed to be “good”, but it’s not as easy as everyone makes it seem. Being called anorexic hurts. So is being told to go eat a Twinkie, or a cheeseburger. You would never tell someone to eat LESS if you didn’t want to be rude, and the same goes for being skinny.
It doesn’t make life any easier, especially if there’s nothing you can do about it. Trying to gain weight for me is like how some people have trouble losing weight.
I think people just need to see that being skinny isn’t something that’s not a problem. Very few people actually take the time to say “it’s okay to be underweight.” Instead they’re mostly saying “it’s okay to be overweight.”
I’d love to be able to walk into the girl’s bathroom after lunch one day without someone saying “are you bulimic?”
Or maybe when I don’t eat lunch one day because I feel sick, I’d like to have someone ask “Are you ok?” instead of “You’re so anorexic.”
Just take the time to look at things on the other end of the spectrum. It’s not always easier.
Hi Samantha! Check out this guest post: http://operationbeautiful.com/operation-beautiful-not-limited-to-one-size-or-shape/
I totally understand what you mean!
I must admit. I have serious issues with the way i look. It’s so bad, i’ve refused to let people love me and when they’ve told me their feelings i’ve told them that they couldn’t have them for me because i’m just too ‘ugly’.
I know, how terrible, but i just refused to believe i was pretty and loveable.
I’m so happy that a friend of mine on another site requested this site. Infact, it actually made me cry a little reading some of these articles. I want to feel better about myself. I want to stop looking in the mirror and feeling repulsed by the person i see before me. I know how hard this is going to be but i’m determind to do this. I feel that sites such as this one will be a real big help towards that goal too.
The strange thing is, i hate it when women (and men) put themselves down. If someone thinks they’re physically unattractive i disgree and try so hard to convince them they’re beautiful, but when someone does it to me, i refuse to believe them. I know what you’re thinking but i think everyone is beautiful in their own way, exacpt me. I hope this makes sense.
Thank you for the site though. I can’t wait to read more.
i know how you feel… i feel like crying every time i look in the mirror, and i feel like everyone is beautiful.. except me. and whenever someone says that i’m not ugly… i have a rlly hard time believing it. it has kept me from being fun and outgoing… and it’s made me kinda depressed…
My whole life (even in kindergarten!) People have given me a bunch of crap. In fact just recently, someone put up a post it about your website. It read ‘don’t let words bring you down,” and below it someone had written ‘unless you’re Whitney.’ Not only was it hurtful, I was crying. Because those are good words of advice.
Not only is that horrible, but it’s also bullying. Whoever wrote the first note may very well have been thinking of YOU when they wrote so it keep your head high – and tell a teacher when people tease you. It’s not right!
When I was born , I was 5 pounds 5 ounces.
Petite, and tiny.
I am one of the shortest girls in my school, and very thing.
I have always been worried someone would think I have an eating disorder or something, because I am so thin. But its only because I am naturally smaller, and I am a gymnast who practiced 4 hours a night.
I used to think it was horrible, especially as I got into middle school since I was so small-chested and clothes were hard to find.
But my mom brought it to my attention that even though I don’t see it , some people would love to be in my shoes. She said “when your 30, and people still think your in your 20′s, you’ll be happy”
EVERYONE IS BEAUTIFUL!
When I was born, I was 13 weeks premature & weighed 1 pound, 1 ounce. That is actually true and I nearly died. But thanks to the wonderful nurses and doctors, I survived and I’m now 16. I’m smaller than my friends but they don’t care. When I got bullied badly at school last year in Year 11 (I’m from the UK y the way), I felt so bad about myself. But my friends stuck by me, and eventually the bullying stopped.
Thanks to this website, I feel lots better about myself and now I don’t care if I’m small. I love me for being me. So thank you so much for this website, Caitlin. OB is amazing!!
im 13 and i want to know if you can make post-it otes for people like me that dont have a eating disorder but are scared of gettig fat
you can make post its for everyone who needs a little mental boost
Okay so, I’m a freshman in high school. There’s a lot of bullying at my school and there are so many gorgeous girls who walk through the hallway everyday that make me question the way I look. When I went to wash my hands in the restroom before lunch the other day, I looked at myself in the mirror, but instead of seeing my face, I saw a post-it note. “You ARE beautiful. NEVER doubt yourself. OperationBeautiful.com,” it said. It literally made my day. I just wanted to say thanks<3
I love this!
I just found your blog. Such an amazing movement. Very inspiring. I’m working on being kind to myself. Your blog really made me smile.
Hi girlfriends,
I battle daily with keeping my self-esteem afloat when everything seems to pull it down. As I was driving home today I was history textbooks in like 300 years and them talking about how silly us 21st century people were focusing on what they looked like and killing themselves because of it. It’s so amazing how something so inconsequential and unfair is our entire self-worth and importance. I can’t wait for the day when I look in the mirror with my sagging boobs, skinny legs, frizzy hair, and broken out skin and think, “you are the coolest chick i know, and im pretty lucky i got to be you.” Who knows if that day will come. Somehow the truth has to find me one day
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