I was at a friend's house over the weekend and she gave me my Christmas card with pictures of her beautiful family on the front. After looking at it a few times I noticed that she wasn't in any of the photos. I asked her "why??" First, she said "Oh, because I was the one taking the picture". Nonsense, I thought. They have enough money to hire a whole team of professional photographers.

Something sounded fishy, so I probed further: "What's the REAL reason?".

She finally confessed that she looked "chubby" in all the pics she found of herself and decided to exclude them from her FAMILY Christmas card.

The family where she is an essential member.

The family who would fall apart if something happened to her.

She didn't feel thin enough, therefore she didn't deserve to be seen in pictures.

Her family of four was now an incomplete family of three...all because she thought she was too chubby to be in front of the camera.

I was sad, angry, and annoyed all at the same time…this is just another way that women allow their weight to interfere with living their lives. The story we tell ourselves about how unworthy we are because of our bodies is bullshit.

I share this with you to tell you that, if you've done this: 1) you're NOT alone, and 2) you should end this practice NOW.

It's important for you to show up and be seen, in real life and in pictures. That's what the world needs from you.

You ARE good enough to be part of the picture. Act like it.