What This Woman Wants You To Know About Striving For The "Perfect" Body

On any given day, we're often overwhelmed with subtle and even not-so-subtle messages that our bodies should look a certain way in order to be "perfect." In one Instagram post, body positive blogger Clare, of @becomingbodypositive, destroyed the notion that we need to be working towards any idea of perfection.

Clare shared a photo of herself showing her stomach rolls in a post to Instagram on Thursday, shutting down the idea that we have to change our bodies at all.

"It’s hard for most people to accept the idea that I may not want to change my body – that I may not want to spend my day racking up steps on a FitBit or use up six months recovering from a tummy tuck or commit to 'losing the last 20 pounds' or spend 60 days doing some shred/cleanse that will help me 'shrink the evidence' massive weight loss has left on my body," she wrote.

Even if she could control her body to fit a certain mold, she wrote, why should she?

"But here’s the thing: even if my body composition was something I could control (???can’t wait for the health and fitspo trolls to come after this one), even if dieting DID work (?????), even if I could restrict my food without a massive psychological implosion – why should I have to?" she wrote. "So what, because my body is not the ideal, I have an obligation to make my body my primary project for the rest of my life? I have to sacrifice my mind, my energy, my time, my schedule, my relationships, my plans, my goals, my dreams in pursuit of a flatter stomach and better toned arms?"

She makes a great point — while it's great to work out if it makes you feel good, you shouldn't have to do so at the expense of all the other great things in your life. Plus, we shouldn't have to restrict food if it makes us unhappy.

"What if I say no?" she continued. "What if I decide I have more important things to worry about – like writing a book or going back to school or finding love and filling my life with adventures? What if we chose to stop 'perfecting' our bodies like it’s all we’ve got to offer the world?"

Clare's post is an important reminder that as important as it is to look after your body, that's not the only way you can stay healthy — and we have more to offer the world than the "perfect" body.