Nothing More Manly

A friend of Haleigh's and Katilyn's got baptized last Sunday, I had the privilege of attending.  One of the men who spoke said some things that really stuck with me and I wanted to share.
He said there is nothing more manly than a man who is worthy , or a man who stands up to what they know to be right.  A man who is able to teach his children righteous principles because he shows by example that he is manly enough, no matter what the world's view is on what a man is.  We hear so much about what the woman's role is but not much about the man.  We as woman compare ourselves to other women, to other wives, to other mothers and wonder sometimes if we are doing the best job, especially young moms.   I also think we worry to much about body image, the media has played such a huge role in that.  Did you know that 8 out of 10 woman are not happy with their appearance?
50% of 10 year old girls wish they were thinner
50% of American woman are on a diet any given day
40% 9-10 year old girls have tried to lose weight, this is all according to an ongoing study funded by the national Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.
8 million people in the US suffer from an eating disorder
The media has continually told us that skinny is better..... an average 5'11" American model weighs 117 lbs an average American woman 5'4" weighs 140 lbs.  They are relentless, and have put celebrities on a pedestal that not only am I sure they don't want the pressure to be on, but that gives our girls a false idea of what real beauty is.  I know our Heavenly Father sees us so differently than the world sees us.
 Being healthy is not being skinny. Anyone who knows me well knows that I LOVE to exercise it's a mental release for me, but I have realized that since I have not been able to exercise at all since the VILLAIN took over, there is such importance on what we put into our bodies.  I love to Bake and love baked goods and Mexican food and Italian food, and Chinese food, and Indian food, so pretty much I love food. I have had to re-train my body to enjoy all of those things sparingly, to allow myself one day a week to eat what I want and the other 6 to take control of my cravings.  It really works, I have been doing this since May of 2010, after Dr. N told me that refined sugar, white flour and processed foods feed cancer cells, I decided I didn't want to take the chance.
I started this post out about men, and I'm going to get back to that, I have researched this week about men and body image and there are very few articles that even come close to what the media has continually forced on women.  To me, the most manliest men are the ones who love their wives unconditionally, who tell them how beautiful they are regardless of their weight or body type, who encourage and support. There is nothing more manly than a man who cares and is not afraid to show it.