Do one thing a day that scares you.
Well, hitting publish on this blog post – sharing the bike photo – is absolutely terrifying (I’ve procrastinated allllllll day).
I’ve long talked about my genetically imperfect eyebrows – and curse them every single day – but never had the guts to show anyone what I look like without them penciled in (it took me a solid year of living with Nick before I would even show him!). Just looking at the below photo on the left makes me cringe. But you know what? It’s me… me, in the predawn, in my element and completely eyebrow-less doing what I love most: riding my bike.
The photo on the right: The best out of about 20 I took just before filming a video for the on the trainer series (also a scary move, seeing myself on camera talking). Because we all pick the best selfie and delete the bad ones, right?!
Today I’m accepting pro runner Lauren Fleshman’s challenge to redefine beauty. Here I am, REAL and owning my imperfections – eyebrow-less and all.
Your turn… how are you #keepingitreal?
19 Comments
Erin – I love your posts! So encouraging! I am thinking of ways to keep it real now.. Thanks for sharing the article about the Lauren Fleshman challenge. Media can really distort what’s real in this world! Love seeing the confidence & encouragement in the ALL – NATURAL! xoxo!
I read Lauren’s article yesterday in Runner’s World and was completely inspired. Way to face a fear and share something about yourself that has been an insecurity. I think you are absolutely beautiful. I recently acknowledged some of my own insecurities with cellulite and stretch marks around my rear, and have been learning to accept my body for what it is. Cheers to keeping it real!
Love that you’re participating! I’ll have to snap a shot after a particularly tough workout this week.
I can’t believe it took you a year to show Nick!! Okay, all kidding aside, I LOVE this post 🙂 And things like this are one reason why I enjoy working at Lulu — people are so vulnerable when it comes to spandex. I will write about something #keepingitreal here soon!
You are so awesome!! I don’t even know if I have a bad picture cause I delete them right away! I will have to look! I do hate almost every single race picture that has been taken of me. 🙂 Thanks for #keepingitreal
You may dislike your eyebrows in that picture, but did you see your arms?? They’re incredible!
Having three kids with lots of weight gained and lost over an eight year period has left my body pretty marked up-I even have scarring on my face from hormonal breakouts while pregnant with my second son. I used to hate, HATE my body, but have learned to appreciate and treat ‘her’ better since I was able to carry and give birth to all my beautiful boys. She even lets me swim, bike and run on occasion 😀
You are absolutely beautiful al natural!!
We all have things we are less than happy with…for me, I don’t like my “tree trunk thighs.” They make shopping for pants a challenge. I DO like them when I am cycling and running since they are the powerhouse that keeps me going, but when I get dressed for work I get irritated 🙂
I don’t think you have anything to worry about with your ‘au natural’ look; personally, I quite like it 🙂
My body dislike is the way my thighs appear in race photos, they’re huge! I should gather up all my race photos and post them to my blog to show how I’m #keepingitreal
I agree with Amy – you may dislike your eyebrows, but the first thing I saw was your arms! Magnificent!:)
Ugh, I’m so guilty of this. I pretty much refuse to put up pictures of myself if they haven’t been edited. And by edited I just mean a filter, nothing major but still…I need to get over it.
I’ve been losing my hair for many years and have just accepted that I’m balding. I try to keep the rest of my hair short so the ones that grow don’t make me look crazy. And my kids joke around with me about it. I’ll never wear a toupee or do anything to try and “grow back” any hair. On the plus side, at least I’ve got a nicely shaped head, or that’s why my wife tells me, anyway. Ok, that just sounded bad!! {:-o Good for you, Erin, for embracing your imperfections!
Good for you Erin! I don’t think they look bad at all but I know if it’s something you don’t like, then it’s something that is scary to announce to the world. I have a big ear. Yeah, just one ear is big. Maybe I’ll do that because I don’t know if I can squeeze a thigh like Lauren did. Bless her soul. Lol! Way to keep it real!
Loved this post. You should check out this fantastical blog about the very same thing by my other fantastically awesome friend: http://heyeleanor.com/
Also, as a ginger, I totally feel your pain with the eyebrows. I never even bothered trying to have them though. I look really weird (to me anyway) when I get my makeup done and they draw them on. haha.
[…] bodies real, aka #keepingitreal. Erin, my equally awesome triathlete blog friend from Minneapolis, accepted Lauren’s challenge, and today, I am […]
Great post, Erin! Thanks for being vulnerable and sharing yourself where you are not totally comfortable. My face gets kind of red and blotchy sometimes when I workout / run hard for a while — at least that’s something that I notice, and others may not. I guess at least its a sign of some heart pounding exercise! Thanks for keeping it real.
Beautiful shot! You look fantastic REAL!
I am keeping it real in my PJ’s with tea and dark chocolate this Saturday night : ) And usually keep it real as I rarely wear any make up!
[…] I did read Lauren’s Post about Keeping It Real, but it wasn’t until I saw Erin’s post that I was inspired to make one of my own. On a daily basis, I keep things pretty real. […]
[…] in midnight brown. I stash these inexpensive eyebrow pencils everywhere (because genetically imperfect eyebrows). 6. NARS liquid eyeliner stylo in black. Shame on me, but I occasionally sleep in my eye […]
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