Appreciate our bodies as they are.

I have been watching Davina McCall's podcast on You Tube "Begin Again with Davina", and she is talking with Eleanor Mills. Eleanor is a journalist - successfully so - and was made redundant at 50. I hear many successful stories of women, and men, who have faced similar fates and have thrived after this life changing experience and who go on to live their dreams. I wonder how many don't have such successful stories though? Anyway, Eleanor is really quite inspirational. She has also developed Noon Circles which is similar to the Ostara community and it is great that so many women are able to join supportive environments. The world is a worrying place to be politically at the moment, and women often face the brunt of it along with children whenever there seems need for a scapegoat.

Eleanor speaks about how competitive of each other women can be, how readily we criticise each other because of being too fat, or thin, accusing her of letting herself go or trying too hard, of looking tired, or being self-absorbed. We can debate why this is, or where it has come from and why it persists. Or we can just stop doing it.

Tell me, have you ever needed anyone to tell you that you have lost or gained weight? Have you ever welcomed anyone saying you look tired unless it is followed up with a willingness to lighten your load. No? I thought not. We know already. It is great when someone tells you you look great when you lose weight, but this puts pressure on you to keep it off, and as we get older losing weight is not always the compliment it once was.

We know the BMI was developed around the early part of 20th century in America as a method of establishing costs of medical insurance. We also know that the only people able to afford medical insurance then was likely white, middle classed males. We also know that in the 1990s the BMI healthy category was lowered some would cynically say to increase the premiums of those waking up newly overweight following the category change. Whether this is true or not, again doesn't matter.

Can we agree to stop commenting on other women's bodies? Can we agree to appreciate our beautiful, strong, angular or rounded, soft, smooth, nurturing and supportive bodies in all their shapes and sizes? Our bodies go through a lot; they follow such short cycles and subject to so many changes throughout our lives.

And they deserve to be celebrated.