Movie "Embrace" - Should we really say goodbye to the thigh gap

Yesterday I finally watched the movie 'Embrace'. What I like about it and what I don't like about it? Well, there are a few things...

Embrace is a movie, published in 2016, Trailer here. The main topic discussed in the movie is body-shaming, body loathing, excessive weight loss, and the daily struggle of all women to keep it up with what the media presents them: A lean and sexy but photoshopped model. 

The Body Image Movement is a fight for a natural and realistic body image. Women should see themselves as something positive and accept their bodies and learn to love them. This Movement started to redefine and rewrite the ideals of beauty. 

"Lose weight, reduce wrinkles, fight cellulite; we’re constantly told to fight a battle to be someone other than who we are. Women and girls are constantly lead to believe they’re not as good as they should be. And why? Because every day they feel they’re being judged on their appearance and how far away it is from an unachievable ideal.

At the Body Image Movement, we’re on a quest to redefine and rewrite the ideals of beauty. Our job is to harness and facilitate positive body image activism by encouraging women to be more accepting of who they are, to use positive language regarding their bodies and others, and to prioritise health before beauty. Our goal is to reach as many women as possible around the world and speak to them about how we can learn to fully embrace and love our bodies.

We say no to…

• Excessive “Photoshopping” of body images in the media
• Being programmed by the media and corporations into accepting unrealistic body images
• Prescribing to the notion that being a certain weight determines whether you’re healthy
• Sexualisation of girls in the media and modern culture
• The objectification of women
• Society and advertising preying on women’s insecurities"

And this is also what I like about the movie. It is time to fight this unrealistic ideal that the media presents us on every advertisement, the internet and every magazine. Every woman is different. We are not made like Barbie dolls. We are not all skinny, and we don't all have a classic 90/60/90 runway body. I like the idea that women encourage women to love their own bodies and accept themselves the way they are made. 

I see a lot of potential to prevent young women from getting an eating disorder. Advertisements are made to manipulate us. Every day. The Body Image Movement is made to bring this fact to our attention. Being aware of it is the first step to a new perspective - to a new way of self-reflection. 

The movie really shows us the negative side-effects of extreme dieting and how it is not healthy for our body and emotions to be skinny. There is always pressure to stay lean, to lose more weight and to become better and better in aesthetics. The movie also presents us women that are totally in peace with themselves. Women that love their curves. This is a really good aspect.

If I could bring up some critic, I'd say that one very important aspect is missing: The fact that obesity and a high body fat percentage (we are talking about someone that is clearly overweight) is not good for us. Simply for heath reasons we should try to be in a healthy weight, curves are ok, a little body fat is ok too, but not too much.
The same way they critique diets, they should critique overeating, binging and excessively packing on more and more weight. Every thing should be in balance, for our emotional and physical well-being.

I can see a second part of this movie that focuses more on long term aspects. I can understand that everyone has his or her ups and downs, and still: Emotional and physical stability and balance is something that is best for us. 

Us Women, we should finally stand strong and believe in ourselves. We are able to love ourselves. We are able to hold and keep a healthy weight. We don't need to compare ourselves to other women, we can see ourselves in the unique way we are.

In the end it doesn't matter if we have or if we don't have a thigh gap. It is nothing that we should care about. Happiness and Heath are aspects that are really important. A thigh gap is a trend that people care about in one year but not in the next one. It has nothing to do with health. It has nothing to do with happiness. Just embrace your legs as they are.

MEET in Gastown / MEET on Main

Hey, if you ever come to Vancouver, this should be on you top ten to-do list. Meet in Gastown or Meet on Main. I can totally recommend this restaurant, and now I'll tell you why.

Maybe you have experienced something like that in the past: You walk into a restaurant, you read through the menu and you just want to order everything.

Whatever I ordered so far was out of this world. When I first discovered MEET, all I could order was one of their burgers. They have so many delicious (all vegan) burgers on their menu, it's incredible (for example a "southern bbq burger" with whiskey sauce or a "mac n' cheez burger" which is loaded with mac and cheese sauce made from cashews). I always thought I'll miss out on something if I order one of their bowls or a salad instead of these crazy delicious burgers (that - by the way come with a little side salad and a mountain of fries). I was wrong. Their other dishes (for example "the lovely" - a bowl with brown rice, kale, coconut bacon, marinated organic tofu, shredded carrot and a fantastic almond satay sauce makes me hungry just thinking of it!) are also very good! They have a really tasty chili sin carne on their list, that you can always order on the side! 

However, for your first visit, I would always point to the burgers on the list. 

I don't really know if you can make a reservation (because we ended up there more or less spontaneously) but I would definitely recommend that. This place usually is extremely crowded, sometimes the waitress told us to come back in one hour. 

I didn't really get to order many desserts, because I was just so satisfied that there was no need for it. Next time, I will definitely try the deep fried banana or a cheesecake. 

The pricing is more than fair. You pay around $15 for a main dish, which is - in my opinion really a good price considering that there will definitely only be vegan food on your plate and some of the ingredients are organic!

If I am asked which location I like better, I'd go to Gastown. I just love the atmosphere there, vintage tables and loft style come together in the old part of the city. It's located at 12 Water St. and Meet on Main is located at 4288 Main Street. 

Check out the menu here.

Fact is: You get everything here. Vegan, optional gluten-free. Healthy and nutritious and a little greasy and fast-food-style. Go and check it out!

Loverope - a simple individual positive reminder

Dear Readers,

I am very pleased to finally start this english blog! Besides some technical issues I was dealing with a full schedule so I just couldn't really get myself to write and post.
But I really want this blog to be filled with quality, with things I want to share and thoughts I have at the moment, than just being all about creating content and promoting things to make money.
Or, to say it in a positive way, I want to be who I am and I want to share whats happening in my mind. Be who you are is a message that we should all remind ourselves - everyday.
One way to do so, is Loverope.
I found Loverope on Instagram. Loverope, is a customized simple individually handcrafted bracelet, that reminds you of exactly what you want to be reminded of. 
Whenever you look on your hands, you can read the words on your Loverope - and yes, thats a good way of reminding yourself. Lucky as I am, I won a Loverope thanks to a Giveaway, and mine says now the words Vegan, Love and Namaste. These are three little reminders, that are very important to me.
Vegan: Veganism is not only my way of eating food. I don't need to be reminded to eat vegan food instead of non-vegan food. ;-) The word Vegan is a daily reminder of being active, and spreading the vegan message.

Love: Love reminds me of loving myself. For me, its always easier to give Love to others than receiving it from myself. In this case, my biggest challenge is to think positive about myself. 
Namaste: Namaste is a word I really got to know in my Yoga Teacher Training. Translated it means: 'I see the Light in you.' It helps me realize that there is the same light in everyone of us, and it helps me being less judgmental. It's also a good proof that there are things, words, and sayings that I know for a very long time, but it takes some time to really get the full understanding of what it means (to myself).
If you are interested to create and order your own Loverope, check it out here
(worldwide shipping, $20.95)
__________________________________________________________________________
HERE IS YOUR DISCOUNT CODE - 20% OFF YOUR ORDER: JULIALECHNER20

What I personally really appreciate is the use of Vegan Leather. 
I also want to thank Chris from Loverope, he answered some questions for my blog. You can read the full interview here. Just a quick spoiler: You can feel his wisdom in his answers!

1. Before we get into this, could you introduce yourself and give one fact about yourself that you really love.
Hey I’m Christian and one fact about me is that i put Love above anything else.

2. Can you tell us what the idea behind LoveRope.bracelet is and how this project has started? Sure, I grew up in an entrepreneurial family (my parents have a family business selling mushrooms & berries - importing and exporting them) and my dad overtook that business from my grandfather, but he was never really happy with it although it brought good financial returns - sooo I thought to myself: “Well no matter what I do in the future it will be something that will make me happy despite of the money I earn and things I do." So i went out into the world and created myself through post-its sought out to make the world a happier place through a 12.000 mile road trip and now I am creating my own bracelet that shall spread the love. 

3. Do you believe in the power of mantras? Do you think we need a daily reminder of being positive? 
Thoughts = Words = Actions = Reality
So if you ask me if Mantras are power I would say Mantras = Reality
We all need a daily positive reminder to love ourselves everyday a little more - this can come in form of a person/situation oooor a little bracelet in my case :)

4. Do you think meditation is important? Does it help us to manifest what we want to experience in life?
Meditation creates space for your divine vessel to receive (informations, manifestations, guidance)
Manifestation is an essential tool for our human experience - many things can be experienced so much better and richer when they are manifested - like how it is to be an entrepreneur and have your own company or startup or blog or prodcut

5. How important is gratitude in your opinion? 
Gratitude = Start of all Abundance
If we don’t foster Gratitude daily we are walking a way of these abundant mentality and you know where we end up when we don’t direct our thoughts in a positive direction (thoughts = reality)

6. Are you vegan? (if yes, when and why did you make the transition?)
I am not vegan, I am vegetarian. I was vegan for 3 months but then gave it up due to social settings and frequent travelling/non-availability to get pure vegan choices - that might change in the future. India is a great country to eat 100% Vegetarian all the time.

7. Is there anything you want to say? 
Yes, follow your dreams. They are all possible. Take baby-steps and leave. your. mark. You are unique just like everyone else. Thank you soso much for your time & effort to read that.
You can reach me via:
www.chrisitianmauerer.com - www.loverope.net - www.instagram.com/christianmauerer - www.instagram.com/loverope.bracelet
Eternal Love & Blessings
Christian
♡