This past Sunday, I participated in the Peace, Love & Pure Fashion show at the Buckhead Theater to benefit Bert’s Big Adventure. Bert Weiss, the popular radio host from Q-100, launched his eponymous non-profit organization to allow children ages 5 to 12 with a chronic or terminal illness, to experience a weekend with their families at Walt Disney World®.

I got involved with Pure Fashion because I thought the event sent a good message: To promote healthy body image and self-awareness for teenage girls, while helping them choose fashion that is age appropriate.  That message is especially relevant for me, as the mother of a pre-teen girl and the inspiration behind the launch of my new Get Fit 4 Girls fitness class. I started Get Fit 4 Girls, so girls at the pivotal ages of 8-12 get a positive introduction to fitness when they’re young. By starting early, my goal is for girls to equate exercise with fun so they develop healthy habits over a lifetime. (We all know how much harder it is when you get older to kick start an exercise program!)

As a vendor at the event, I set up my table with literature about Get Fit 4 Girls, and other elements of my business, from the psychology side to personal training. There was an immediate sense of camaraderie among the other vendors at the event. Everyone seemed to share a common link — women in their 30’s and 40’s who are having a hard time finding time for themselves because of juggling busy families.

Those are the moments when I feel I have the chance to empower them as women — because a healthier mother means a healthier family. There is simply NOT a magic bullet or a standard formula to apply to everyone. I try to encourage busy women to find structure for their lifestyle and recognize the power they have to change their bodies and their lives! It just takes one change to begin the momentum to put other change into effect.

One woman stopped at my table to ask me about personal training. She told me she felt guilty investing any money in herself to improve her body or her appearance, even though she was unhappy with her weight. She said, “I should be humble and I shouldn’t be vain, because if I’m looking too pretty or taking too much care of myself, then I’d be selfish.”

This is how I responded: “YOU DESERVE to take care of yourself. When are you ready to start?” Developing a positive and SELF-confident (not a synonym for SELFish, by the way) view of yourself is the best way to encourage the same things in your children. Our daughters will emulate us — for better or for worse. Ultimately, fashion won’t mean a thing, unless she can wear it with confidence! And isn’t that what Peace, Love & Pure is all about?