Every Monday, That's Fit's very own "charged up" wellness guru Laura Lewis presents The Passion Principle, a weekly guide that will help you achieve your greatest potential through words of inspiration, cutting-edge ideas and action tips you can use in your every day life!

I want you to fall in love. With you. And with the parts of your body you wish you could change. It turns out that if you accept and love what Mother Nature has given you, you'll be a lot healthier! And if you don't like what you've got, then it may compromise your health. (More on this in a bit.)

Here's a question for you: What certain "part" makes you unhappy? Your feet? Your legs? Your chest? Your lips? You know, genetics have a way of passing on features for generations, and, really, it's best if you think of them as part of your history. Something to be loved, not hated. Case in point. Butts run in my family. I am talking booties that are just always there and always will be, no matter what we do. Instead of being tall, lithe and super-"modelesque," genetics has gifted me with more athletic build. And my daughters, now 16 and 20, have ended up with similar physiques. Ever since Victoria and Tarah were small, it's been tremendously important to me that they not grow up hating their bodies. So not only have I always told them how beautiful they are, no matter what phase they're going through, I've also dropped in that they probably will end up having "Mama's" derriere, which isn't a bad thing. Just more to love. As the girls went through puberty, sure enough, the curves made their debut. Statements like, "You've got the butt, girls!" or, "Your curves mean you are becoming a woman" were common. To this day, I have never heard either one of them say they hated their posteriors. Mission accomplished. Or was it? "I don't like my thighs" or "I wish I was tall" have popped up.

Did you know that 95 percent of women do not have the body type represented in the media? It's no wonder that many of us feel we are not measuring up to what is deemed "beautiful." In our culture, where super-thin models and actresses grace covers of magazines, movie screens and televisions everywhere, it is hard to escape. As a result, the pressure to look a certain way may not only affect the way you think and feel about your body, but it can ultimately make you sick. In a study conducted at Columbia University of more than 170,000 U.S. adults, a correlation was found between how one perceives her own body weight and how healthy or unhealthy she is. And this is an interesting fact researchers discovered: Since being overweight is less accepted among whites, these women were more likely to have negative body perceptions than Hispanics and African Americans. Researchers also looked at how many "unhealthy days" each woman had. Take guess who had more sick days. Read more here.

Being healthy and fit is important, yet the fact remains that maintaining a positive and accepting attitude regarding the bod that you have plays a huge factor in the quality of your life. Do you need a body image attitude adjustment? Here are a few tips to help you along the path of self-acceptance.

• Identify the body parts you love. Your nose? Your skin? Your eyes? Your cute feet? Feel that love. Keep it in mind as you go through your day, especially if you start beating yourself up about not having the perfect tummy.
  
• Love the beautiful you. Do you have any idea how beautiful you truly are? The real you? The person inside? If you begin to work on self-love and self-acceptance, you will eventually feel a great sense of relief and a decrease in pressure to look a certain way. Take a look around. How many models are walking around in real life? Many people live fulfilling lives even if they don't ever achieve what they feel is that "perfect" physique. It just takes a change of heart to start loving your beauty.
  
• Work with what you've got. Working out will help you love your body. To help bring balance to your body, you can target areas with specific exercises. If you have a pear shaped body, perform exercises that make your upper body stronger. Are you considered an apple shape? Do exercises that help tone your mid-section. Check out these exercises for apples and pears, demonstrated by yours truly. Granted, you need to set realistic expectations regarding the results you desire. Do poochy tummies run in your family? Accept your middle then. Take belly dancing classes, where an ample tummy is revered and considered sensual. Learn to love your belly instead of loathe it.
  
• Admire and respect others. Look for the beauty in others. The sparkle in their eyes, their vivacious spirits, the lovely color of their skin, their powerful muscles. Try looking for the positive and beauty in other people around you. Try to see "who" they really are. Once you begin to appreciate, admire and respect the imperfections in others, then it may become easier to accept you -- warts and all.
• Be positive and say, "I Love You!" A positive attitude goes a long way, especially regarding your health. Loving all that you are, especially the parts you cannot change, is essential for living a fulfilling, happy life. So dump the negativity and embrace the brilliant, fabulous person that you are, inside and out. I must say, there is nothing more beautiful than a person who glows with a spirit filled with love and joy.