Over the years I have struggled with embracing my body type, and have spent a fair amount of my young adult life being unhappy with my shape, as I tend to carry most of my weight in my stomach and thighs. However, in my recent years I have learnt to be kinder to my body and all the wonderful things it can do, but don’t get me wrong I do obviously still have those days when I don’t feel so confident in my own skin. Before I jump in, I wanted to share my size with you which is between a UK 10 and 12, as I tend to wear a 10 in tops and 12 in bottoms; although, I could probably fit into a size 10 pair of jeans I prefer to size up so I am comfortable eating my bowl of pasta. I decided to share this information with you as although, this may not be viewed as the ideal size this truly has no value to who I am as a person and the body I live in; the most important thing is that I am comfortable and happy in my own skin instead of forcing myself into a tight pair of jeans just because it is what society views as ‘the size to be’. Over the years, what was viewed as the shape you had to have has changed, in the early 2000s women were portrayed by the media as having to be skinny and over the last couple of years this has changed to curvier women being valued by society. My point is that there is truly no perfect shape and you will never be able to fit into what society wants you to be so you may as well love yourself, no matter what shape you may be.
Getting past your size…
It is funny how a simple number could tear so many people down and leave them feeling dejected but this has been one of the top things that has put me down over the years; I remember going into Topshop to try on jeans and feeling embarrassed as I had to pick out my size from the back of the pile. However, what I have learnt over the years is that no one actually knows what size you are and if a number in your jeans is making you feel down, cut out the tag. If you feel comfortable and confident in what you are wearing then that’s all that matters - so next time you go to try on clothes, ditch the label! A company who I want to briefly mention is Zeba, founded by Nabela Noor, who is known for redesigning beauty through her company by getting rid of standard sizing and instead using positive words of affirmation. For example, a size large is instead labelled as fearless, so do look at their website if you find yourself getting too hung up on your size.
Stretch marks
Growing up can be particularly difficult when you suddenly see these lines start to appear on your body and you don’t know what they are, where they came from or how to get rid of them. These marks appear over time when the skin becomes stretched, most commonly during puberty or when you put on weight. These are often seen as an imperfection; however, I have decided to embrace my tiger stripes that sit on my hips. These marks show a journey of what your body has been through, whether that be losing weight, gaining weight, building muscle, having a baby or whatever reason you have them just remember that they tell your story and are part of you that is beautiful.
Looking back to the past
Since my body has changed shape one thing that I have found natural to do is compare myself to how I have looked in the past, longing for the days when my waist was smaller and I no longer had hip dips. Although, I have come to accept that this is just simply part of life and as we grow up our bodies change shape. It is at these times that I like to remind myself of all the things I am grateful for about my body: my legs which carry me all day long, my stomach which digests my food and my lungs which allow me to breathe at ease.
Bloating
Bloating is a normal part of everyday life, as after eating a big meal your stomach naturally expands as fills up with air and gas from the food you have just eaten. At the end of the day the most important thing in life is to enjoy yourself - you will never look back on eating that extra slice of pizza and regret it but you will look back and regret restricting yourself so much and not truly living.
Confidence
Finding clothes that flatter you and make you feel comfortable in your own skin can really help you to embrace your own body image, for example, I have learnt that wearing skinny jeans doesn’t make me feel good about myself but wearing a nice dress does boost my confidence. So I would advise you to buy clothes that make you feel happy, which is not necessarily just what is said to flatter your body type but what makes you feel good in your skin.
Dieting
I have often found that when I go cold turkey and try to restrict myself from absolutely everything I end up sticking to it for a week only to then binge out on what I have been craving all week, making me feel even worse. So, in my experience it is best to not completely cut things out such as chocolate and other treats but limit what you do allow yourself. One good way of doing this is allowing yourself one guilty pleasure a day maybe a fizzy drink or a muffin, which stops this sense of longing to indulge, giving you a healthy balance.
Working out
In the many years that I have been working out at times I have found it hard to be consistent, which stems from a lack of motivation for working out for the wrong reasons. Like I am sure a lot of people do, I used to focus on the physical aspect of working out, wanting to look good and get in shape. This is not a bad reason; however, if this is your only source of motivation it can become hard to stay on track, as it takes a lot of time and dedication to notice physical changes in your body, which can be demotivating when you don’t see this straight away. Now I work out to stay healthy as well as wanting to stay in shape, so instead of feeling frustrated for not seeing changes after each workout I instead feel proud and happy for trying to better myself.
Acceptance
At the end of the day, there is nothing I can say to make you love yourself, it is a journey that you have to go on which can take years but I hope this gives you a place to start. It is also important to remember that even once you have accepted yourself and your body we do still all have days where we don’t feel confident in our own skin, but you have to take into account and remember that this is just one day and tomorrow you will be back on top.
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