Body confidence is something I’ve struggled with most of my life. Growing up I would always eat more than I was hungry for to try and gain weight. My friends in middle school would make comments about my weight and tell me that I was too skinny. Then in high school, I had a best friend who was SO gorgeous and was a few sizes bigger than me (meaning she was like, a size 6 compared to my 2, so silly to think back on now!). I was so jealous that she had boobs and a butt, and I was super narrow and bony. I never realized how my jealousy was more about not feeling good in my own body until I was much older, after my overeating turned in to too much weight gain. Once I was at the point of being overweight and not feeling good about myself from an opposite extreme, I started thinking back and realizing it was time to really try and love my body. I know there are a lot of people out there who also struggle with their self-image, so I wanted to share 5 tips I live by for boosting body confidence.
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Stop Comparing
Comparing ourselves to other is natural, we all do it. However, it’s not healthy! The only thing that comes out of comparing yourself to others, is self-doubt. And the thing about comparing, especially when we compare the physical aspects of ourselves to others, is that we are usually comparing something we don’t like about ourselves, with something the other person doesn’t like about themselves either. For example, my girlfriend always mentions how much she loves my long legs. She wishes she were taller. But having long legs has been a freakin’ struggle my whole life! You know how hard it is to find pants that actually fit in the length? Damn near impossible (thank GOD cropped pants are in right now LOL).
Change Your Story
As humans, we tend to react to situations and experiences by telling ourselves a story. For example, I’m self-conscious about my hip area. I have an extra few pounds around my middle (the tire lol), and if someone looks at that area of my body for too long, I immediately tell myself they’re looking at my fat. Then I tell myself they’re judging me, and they think I’m fat, which turns in to “I’m fat.” In reality, they were probably just admiring my high-waisted Mother denim jeans that I wear all the time cause they’re super cute 😉 Changing the story we tell ourselves can help with boosting body confidence, and can also lead to increased positivity and gratefulness in our lives in general!
Learn More About Your Body Type
One thing that really helped me feel better about my body, was to learn more about it. Just by doing research about the shape of my body and how my particular body type gains and loses weight, I was able to feel more empowered to love how I look. I have a narrow, athletic build and mesomorphic body type. This means I have a long, medium built frame and am naturally muscular. Learning this changed the way I feel about my muscular arms and lanky frame like night and day.
Focus on Accentuating What You Love
We all have things we love about our bodies. I’m not gonna hide it, I love the fact that I have visible abs. I’ve worked really hard to strengthen my core and the fact I can see that hard work is pretty amazing. I enjoy wearing and always feel good in a crop top, so I tend to gravitate towards them. One of my girlfriends loves her back and wearing backless dresses to show it off. Find something about yourself that you love and play it up 😊
Dress for Your Body Type
It took me a long time to realize what types of clothes looked good on my body. Since I have narrow hips and curvy thighs, I look best in a dress/skirt/top that hits 1/3 of the way down my thighs or lower. Anything considered “mini” looks absolutely terrible on me because it hits at the widest part of my thighs. Really take a good look at your body! It’s not about hiding things you don’t like, it’s about working with the body you have and putting the best version of yourself forward.
Boosting Body Confidence
I wanted to wear this sporty dress to really show some of the body confidence tips I’ve been talking about. When I look at these photos, the negative part of my brain wants to put my body down. It wants to say “oh, there’s that tire!” and at the same time ask why the heck you can see my hip and pubic bones LOL. But the positive “love yourself” part of me says f*ck it, I’m fit, slim and I feel great in what I’m wearing. Plus, I’m sure the parts of me that I hate are actually traits some people wish they had. Also, want to know a secret? Other people don’t see us the same way we see ourselves #SHOCKER. I read an AMAZING article that you can check out here that talks about how we tend to scrutinize ourselves with an enormous amount of detail, when others looking at us look at our features much more generally. It was a really interesting read, I definitely recommend checking it out!
What tips do you have for boosting body confidence? Or do you have any self-image stories you’d like to share? Leave me a comment and let me know!
xo,
B
Photos by Rachel Cossette
Loving these words of wisdom and what you are saying is so important! Every girl should read this!
Thanks Aliza! xoxo
Great tips! I struggle with self image daily.
Thanks Sara. I feel like when we struggle with something we should share it, I love connecting with others who feel the same way and empowering each other!
yes YES yes! to stop comparing ourselves is challenging but powerful and also helps you change your story…and same with the long legs/cropped pants–they’re really helping us tall gals thrive (:
So challenging! Haha glad to find another tall girl out there with the same struggles LOL!
Dressing for your body type is so important. It won’t work if you try to squeeze into an outfit made for someone else’s body.
So true! It’s one of the best things you can do for yourself.
Not comparing ourselves to others is HUGE! We all have different body types but not one is better than the other. We need to learn to embrace and love our unique selves!
Yes, I totally agree!!!