Like many other young people in the world, I struggle a lot with my body image. I never seem to like what I see in the mirror, and I never know what to do to fix it. As I was locked in my house during the COVID-19 outbreak, I started to recognize that my mindset is the problem, not my body. I realized that no matter how many workouts I did, diets I tried, or all the other weird tactics people swear by for weight loss, nothing would work until I loved my body for how it was. As I began my journey to loving my body more, I tried many different routes. Some ideas worked, and some didn’t. Listed below are some approaches I took that helped me love my body more and more each day.
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Give yourself time.
A total mindset shift is not going to happen overnight. You won’t wake up one morning and just decide to love yourself. Recognize that you’re going to have good days and bad days. When you have bad days, try to figure out what triggered your mindset that day. Was it something you saw on the internet? Are you comfortable in what you’re wearing? A big issue I struggled with was trying to force myself to wear clothes I wasn’t fully comfortable in to try to convince myself I loved my body. All this did was make me feel self-conscious the whole time and feel insecure. I learned that on days where I feel really confident, I want to wear a tighter shirt and show more skin. But on days when I didn’t feel so great about myself, wearing looser clothes helped me feel more confident and ultimately created a positive ripple effect in the following days.
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Pick five things you love about yourself each day.
Before you get started on your daily tasks, take a few minutes to pick five things you love about yourself. I try my best to not repeat this list daily and find new things. I also try to focus on the little components of myself that aren’t as obvious, such as a freckle. This helps you notice small things about yourself and allows you to dive into insecurities from a new angle. This isn’t always an easy task, but it helped me recognize my insecurities based on what I refuse to pick. I learned this helped me take a minute to really look at my body to find what I love and, more importantly, what could use more love.
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Follow influencers with your body type.
Following influences with my body type makes me feel so much more confident. Seeing someone fully love their body the way it is, one that looks like mine, makes me recognize how hard I can be on myself. If they can be so confident in their body, why can’t I? If I see them wear a certain outfit I’m too insecure to wear, it makes me realize that I’m being too critical of myself. Rather than following any accounts promoting unrealistic standards or unhealthy habits, this gives you a chance to see your body the same way others do. If you don’t judge their body, why would someone else judge yours? It gives you an opportunity to see someone of the same shape and body type love themselves the way you should.
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Know the function of each part of your body.
This may sound silly but know what the purpose of each part of your body is for. There is typically a patch of fat right above the uterus, serving to protect one’s reproductive system. Despite this, many people hate this beautiful and important part of themselves. Taking time to learn what each part of your body is for gives you more of a reason to respect your body. When you understand that your body is on your side, you begin to love your body more. I found that focusing on the basic purpose of each part of my body made me love it more. Even just repeating phrases like ‘my hips are wide for childbirth, my legs help me move,” etc. helps me appreciate these parts of my body more.
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Journal your experience.
Journaling each day helps you reflect more on what makes you feel confident and what makes you feel insecure. I found that reflecting on each day gave me something to look back on. On days where I felt very insecure, I would read entries for days I felt really confident, and it made me want to go back to that mindset. One days where I felt confident, I looked back on days I felt insecure to see how far I’ve come since then. It helps you see your progress on self-love and motivates you to continue your journey.
As I said in the beginning, this is not an overnight process. It takes time with good days and bad days. But as you learn to respect and appreciate your body, remember that you should always love yourself the most. It’s easy to get lost in today’s standard of beauty, but at the end of the day, loving yourself should always be the standard.