Let’s be honest here, I’m not overweight or have any problems over my weight, however, the issue here is i have very little body confidence. I am a size 6-8, most think this weight should be satisfactory to some, but not me! I am incredibly critical about my appearance.
There has always been my constant two issues, my tummy, and my thighs. I am one accustomed to media appearances beliefs, thin is better! In a choice of thick or thin, i choose thin. This idea has been modified by the media as the new in thing is to be thick, the characteristics usually seen in black individuals is what seems to be what appeals to the public today; thicker thighs, bigger lips, and a big bum. 2 out 3 i possess but would happily give up to be a slimmer me. No matter how the ideas change i believe i will always prefer thin, it makes me feel good and healthy even though it doesn’t always mean so!
This is me at my current weight of 62 kilos. As much as I dislike my weight, I’m not one to keep track of it and get this. I do not own a scale, i am only aware of my weight by staying over a friends house. in this picture, i can see that my thighs are too large and my tummy needs to be flatter. Issues with my facial features are a whole different story. in short, i would love to consider myself pretty.
I’ve always been one of those (not proudly) who sees a bigger person show amazing body confidence and has a thought to myself about their health, this has always been my approach to this until i recently read this Instagram comment that said ‘regardless of our concern of the person in the picture, they have chosen to be happy and their health is their concern’. That really brought it home to me, because i was focusing too much on the negative and in a way putting it across as a way of concern, but this was solely because i preferred thin. What i needed to see was the smile of the individual in the picture, they were happy because they had finally become happy in their own skin and not caring about mine and other silly opinions. However, one thing that does irritate me is, those that feel it is their duty to voice their opinion on these confident people pages, its bad enough me thinking it, but to openly declare it to them is someone who truly is not happy within themselves and aims to drag others down.
In short, looking after yourself is key to gaining any sort of confidence, i try to do that by working out and eating healthy and i hope that my confidence will keep on rising. One of the most important messages that are often said is to make yourself happy first before trying to gain the opinions of others.
You are gorgeous. I know the feeling about being critical about appearance. I used to be so critical over how I look. But over the years I’ve learned to love myself more and I’m now at a stage where I like the way I look and I want to focus on being happy. 💕
You are beautiful and deserve to be happy
I like to take a step back and look at myself as though I’m another person, or imagine looking back on my body as it is now when I’m old. We’re all too self critical, but really, when you take a step back and remove the ‘you’ from the picture, it’s easier to see what’s really there – a beautiful, unique body. What would you say if a friend with your build said they didn’t like their body? Would you instantly jump to put them straight because they’re actually beautiful? Then do that for yourself! #BlogCrush
That is such a wonderful view. I’ll definitely keep that in mind
Brilliant post #BlogCrush
Thank you 😘
I love this post! You look amazing, and the most important thing is being confident in your skin.
Thank you. That is what I’m trying to learn
It’s so easy to get caught up in being perfect in other people’s eyes. Instead, we need to worry about being perfect in our own. You are beautiful.
Thank you and I will try
i Love this, its great that you feel like you can speak out about these things. you’re 110% not alone in feeling this way. But you ARE beautiful and have a fantastic figure don’t forget it.
Thank you so much. I think that people should be more confident to talk about it
Great blog post! It’s a great message for people dealing with body issues. Keep up the good work.
Thank you so much
I’d love a body like yours!!! It’s so true what you say about being comfortable in our onw skin and there is always someone who would love to be where you are or have your looks/weight. i also tend to be quite negative about myself so thank you for this reminder to concentrate on the positives. I guess nobody else really thinks about the way we look, as everyone is far too busy worrying about themselves! 🙂 Thanks for sharing with the #blogcrush linky, we’de love it if you could proudly display our badge on your post too!
Thanks so much. Definitely focus on the positives!
What an interesting read. I know exactly how you feel. The issue is definitely not with your body size/type but with your confidence about your body. You have a lovely shape and look to be healthy also. I hope that you can continue to build up your confidence and learn to love what you see when you look in the mirror. Keep up the great writing!
Thanks for the lovely comment. It certainly is a goal of mind to grow my confidence
Girl, you are beautiful! I’d kill to have a body like yours! But I do understand where you’re coming from, because I struggle with low body confidence too. It’s hard to look at ourselves in the mirror and see the good things, even though that is completely wrong. Everybody is beautiful in his own way. Body confidence is something that I promised myself I’d work on over this summer, together with losing some weight and start eating a lot healthier. I hope you manage to improve your body confidence, because you truly are beautiful and deserve to be happy with yourself.
Thank you. It’s something we are all working on. I hope you reach your goals. And don’t feel down when things don’t go to plan, it will happen if stick to your plan and remain positive.
Hi there! Thanks for this great post. It shows maturity and thorough thought. I read that almost all above comments have said so, but I’m just going to say it anyway, that you look great!! I mean it and it’s not because you’re thin or you’re thick, but because you are at your natural silouette. Let me explain what this. I have been thin and I have been fat. When I was at my fattest I was actually having the most fun because I was travelling, working in Thailand as a bartender and drinking every day of the week. So yeah I had loads of fun which is why I was fat! But I wouldn’t change that for nothing. Thin and fat goes in cycles according to our lifestyles and where we are in our lives. But it is our natural shape that doesn’t change and when we get to our natural shape we can’t get more beautiful than that. We get there if we are toning our bodies, and when we are trim of excess flab. Yup so I don’t agree with flab but I agree with shape. I also agree with not being excessive about it because we have other things to do!! Another event that really helped in me shaping my belief was the time I visited a traditional onsen in Japan where all women are walking around naked confident in complete privacy. I remembered being shocked that everyone had saggy boobs and tummies regardless of their age. Then it hit me that these were What’s real around us! Images of coiffed celebs in the media are airbrushed. Behind those images celebs work like crazy to get to near perfect bodies but they’re still photoshopped so why should the majority of us not settle for who we are? My two cents, cheers and thanks again for this great post.
Cheers,
Connie
http://www.sassy.mom
Thank you also for this well thought out comment. Truly is inspirational when someone who’s experienced body shape can come out and say love yourself!
You seem absolutely lovely and I look forward to looking through your blog
You are beautiful, SO many of us can relate to feeling this way. We can always find something we don’t like about ourselves even when there is nothing to dislike. Its really about self-love and embracing your flaws.
Thank you. No one is ever happy with themselves but we are all beautiful
You’re beautiful! You’ve raised some really important points, especially the fact that you don’t need to be overweight to lack body confidence.
Thank you. It’s something I’ve learnt. But we need to remember healthy is all we should be aiming for
My problem area has always been my tummy! I have thicker thighs too, but they don’t bother me. Nonetheless, I definitely related to a lot of what you were saying. Over the years, I’ve started to shift my focus about my health/fitness to being solely how I FEEL. What are my energy levels like? Am I dragging in the morning? How do I feel during a workout? Am I still modifying pushups three weeks into a program or am I able to do them from my feet? When I feel my obliques, are they flabby or do I feel tight muscles contracting? I find progress in those ways instead of on a scale or even looking in the mirror. I’ve found that over time, focusing on those measures of progress have led me to the results I want to see in the mirror. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks for sharing your feelings. It’s so great to see that I’m not the only one who goes on how you feel rather than what the scale says