𝙶𝚒𝚛𝚕 𝚝𝚊𝚕𝚔 💋

How do I learn to love my body?

A: I've struggled with this question myself. I used to stare at myself in the mirror, criticizing everything about my body, but thankfully I've been doing that less and less lately.

Learning to love your body is a growing experience. If you spend so much time hating it, it's hard to suddenly love it.

First of all, it's important to ask yourself why loving your body is important to you. Realize that's it's going to take daily effort and you're going to need to put it work for this goal, much like any other goal you may have.

Ask yourself, what do you love about your body? After all, your body can do some amazing things.
Instead of pointing every flaw out and being disgusted with it, point out the things you love and focus on those.

Workout for yourself. When I started to workout on my own, it was to loose weight, but I've stopped doing that. I work out to reach my own personal goals (like building endurance for volleyball) and simply because it feels good after.

Find support. This is the most important one. Whether it's one friend, a group of friends, or your family, having certain people that you know you can talk to about this will make you feel ten times more secure. These people will support you no matter what and you will always have someone to talk about this with. Talking things out can really help.

Remove the negative influences in your life. This may be magazines, Facebook, or fashion shows. For me, it was Instagram. I felt awful about my body during spring break when almost every girl was posting a picture of them in a bikini because I wasn't as skinny as them. Get rid of that mindset and those pictures. That mindset is unhealthy and will do you absolutely no good.

Finally, realize that your body is your body. I had to let go of the goal of being a tall, lean woman. That just wasn't possible for my body type. I am short and curvy, and that's okay. I've learned to love my curves. Appreciate your build. We're all unique. No one has the same body type! You were given this body for a reason.

If you tend to compare yourself to models, please remember that it's not real. It's photoshopped. No one has perfectly clear skin with no scars. No one has an insanely skinny body. It's all photoshop, just an illusion to coax you into buying whatever fitness plan or food the company wants you to buy.

I hope that this helps you learn to love your body. I'm still on the road of loving mine, but I'm making progress everyday. I hope you do too.

~ SGC