5 Things That Taught Me How To Love My Fat Body

Seven years ago I made the decision to love my body. I had spent so much time hating my reflection. I missed out on so much of my life because I always thought I had to be skinny to live a full and happy life. I lived embarrassed of my body and who I was.

In college, everything changed. I met friends who taught me that I didn’t have to wait to be happy. That’s when it hit me and I knew that I had to learn how to love my body at this moment. After 7 years of practice and hard work, I found that these specific things helped me to love my body.

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Do something that scares you every day!

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Before starting my fashion blog I never took a full body picture. The idea of having other people see my body for what it was scared me. I knew that starting a fashion blog where I had to show my full body would be a great way to force myself to be comfortable showing it. You don’t have to start a blog but do things every day that motivates you to be proud of your body. Wear a pretty dress, skip the cardigan in the summer and show your arms. You slowly learn to become comfortable with your body.

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Stop being so mean to yourself!

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I always grew up hearing comments about my body from strangers and relatives. Most of the time those comments would really hurt my feelings but I would get over them quickly. But, there was someone who knew how to really put me down and that was me. Many of us can be so mean to ourselves. We insult our bodies and constantly put ourselves down. Stop feeding your brain all that negative talk. Next time you catch yourself being mean or saying something negative about your body, ask yourself this: “Would I say this to my best friend?” The answer is probably no. You would never be that mean to someone you love. When you change the way you talk about your body other people do too.

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Get in front of a mirror naked and compliment yourself.

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Nothing feels more vulnerable than being naked. Every morning I would get naked and stand in front of my full-size mirror and compliment my body. I started by complimenting the parts of my body that were easier for me to like, like my hair, nose or lips. I then began to compliment the parts of my body that I disliked the most like my thighs or stomach. It was hard at first but with repetition, it became easier to say and believe. It’s about faking it till you make it. If you learn to be comfortable with yourself at your rawest state than loving yourself in a skirt or crop top becomes so much easier.

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Make fat friends!

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Finding friends that could relate to my issues with being fat changed my life. When I met other women who were proud of their bodies my self-esteem doubled by the second. Not only was it great to be able to talk to someone who can relate to the body issues I was having but I was learning from them. My friends were leading by example, they were living a happy and fulfilling life while wearing jeans that had double digits. It doesn’t hurt to finally have friends you can swap clothes with. In fact, it can be helpful and healing in many ways. 

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You have to make the conscious decision to want to love your body.

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Learning to like how you look in a selfie or in a full body picture is only the beginning. Body positivity is an everyday journey we all have to work on and towards. You will have good and bad days on your journey and that’s okay. You are allowed to have a bad day but making the conscious decision that you will be better for yourself is what will keep you going on in this journey. Don’t give up when things start to feel hard. Believe in yourself, keep at this, and know that you got this. Don’t ever forget it.