I love the #BodyPositive movement.
It makes me happy that so many people are actively working to feel comfortable in their own skin. Regardless of weight, it's important to appreciate your body for what it can do and how it looks. Looking through the #BodyPositive hashtag on Instagram makes me happy. People are learning to love themselves, and that's amazing.
Unfortunately, I've struggled with body image for most of my life. I always wondered why my stomach was a bit bigger than everyone else's. People told me I was thin, and I (hesitantly) accepted that, but over time I became more and more self-critical.
To make things worse, I gained a lot of weight during my first three semesters of college. It made me feel pretty bad about my body. Yes, my butt got bigger, and that's a plus. But my body image got much worse. At times I didn't even want to eat. I felt guilty for eating certain foods. I wanted to work out more, but I didn't have time.
Instead of going down a dark road and dieting, I've decided to find a balance. I made this decision recently. I've even made a fitness page on Instagram to track my progress.
I've been trying to be careful not to stress thinness on my fitness page. I post pictures of my body sometimes, but I always make sure to talk about how strong I look. I don't want to focus on weight. I want to focus on how my body feels and what it can do. I want to focus on strength. I want to focus on confidence.
I've decided that you can be #BodyPositive and still want to make changes to your body. You can want to lose weight, but you can't let it control your life. You can decide to eat healthier, but that doesn't mean you have to cut out sweets completely.
I'm trying to learn how to love my body all of the time, even when I don't feel like it's at its best.
#BodyPositivity means something different for everyone, but I think we should all focus on learning to be #BodyPositive all of the time and not just when we take a cute picture at the beach.
Focus on how you feel. Learn to love your "imperfections," but strive to be stronger every day.
