5 ways to boost your body confidence

Ever wanted to boost your body confidence?

You’re not alone.

Body confidence is a hot topic right now. More and more of us are beginning to fight back against societies ridiculous standards and are fighting to break the mould. We’re seeing slightly more representation in mainstream media in terms of body shapes and sizes, disabilities and races, which is fantastic.

More and more influencers, bloggers and content creators are dedicating their platform to body positivity, body confidence and self love, striving to help others feel better in the skin their in.

But it’s not easy for everyone.

Confidence, in whatever form, is something that needs to be worked on all the time. Body confidence, in particular, is a tricky issue to tackle, particularly alone and with zero help from anyone else. If you want to boost your body confidence, you can feel a little overwhelmed about where to even start.

It’s okay! Don’t panic, cause ya girl here is going to tell you five easy ways you can boost your body confidence.

I’ve been there, done that and cried at my appearance more times than I can count. Yes, I still have bad days – I’m only human! – but for the most part, I look in the mirror and enjoy what I see looking back at me!

So how did I do it?

1. Boost your body confidence by determining what you don’t like about yourself

And don’t bullshit me by saying “everything” because I know damn well there will be at least one thing you like about yourself – really think hard. It could be something as simple and as small as the fact that you have strong nails that grow well, or maybe the thickness of your hair, the pattern of your pupils…

Or it could be bigger – your waist, your bum, your height, your skin tone, your freckles. You get the gist.

Anyway, what you like isn’t important. What you don’t like is important, because that’s contributing to your body confidence problems, and what we want to do is boost your body confidence.

Write down – yes, make an actual list – of what you don’t like and why.

It can be as long as necessary, but try not to be too hard on yourself, okay?

Once you’ve got this list, I want you to destroy it. Burn it (safely), tear it to shreds, screw it up in a ball, whatever works for you. Just destroy it. I want you to imagine that by destroying this list, you’re destroying your old mindset, your insecurities and your negative feelings towards yourself. They’re in the bin, or burnt up, like that horrible list.

It’s time for a fresh start and a blank mindset; a clean slate.

2. Write a list of what you do like about yourself

As mentioned in the previous point, even if there is only one small thing, write it down. Aim to have at 3-5 things minimum on the list. If you are struggling, there’s no shame in asking other people what they think your best attributes are.

Because we’re focusing on how to boost body confidence specifically, the list does need to be physical things about your body – unlike when writing a list for learning to love yourself as a whole.

Once you’ve compiled your list, you have a couple of options:

• Stick it up next to your mirror. Every day, stand in front of the mirror and read the list out loud to yourself, as many times as you feel like doing. Make sure you say it loudly, confidently and with purpose. Claim your body and the things you love. Don’t doubt how much you love them, asking the mirror “I love…my eyes?” Stand tall, look yourself in the eyes and say firmly “I love my eyes”. This way, you’re speaking this feeling into existence and also reassuring yourself that yes, you do love your eyes!
• Carry the list around with you so that you can reassure yourself at low points during the day. You can say the list out loud if you like, but you might want to go somewhere private to do it, rather than reading it out loud at your desk in front of your colleagues or on the bus!

This list will serve as a constant reminder of all the best bits about you. You can add to it as often as you like, too. It doesn’t have to remain fixed as is. After time, you’ll find you don’t need the list at all – you can just look in the mirror and love the body you see there.

When trying to boost your body confidence, it’s important to start small. No one is expecting you to love every aspect of your body straight away, but if you can go from liking absolutely nothing to liking just one small thing, you’re on the right track!

3. Spend a lot of time naked to boost your body confidence

I am being deadly serious!

When I was at my worst in life, I spent a lot of time naked, looking at myself in the mirror.

Initially, this was a pretty negative exercise. I would spend what felt like hours pulling and tugging at parts of my tummy and thighs, wishing they were made of PlayDough so I could just mould them into the ideal shape.

But something magical happened.

The longer I looked at myself in the body, the more I began to admire all that I was. I’d start turning my body, trying to look at it from different angles. I’d post in the mirror as though I was a muse for an artist – just so I could admire all the different ways my body could move, hold itself, create shapes.

And I began to fall in love with my body.

I knew that spending time with myself naked had had a positive impact on my body confidence when I stopped being scared about nudity. Before, I would get changed in separate rooms to my friends and sleep with guys under covers with the lights off, eyes closed.

Now, I would be naked in front of whoever and I literally didn’t care.

You see, before – I didn’t like what I saw when I saw myself naked, so I didn’t think anyone else would either! Now that I liked myself and felt confident in my skin, I didn’t care what anyone else thought, because I knew what I thought.

Body image specialists have found a direct correlation between nudity and positive body image, and so this is such an important step in your body confidence journey. Spend a little time everyday just admiring your body in the mirror, totally naked.

It helps, I promise.

4. Forget what you know about the word ‘fat’

Fat is an adjective, above all else. It’s a descriptor. Just like blonde, tanned, slim, curvy, tall, short… fat is an adjective.

So don’t be scared of it!

You’re fat, so what? You’re also a brunette, freckly and short. None of those words scare you, so why are you scared of the word fat?

We all know why. It’s because of the connotations society pairs with the word ‘fat’ – lazy, unmotivated, unemployed, greedy… the list goes on.

The thing is, anyone can be lazy. Anyone can be unmotivated, unemployed and greedy. Even a thin person.

Being fat refers to a person’s weight and physical body shape and nothing else.

Some people like to reclaim the word, whilst others shy away from it. Whichever option you choose to do, remember it’s just an adjective and it means nothing about the person you are or the life you live.

So many of us refuse to feel confident because we think we’re fat – and being fat means we’re ugly, we must hate our bodies and we need to change, according to a huge chunk of society.

Wrong.

If you’re fat, you’re fat! There’s no need to change unless you want to, and only for the right reasons (more of that in the future…)

Relearning what it means to be fat is going to clear a massive mental block on your body confidence journey. Once you forget the negative connotations and just accept it for what it is – an adjective – you’ll really be able to move forward when it comes to your body confidence.

Remember; a word is only insulting if you’re insulted by it. People can call you any name under the sun and it’s only an insult if you let it be. More often than not, people just sound stupid saying “you’re fat!” when you turn around and say “yes, I am – talk about stating the obvious, cockwomble!”

Don’t be scared of fat.

5. Remember you’re more than your body

At the end of the day, there’s more to life than our bodies. We are more than our bodies! They’re ever changing, through age and wellness, puberty and hormones, general wear and tear and everything else in between. Bodies are designed to change over time and don’t stay the same forever!

It can seem like you’ve just begun to love your body and then it changes, forcing you to deal with body confidence issues all over again!

This is why it’s important to remember there’s more to you than your body.

Once you’ve learnt this, and naturally remember this all of the time, you’ll stop thinking so much about your body – or maybe even stop thinking about it at all! What will that mean?

It means you’ll naturally be more body confident.

If you’re not thinking about something, you’re not worrying about it and you’re not stressing about it. You’re instantly going to be happier and more body confidence if you aren’t stressing about your body – so stop pinning your entire worth on your body, okay?

So there you have it!

5 easy ways to boost your body confidence!

Just like learning to love yourself, trying to boost your body confidence won’t be easy. It takes practice, dedication and patience and it will be time consuming. But it will always be worth it.

Take these stages one at a time. If you feel like you’re ‘failing’ or struggling, step back and take a break.

You’re literally trying to change a mindset you’ve probably had your whole entire life – it’s going to require a lot of energy, and might feel a bit draining.

But it’s okay. You’re not alone and you will get there.

If you’ve got any tips for boosting your body confidence of your own, why not drop them in the comments below to help someone else out? We’re all in this together, remember! Lend a helping hand where you can!

Love from, Florence Grace