fandomsandfeminism:

fandomsandfeminism:

10 tips to improve your body image

I think a lot of us around here know the struggle to be happier with our bodies without plunging into unhealthy-doomed-to-fail-diets. So, as someone who has gotten to a pretty good place over the last 10 years since leaving the hellhole that is high school, some tips. Not all of these will work for you, but theeu did work for me. Some strategies to try:

1. Find things you have easy control over and enjoy the hell out of it. Hair color, tattoos, sparkly nails. Enjoy the parts of your look that are easy to control. I never loved my upper arms until I covered them in flowers.

2. Stop doing stuff that makes you miserable or stressed just because you are “supposed to”. For me, that was shaving. Hated it. Made me anxious. Stopped doing it. It helped a lot. No one has ever burst into flames because I have armpit hair.

3. Buy a kickass jacket. Now you look awesome no matter what. This also works for boots and very loud jewelry.

4. Find some self care routines that are easy and make you feel good. I recommend some face lotion with low spf in the morning and some multivitimans and moisturizing wipes for before bed.

5. In the morning when you get dressed, look in the mirror and compliment yourself. You look awesome, bad ass, adorable, cute as fuck. This might feel like a lie at first. One day, it wont.

6. Absolutely stop counting calories. This is not helpful. Not only does it make eating stressful, it isnt doing anything for your health. Calories are meaningless. 100 calories of spinach and 100 calories of rice and 100 calories of chicken are all very different nutritionally, both good and bad. Foods dont exist on a good/bad binary and no single number is going to help you be healthy. (In general, minimize carbs and sugar. Maximize protein and leafy veggies. But its ok to splurge. Food should bring you joy. FOOD SHOULD BRING YOU JOY.)

7. Find a fitness goal that doesnt involve your weight. Exercising feels good and can help with body image, but not if you end every session by stepping on a scale. I’m training to hike the grand canyon. I need endurance amd muscle mass. My weight literally doesnt matter for that.

8. If you are getting ready for your day and you start to second guess your outfit- repeat after me “I am not obligated to look perfect all the time. It’s ok for me to be comfortable. I don’t owe anyone my looks.” The world won’t end if you go to Target without looking fuckable enough. Its ok. Most people really wont give a shit, and those who would be upset by how a stranger looks in public are gross weirdos.

9. Clothes shopping sucks because ready made clothes are meant to look good on hangers, not on human bodies. Take your time, dont blame yourself for the clothes sucking, dont feel obligated to buy clothes that dont look good because you WANT them to look good.

10. Sometimes what you need is a big glass of water and a good stretch. Back bend, toe touch, torso twist. No joke, look up some easy yoga moves. Let your body breathe.

My final note is this: dont judge yourself by pictures and selfies and scales. Its impossible to take a good photo of the moon or a rainbow on your cellphone. Some beauty can not be captured by still images. You don’t owe the world your beauty. Your body doesnt need to be curated for others. Its your home. Its the only place you get to live. Its no ones but yours. Snuggle into it, paint the walls, find your peace there.

I really like that most of the notes are people talking about the specific jacket/boots/outfit that makes them feel good. Lol