5 Ways To Stop Hating Your Body

Happy Self Love Sunday! So weight issues... such a big topic and one so intertwined with loving your body. I've been on both sides of it, loving and hating my body... feeling like I'm too fat or not fat enough. The thing that always annoys me is the pictures that start out "Real women... (have curves/ aren't a size zero/ ect) To which I say "Poo poo!"

Now I completely understand curvy women wanting to say "Look, I can be what I am and still be beautiful." but to do that at the expense of those women that don't have curves or are naturally thin, is no better than the media who likes to tell you how fat you are.

Real women come in all shapes and sizes. The end. Nobody should be defined by their body shape. So all of you real, beautiful, women out there, here are some tips on how to love your body.

1. Decide that society's opinion about your body ceases to matter right now. 
Don't buy into magazines that will help you get the "perfect swim suit body" be happy with your body the way it is. Accept it the way it is. Love it the way it is. Most of what you see in the media is touched up and airbrushed and it doesn't represent you or I, unless we allow it to. Check out This Is My Body Project or The Shape of a Mother (there's nudity so it's probably nsfw) those are real women, real bodies, and they're beautiful. 

2. If you need to lose/gain weight, do it, but not at the expense of loving your body as it is today. 
You might not have your "perfect" body but that doesn't mean that you can't love it anyway. Think of your kids or your partner. Are they perfect? Are they just how you always imagined they'd be? Probably not, yet you still love them anyway right? Adopt that attitude towards your body. Love it now and love it 20lb from now.

3. Remember that your body is just a small part of who you are. 
At your funeral no one is going to stand up and say "Boy did she look good in those size 10 jeans." Your personality is the sum of who you are. Your personality is the reason someone is going to love you. What you give to the world is a lot more important than the size and shape of your bum, just sayin'.

4. Get over the fear of mirrors and pictures. 
I can't tell you enough how therapeutic spending some time with a mirror can be. (Read: Mirror, Mirror) When you actually know what your body looks like it allows you to start accepting it. Shopping for clothes becomes a lot less traumatic (I remember not having seen myself in a full length mirror in over a year and then bursting into tears of disgust when I went to try something on). Even if it's a struggle at first to accept what you see, it does get easier, and then you start noticing the good stuff. The sexy curves of hips and belly, the muscles in your back, the beauty of your skin. Take lots of photos of yourself too, it helps!

5. Make a list of all of the reasons you love your body.
It's hard to hate something that allows you to take nice walks on an early summer morning. To wrap your arms around the people you love. To dance around the living room. To have great sex. Your body allows you to do so much, so stop hating it for what it isn't and start loving it for what it is!

How do you feel about your body and does your weight influence it one way or another? Have any body loving tips? We'd love to hear them!