I was pretty quick to jump on the body positive train, I mean who wouldn’t want to be part of a group of people embracing, accepting and celebrating their bodies? After a little thought, taking time to figure out how I actually feel about my body and learning the terms (there’s always so many terms within these movements) I came to the conclusion that I was more body neutral than body positive.
“The idea behind body neutrality is to help us steer away from self-hate without the pressure of having to love our body. Instead, it’s about working towards a place where we respect our bodies, but don’t give too much energy to positive or negative thoughts about it.” – What is Body Neutrality? // Happiful
Now I’m not one for labels so I don’t go around calling myself body neutral. But whilst the world continues to push this forever changing image of what a desirable woman looks like, and talks of cosmetic surgery increase. It can feel next to impossible to just accept and love your body, without questioning your worth and how much you love yourself. So being body neutral gives me the space to experience all the feels, without the pressure from others to love myself.
Stress Eating & Weight Gain
My face and the way my clothes fit are big indicators that I have put on weight. My double chin has always been there, however when it starts to become more visible, I take a moment to think about what has been going on. I find that it’s normally stress related, which always manifests into me eating my emotions.
Like many others I have good and bad days, my weight has always fluctuated and has been a direct link to my eating habits and mental health.
I find that I fill time with food, and it’s not always healthy choices that I’m making. Working in a shop where you walk around for 7.5 hours all day, taking mental notes of what sweet treats are on offer, and on top of that a staff discount, it’s practically comfort eating heaven. Now that I am more aware of my eating habits, I have had to be more stick with myself, not just because I am putting on weight, but I can definitely feel the difference health wise.
Body Goals
I have definitely considered surgery, however It’s not something I would actually do. I feel I have only scratched the surface to figuring out who I am, I wouldn’t want to make many permanent decisions based on temporary emotions.
Sometimes I put an outfit together and I am in love with the way my body looks, and I have days when I wish my boobs were smaller/peaker, my curves were more defined and my stomach was smaller, but those days never last long, well not long enough for me to sign up to a gym.
I think it’s a lot healthier to accept that we will have good and bad days regarding how we view our bodies. I find ways to make myself feel better about my appearance by buying clothes that fit my body better, instead of focusing on size, that has definitely made me feel more confident about my body. Body confidence looks different for everyone, find what works for you.
SAABIRAH LAWRENCE 