Embracing Your Shape and Style

We live in a time where pretty much anything and everything is in vogue – grunge, high-waisted and white-washed jeans, vintage and retro, red lipstick, and pin-up outfits, mullets, and overalls…The list of everything that’s “in” is pretty infinite. I mean, even men are wearing rompers and crop tops in 2020. And they are getting away with it! It’s wild.

There is not really an “it” style in today’s day and age. Anything goes.

But fashion aside, the other cool thing is that there isn’t really an “it” size or shape for women today, which is AWESOME!

More and more, over the last decade, it has become normal for women to show off and celebrate their curves, stretch marks and cellulite. Plus-sized girls and women are being featured in retail shopping promotional campaigns, and not just for plus-sized stores!

We aren’t being beaten over the head by marketing anymore with the message that all women are size 2’s with tiny ankles and flat stomachs. Hallelujah! 

Because for some of us, it’s just not in the cards to have that Taylor Swift, petite little ballerina body. It’s not happening.

We could live on a diet of lemon water and kale and that still wouldn’t be our future! As a 30-year old living with lipedema, don’t I know that’s the truth?

And having that image as an idol for yourself is an unhealthy goal because it’s unattainable. Who wants to fight a losing battle all the time? Not I. That’s a soul-squasher goal.

I have struggled with my weight since I hit puberty. I have been bigger, I have been smaller, I have been leaner (but always curvy) and I have been heavier-set. I’ve drifted all over the weight, shape and size spectrum for 17 years.

Side note – I will be writing a separate post a bit later on what I have found to be the winning formulas for having my body in the shape that I feel best and most confident in because it’s not just diet and exercise!

There are other factors that I have found which make a huge difference in personal health, weight, happiness, and confidence that have nothing to do with food actually. But more on that later!

The thing that I wanted to talk about today was how to feel sassy and classy and proud of your assy right now, no matter where you are on the shape and size spectrum!

Because one thing I also know is that taking the steps to get your body into a more positive place doesn’t happen overnight. It takes some work and persistence. Which means the first thing you have to do to get your head in the game is…

GET YOUR HEAD IN THE GAME!

Meaning YOU!

How you feel about yourself right now – that’s your starting point.

And ladies, even if you have a goal weight and ideal shape you want to go for, you are beautiful right now. You gotta own that sh*t today to change tomorrow. That’s what this blog post is about. 

This is about feeling sassy, classy and proud of your assy right now! And my golden piece of advice for that is: if it makes you feel beautiful, do more of that!!

Let’s explore this.

This is true for anything.

It could be a skirt you put you on that accents your classic hourglass figure that lipedema gifted us with. You put it on and you feel a bit cheeky in it because your curves are kicking. Embrace that.

Or let’s say you do your makeup and you finish it and you’re feeling a bit like, “damn, she’s looking good!” Embrace that.

You get a manicure and then put on a blouse that matches your nail color and you’re feeling fly… Embrace that! Do more of that!

You getting the theme of this? 

Basically the keystone for celebrating your shape and size right now is all about your headspace.

If you style yourself in any way that makes YOU feel good, that is going to show up on the outside as well. Really what I mean by this is confidence. 

Have you ever put on an outfit and you did not feel pretty in it, you didn’t feel like it did any ounce of flattering to your figure or you didn’t feel comfortable in it, and then you step outside the dressing room and your friends tell you how great you look? They’re telling you how hot you look, this and that and “awwwww”! But you don’t feel it or believe it yourself.

Stop! Don’t do it, do not proceed with that purchase.

This isn’t to say that your friends are lying to you or that you don’t look good, because you might actually look great. That’s not the point.

The point is that it starts with you. Your own confidence is like your underwear. Or foundation makeup. It comes first, is what I mean. 

So, if you put it on or dress it up and it makes you feel cute, pretty, sexy, classy, sassy, fly, smoking hot, or any combination of the above, then do more of that!

And use that as a launchpad for the steps you might be taking to create a more beautiful you in the future.

Confidence is not only healthy for your own headspace, but it’s also kind of its own element in attraction, something you do “wear”.

It’s something others perceive and can see coming off of you–and thousands of surveys have confirmed this: it’s hot.

Confidence itself buffs out the imperfections we see in ourselves from the inside out. You can quote me on that because it’s true. 

Do those things and rock those things that make you feel like a million bucks, and then use that confidence to propel yourself into better states of existence. This is a winning formula and I recommend it to all the ladies out there.

You do you, girl. Go on with your bad self and be the queen that you are!