This month for the Love Every Body Body Positivity Workshop we are looking at our tummies!
I am going to be honest and say that this is the least favorite part of my body and the one that causes me the most anxiety about how I look.
My tummy is squidgy and jiggly with some stretch marks, (not caused by pregnancy but by years of yo-yo dieting), and for years I would avoid having to look at it in the mirror and I hated anyone touching my tummy for fear of feeling how big it was.
Whenever I put weight on it goes straight to my waist and I bloat terribly at certain times of the month and can look like I have swallowed a beach ball!! Strangely when I was pregnant with my son I barely showed and most maternity wear was too big so I can't blame pregnancy for my tummy woes!
I have become more at ease with it to the point where last year I even wore tighter fitting dresses and skirts with full VBO (Visible Belly Outline) but it takes a lot for me to do this and I have to fight the urge to tug at my clothes and pull them away from my tummy.
I will admit that when I wear jeans I always wear something that covers my tummy and that doesn't cling as I just can't be comfortable otherwise!
I am naturally quite high waisted which means that skirts and trousers nearly always sit above my tummy button and almost under my bra, when I was younger I would lament the fact that my torso to me felt too short (due to wearing bad fitting bras) and that my boobs could look like they were sat on my waistline!!!
Fortunately I now wear betting fitting bras which in turn has uncovered my waistline and I am quite fortunate in that I have a somewhat defined waist which gives me a not too bad overall shape!!!
Side view of my tummy
I like to hope that I have given up the urge to want a flat tummy as lets face it that is never going to happen and my husband loves my tummy and its squidgy qualities so I should be thankful that someone loves it!!How do you feel about your tummy?