Being plus size myself, I am grateful that stores such as Simply Be, are available and affordable to me and their message of body confidence is one that I admire which is why they were the obvious choice when I was thinking of this article. The lovely girls over at Simply Be's press office sent me across a gorgeous figure hugging dress to feature and let you all see that it's okay to be who you are - thin or curvy.
Being a plus size blogger, I am regularly in contact with other bloggers and so I asked them to tell us something about themselves and their message to you on body confidence. - Thanks to all my blogger amigo's who took part!
Georgina - She Might Be Loved
I'm a size 20 and people find it fascinating how body confident I am. I can't say I've always been this way, but then despite bullying and people around me talking about my weight negativity, I've never fully hated the way I look either. What #WeAreTheThey has done for many women, is what I did for myself over many years, it allowed them to see that we can be any size and love ourselves.
Our weight does not define us. What defines us is how we see ourselves. Many women strive to become body confident and like how they look, and for them, the only thing I can say is, it takes time. Even the most body confident women will still have moments, but that's alright.
Sometimes all it takes is a shopping trip with pretty clothes that make you look and feel amazing, other times, you need to read about body confident people and how they don't care what size they are, they just want to look and feel good about themselves and do
Tania - When Tania Talks
This is such a difficult subject for me to talk about, because my way of dealing with my emotions is to hide them. I can talk about the hows, wheres & whens, but when it comes to how it makes me feel I keep my feelings guarded to try to protect myself. I’m going to try really hard for you to concentrate on the emotion & keep the events in the background. So, here we go.
I never had any concerns with my weight until I was about 23. Mum didn’t want my sister or me becoming concerned over the number shown on a set of scales so there weren’t any in our house as we grew up. I was put on a medication for my migraine & went from an hourglass 8st 7lb size 8 to a boyish 7st size six in a matter of 3 months. It was terrifying. I’ve never had a washboard stomach or thigh gap (I inherited my mother’s tree trunk thighs!), but all of a sudden I did. My face looked gaunt & my shoulder & collar bones stuck out. I wasn’t the only one worried, my family & healthcare professionals were too.A year later & we added in an additional medication. I was warned that they could cause me to gain weight & didn’t see that as an issue at the time how much weight could I gain after all!?! We nicknamed them my ‘fat pills’. I knew the risk of body dysmorphia & made a conscious effort to see the weight gain as a good thing. I got back to my 8st 7lb & began feeling really good about my body again. This was until I came off the first medication. My weight went up to 9st &, even though I was feeling much better health wise, it became aware that I was ‘bigger’. I promised my self that I wouldn’t gain any more weight.
Five years later & I’m wavering just above 11st & an apple shape. I hate the words ‘fat’ & ‘skinny’, but the only way I can explain how I feel is ‘like a thin person in a fat person’s body’. I hated my body. My stomach is huge (I now know a lot of this is bloating due to IBS) & I feel ‘flabby’. I couldn’t get over my weight & size to realize that health wise, I’m the best I’ve been since I became chronically ill at the age of 11. I’m describing some of this in past tense & some in present as I have (finally) come to realize that my weight, size & shape doesn’t define me & that I would rather be well & bigger than very poorly & slender.
I’m now a lot happier with the skin I’m in, but it has taken a very long time & a lot of reassurance from my friends & family to get to this point. I still have times when I’m unhappy, particularly about my stomach & thighs. Now that I understand the effect my IBS has on the size & shape of my stomach, I’m finding I’m not getting as frustrated with or blaming myself as often.
I’m due to start coming off the ‘fat pills’ mid July & am scared about how that will affect my size & shape. I feel my weight is totally out of control!!!! Aaaarrrrgggghhh!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tania Xx
Sarah from "The Prosecco Diaries" says:
There's only one photo of me on my blog, The Prosecco Diaries, a tiny view of my face, and if I could have gotten away with it there'd be no photo at all. Apparently research has shown that people are more likely to carry on reading if they can see the writer, that's why journalists have photo bylines, it helps the reader to trust the author.
Some fashion and lifestyle blogs are ninety percent selfies (not a real statistic) and I envy those blogging babes who constantly post photo of themselves. I couldn't imagine having the confidence to do this, I actively avoid having my photo taken at all. But before you start wondering where the body confidence inspiration is going to actually begin, I'd like to tell you that although I'm not quite there myself (though, working on it and you can keep up to date with this in my Health & Beauty category),
I think that blogging does wonders for body confidence. Jazmine Rocks from Jazzabelle's Diary has said that posting outfit photos gave her a newfound confidence after years of being bullied for being naturally 'skinny', and the stunning George from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust is one of the prettiest women I've ever seen and her blog oozes body confidence.
Bloggers are shining lights in discussing, sharing and displaying examples of body confidence, no matter what their shape or size. Reading blogs has made me more focused on getting some of this confidence, so I can only imagine the positive effect they must also have on girls and very young women who read them too.
Xx
Milly From "Mini Adventures" Says:
"In the past three months, I've lost 2st, and have been asked how it's possible to support body positivity and lose weight. The answer is pretty simple: everyone's body is purely their own to make choices about. If you want to lose weight and succeed, great.
If you're happy with your size/weight, also great. The only person entitled to making judgements and decisions about your body is the owner of it - YOU
Body positivity to me is about ownership of our individual bodies, and the freedom to celebrate those bodies without fear of judgment from others, who have no right or entitlement to that judgment."
Holly - AKA ME!
All of these quotes are thought provoking and really make me realize that whether you're a size 4 or a size 34, everyone has body hang ups and have their own love/hate relationship with their bodies.
I used to be a really curvy size 26 and I was so insecure about my weight. Now, I'm a size 20 and while I still feel insecure, I feel confident that my shape doesn't define who I am as a person, but if ever it did, I'd be quite happy with that. I think I look alright - who says curvy can't be sexy? Being a size 10 isn't ever going to happen for me, I just wouldn't suit it, but I would love to slim down to a size 14/16 more for health reasons than vanity reasons. I'm 28 and I'm single right now, but one day I would love to have children and so it's better to prepare my body now for becoming pregnant someday. Of course it would be nice to feel confident in a swimsuit and not worry about sleeveless tops and all that yeehaw. LOVE the skin you're in - you only get one body and if you can't or don't want to change how you look, then you're going to have to accept you look the way you look. Embrace it, hug your curves or highlight your tiny legs - whichever size you are, you are you, and that's more than good enough!Love,
Holly Xx
