Virtually every woman struggles with body confidence issues. Embracing your body is more challenging for some women than it is for others, but you would be hard-pressed to find a woman who doesn’t struggle with insecurities about her body at least every once in a while.
No one ever said that loving your body just the way it is is easy. In fact, it is a major challenge for most women to embrace or even accept their bodies. However, if you’re willing to put in the work, learning to love your body can change your life for the better in more ways than you ever imagined. Start small with these three simple lifestyle changes that can put you on the right path toward boosting your body confidence for good.
1. Try Mirror Affirmations
Mirror affirmations are positive statements you say out loud to yourself while looking in the mirror. You might feel silly standing in front of your bathroom mirror talking to yourself, but making mirror affirmations a part of your daily routine can help you fight back against your own negative self-talk about your body and rewire your brain to think positively instead of critically about how you look.
Criticism seems to be the default for women when it comes to their bodies. The longer you look at yourself, the easier it is to find flaws and imperfections you wish you could change. It is a hard habit to break, but mirror affirmations can help you reverse this negative cycle and start thinking more positively about what you see in the mirror.
Some good examples of body-positive mirror affirmations include “Sexiness is not size-specific, and my body is sexy no matter what number is on my dress tags,” or “I respect and appreciate my body for its health, strength, and all that it helps me accomplish every day”.
2. Refresh Your Panty Drawer
You might be surprised how much of a positive difference wearing new sexy panty styles can make in your body confidence. Shopping for sexy panties is a form of self-care. Buying a few new pairs of stylish panties—instead of continuing to wear the old, ratty pairs that have been floating around the back of your underwear drawer for years—is an act of kindness you can show yourself.
Pick out a variety of panty styles to rejuvenate your at-home panty collection. Invest in some comfortable, functional styles for everyday wear, and splurge on some more scandalous styles—like sexy thongs —that will help you feel sexier and more confident in the bedroom.
3. Set Loving Goals
There is nothing wrong with wanting to change your body. In fact, working toward physical goals can be self-care in many cases. However, this is where body confidence can get confusing, because it seems counter-intuitive to love and accept your body just the way it is while also actively trying to change it.
You don’t have to stop setting new fitness goals in order to love your body. Just be careful about the goals you set and how you work to achieve them. Always set health-based—not appearance-based—goals. Instead of saying to yourself, “I want to lose fifteen pounds so my waist will look slimmer,” try “I want to lose fifteen pounds so that I will feel healthier and more energetic”. The outcome of these two goals is exactly the same, but the first statement comes from a place of criticism and physical scrutiny, while the second comes from a place of self-love and encouragement.
The first statement just makes you feel bad about yourself, while the second encourages you to take care of yourself inside and out. Not only does setting loving goals help boost your body confidence, these positive goals tend to be more effective at producing results because you are less likely to get discouraged and give up before you accomplish them.
