Your temple is your body, and I know how hard it is to feel comfortable with your body, let alone love it, especially as a woman.
I’m not sure what happened, but over the course of this year, I have really grown comfortable with my body. Some days, I am completely obsessed with my body, and other days, I can be okay with not looking in the mirror for a long period of time.
No matter what, I am at least comfortable with my body, and this is how I achieved it.
Naked Wandering
I knew I was comfortable with my body when I started consistently walking around my apartment naked in broad daylight with my blinds open, and no part of me cared. Granted, I face a bunch of trees, but even if I didn’t, I would still walk around naked with not a care.
Letting everything jiggle and shake and sag is the most freeing experience, and if you do it consistently, you fall in love with your nakedness and the fluctuation of your body. My stomach looks crazy when I’m bloated, and I’m learning to love it; it’s definitely been one of the hardest things for me to accept. Nowadays, I will sit on my couch without a shirt, bra, anything, and I will look down and smile at my rolls.
Eat for Yourself
Don’t eat because everyone else is eating. I’ve realized the pressure to eat while everyone else around you eats aids in me feeling like garbage about myself. Most of the time, I don’t want to try your new barbecue recipe; I want a few pieces of potato wedges instead. For a long time, I was eating to satisfy other people and their egos, but I know my boundaries now. I eat what I want, when I want, how I want, and knowing I’m putting things I chose into my body has helped our relationship.
Body Conversations
Talking about bodies with other people has worked wonders in how I feel about my own. It’s not a matter of comparison. I love sharing insecurities with other women about our bodies. There’s a unity mindset that comes with these conversations; it makes us feel like we’re not alone in our journey. Getting comfortable with talking about your body, whether it’s what looks good or what feels like it needs work, helps with the actual feeling of comfort associated with your body.
All temples look different, but all temples can go through the same thing, which unifies them in a beautiful way.
Appropriate Undergarments
I just got the BEST push-up, wire-free bras from Belk’s (not sure of the brand), and my confidence was immediately elevated when I put it on. Bras rarely make my size B chest look good, but the new bras I just got have worked a miracle—y’all, I actually look like I have something in the front.
On top of that, I also got the most FLATTERING boy short underwear from Belk’s (not sure of the brand again and am honestly too lazy to get up). Wearing flattering undergarments heighten your self-confidence like it’s nobody’s business; it feels like a loving hug, which is always welcome when you’re learning to love your body.
Kind Words
Everyone was right. Talking kind to your body changes the way you feel about it. Recently, I realized I’ve unintentionally eliminated negative self-talk, and it’s made a massive difference in how I feel about my body. On the days when I’m not feeling too good, especially mentally, I will simply not make a comment about my temple. Truthfully, I’m not sure when the shift happened, but I love the growth.
Many people love to tell me they wish they were skinny like me, but it took me a looong time to be okay with my fleshy parts, my stretch marks, my cellulite. Still, as comfortable as I am with my body, I have a loooong way to go with consistently feeling joyful about it.
