I was always a chubby kid. As I entered my teen years, I was the overweight kid. I was painfully self-conscious of how much space I took up, and I lacked confidence in just being who I was \u2013 big or small. I was always on some sort of diet, only to be ambushed by eating too many comfort foods in hopes of making myself feel better.<\/p>\n
In college, I began to slowly lose weight as I made lifestyle changes. It felt like a painfully slow process, but eventually I shed over 75 pounds. It took me two years to lose the physical weight, and ten years to lose the emotional weight. Many years after my weight loss, I still felt fat and incredibly self-conscious. Losing the weight didn\u2019t immediately create a confidence in me, I needed time (and counseling) to deal with the emotional issues tied to my size.<\/p>\n
I always thought I would achieve the perfect weight that would take away all the bad feelings inside of me and awaken the confidence I knew I had. The perfect weight never came. I could be a size 2 or a size 24, but it came down to dealing with the scared girl inside.<\/p>\n
I longed to feel beautiful, not just on the special, dress-up occasion but every day. Over time and with the help of dear friends and a great counselor, I have found six tips to feeling beautiful every day.<\/p>\n
For years after my weight loss, I hid myself in clothes twice the size I needed. If my clothes were bigger, I felt smaller. If something fit properly, I felt big. The reality is wearing something too big or too small, it made me look bigger than I actually was!<\/p>\n
It is easy as women to let this happen. Birthing babies changes bodies, and budgets change with the added family members. But it matters, even if it means a smaller wardrobe. The right size makes me feel like a million bucks \u2013 every day.<\/p>\n
Recently, I saw a photo of myself which sent me spiraling into questions about whether I needed to go on a diet again or exercise more. My weight has been within a five pound radius for years, but I was staring at a picture of me (fairly average American size) next to a much more petite friend with a completely different body shape.<\/p>\n
I was comparing apples to oranges. I am a pear shape. No amount of exercise and healthy eating is going to change the inherent pear-shapeness of my body. It bothered me for weeks (ask my best friend). I finally realized \u2013 again \u2013 I need to accept the shape I am and dress to maximize what I love about my body shape.<\/p>\n