My journey to loving my body has been complicated and difficult. It is still complicated and difficult! But I am passionate about changing the way we talk and think about our bodies. Let’s create a community of self-love for people of all appearances, genders, races, and abilities. Are you in? Read on!
If you’ve read any of my posts about body image before, you might know that I’ve had a long and complicated relationship with exercise and my body. And I’m not alone. It’s estimated that around half of Americans have a disordered relationship with exercise, food, and their own body. My views around movement and my body had become so warped that for years I hated exercise because of how it made me feel about my body. That was until I discovered […]
Beauty filters have come along way since the Snapchat dog ears and flower crowns of 2016. Now fuelled by artificial intelligence and augmented reality technology, filters have become increasingly more realistic – and more prevalent. What started as a fun effect has become an unavoidable part of life online, and it’s starting to impact the self-esteem of millions of social media users all over the world. What are the scary and subtle ways that beauty filters harm your self-esteem? And […]
Society has been obsessed with beauty for thousands of years. But the more I learn about beauty standards throughout history, the more I realize: the features that our modern society idealizes haven’t always been the epitome of beauty. Many of the “flaws” society pushes on us are actually insecurities that were the beauty standard at other points throughout history. I used to believe that I had been born in the wrong era because my beauty wasn’t as appreciated in the […]
For a long time, activewear was one of my least favourite things to shop for. Learning to embrace and enjoy exercise meant that I was able to find the joy in movement again. But it also meant I needed to upgrade my workout wardrobe, no matter how daunting that task may have seemed. I wanted to find workout clothing that would support me, while also supporting companies and brands that were changing the narrative about fitness and body diversity. Do […]
I don’t remember the first time I noticed my keratosis pilaris – but I think that’s because I wasn’t the one who noticed it. It was during summer camp in the fourth grade, when all the girls were getting changed into our bathing suits for a swimming lesson. “EW!” Said one little girl when she saw me, “What are those red bumps all over your arms?” Those bumps, as I would later learn, were called keratosis pilaris, also known as […]
I hate working out. Or, I used to think I did. For years, my experience with exercise looked like this – I forced myself to the gym to punish myself for “breaking my diet”. I would spend the whole time comparing and criticizing myself, and then end off by taking obsessive progress pictures or weighing myself to see if I had finally reached my impossible fitness goals. It wasn’t productive, it wasn’t fulfilling, and it definitely wasn’t healthy. But working […]
Far too many of us have had this experience: you head to the mall, feeling hopeful about finding some new clothes. But that hopeful feeling can fade so fast. Suddenly, it can feel like all your body image issues are put underneath a microscope. In those unflattering mirrors under the harsh fluorescent lights, it’s easy for even the most confident shoppers to feel their insecurity creeping in. Before you know it, you’re crying in the dressing room while trying to […]
How do you cope with bad body image days? My favorite way to cure any bad mood looks a little like this: putting on my headphones, turning the volume up, and dancing around my house to my favorite tunes. It’s more than just fun – music can help us recover from stress responses and dancing releases happy chemicals and endorphins. Listening to positive lyrics can also increase positive emotions and well-being. Especially when jamming out to a playlist of body-positive […]
Sometimes it’s easy to tell when a photo has been retouched. The internet is full of photoshop fails that leave gorgeous models with impossibly smooth skin, freakishly long limbs, or extra arms. But it’s not those pictures that scare me – it’s those subtle, sneaky ones that convince us that real people really can look like that. They set unrealistic standards for beauty and can be extremely damaging for our self-esteem. Some countries are taking a stand against retouching; Norway […]
I’m sure you’ve heard people say that humans are creatures of habit. But habits are so much deeper than little things like biting your nails or drinking enough water. Habits are present in every choice (conscious and unconscious) that we make throughout the day. Did you know that even feelings can become habitual? If you’re feeling stuck in your bad body image, it’s possible that the way you feel about yourself has become a habit. But if habits can make […]
