The dressing room is your friend! (body kindness)

Ok friends, I'm ready to talk some serious body kindness. You in?  I hope so! There is so much goodness for us in this one simple topic.  My, what a long way I've come even being able to type that! It's no secret that learning to love the body I'm in has been a huge lesson and topic in my life...my whole life.  I've bravely blogged the highs and lows and everything in-between over the years.  I must say, this time feels different.  Really, completely different.  I just feel like I've found the real me and I like her.  This feels epic to even write. I've pretty much spent countless hours, days and years trying to make my size 8 or 10 body be a slave to the scale and turn into a size 4 or 6.  If you haven't gone through this yourself, let me tell you it's exhausting.  It means a number higher on the scale can send your thoughts into an unhappy tailspin, causing your emotions to wreak havoc on those closest to you. It means not ever choosing to treat yourself, or if you do, prefacing it by telling yourself you'll work it off later.  Living unhappy with yourself means basically...living unhappy. 

I have always found this to be true in my own life but didn't know if it was just me or not.  Then I watched some What Not to Wear and Say Yes to the Dress over the past few weeks.  Time and time again I saw young ladies so unhappy with their bodies (when there was nothing wrong with them at all!) and in turn, so unhappy altogether.  At one point the host of Say Yes to the Dress even commented that if a young woman comes in unhappy with herself, there's literally nothing even a pretty wedding dress can do. 

So it's not just me.  All this to say, I truly do feel like I'm slowly overcoming this awful body-shaming hurdle.  I like the skin I'm in! Do I have some improvements I'd like to make? For sure! Feeling good and focusing on my mental health will always stay on my mind.  But I have really noticed kind thoughts filling my mind and I think it matters to speak up and say so.  Perhaps I can inspire you to feel the same towards yourself?  Have you noticed how many women there are around you and on our social media's that actually really like themselves? Not near enough in my opinion! 

I'm going to blog over the next few days on the topic of body kindness.  I even have a long "What I Wore" outfit post coming at ya this weekend! (I'm sad to say my mirror selfie's haven't improved, lol). 

For today, my body kindness tip is this: The dressing room is your friend.  Really, it is! I used to enter a dressing room filled with dread.  For starters, I wouldn't bring enough options in to start with and so if something didn't fit me I would just crumble and leave feeling so awful.  Instead, I've now started trying on anything and everything that catches my eye, grabbing two different sizes in some things to see which flatters best, and telling myself what Stacey and Clinton on tv shared: if something doesn't look good, it's the clothes not you! 

For real, this works.  For example: if I try something on and immediately notice the lumps and bumps around my mid-section and hips, instead of jumping into panic mode about how I need to lose 20 pounds, instead I'll reach for a fabric or cut that doesn't cling to those spots but instead flatters them.

Y'all, this tip is so simple yet it has made such a huge impact on how I shop for myself! I must note, this takes time.  THIS TAKES TIME.  Yes, it's worth typing twice.  Dressing in a way that's flattering and cute and that fits our individual personalities just takes time.  I'm finding the payoff is huge.  I find when I'm dressed in clothes that I feel good in I have an extra pep in my step and my confidence is higher.  To put it quite simply, I feel happier! 

Will clothes make you happier? No.  Should we put all of our worth into shopping for cute clothes and how we look? No.

This is a quick phone snap over Spring Break.  I'm still in my robe well into the afternoon.  No shower, no make-up...just my gal loving on me and my happy self smiling back.  

Clothes can't buy you this kind of soul satisfaction and body kindness.  BUT, making the dressing room your friend instead of your foe can make a world of difference in how you see yourself and how you feel.  This month I encourage you to take a stack of clothes into the dressing room, be it Goodwill or Target, and try it all on.  Take a selfie to see what you really look like, if you prefer.  Find at least one thing you feel good in.  Lean in to that happiness and feel it and celebrate it. 

For the record, I *did* buy the dress in this dressing room selfie! Old Navy for the win! Dressing real-sized women and using ALL body types in their advertising! I'm a huge fan!

Ok ladies, it's time to start a Body Kindness revolution! I think when we love ourselves we are on FIRE and can change our worlds because we are finally out of our own way! Watch out world, here we come!