body positivity tips (for anon)
what to do:
get rid of all thinspo inspiration. thinspo comes in all forms, and it can even be idealizing a celebrity and wanting to look like her.
follow body positivity accounts. even if it’s just positive for you. for example, follow a model with a body type like yours, such as a plus-size model. accounts I recommend on instagram: bodyposipanda (bopo account), isabel_hendrix (plus-size model)
start doing little things that you think you can’t do until you’re your goal weight. things like accepting a date, wearing a crop top, flirting, going to the gym, taking selfies
find coping mechanisms that work for you. eventually you won’t feel pressured to use them. for example, i started gaining confidence by wearing makeup. now i do not need makeup to feel beautiful. at the time though, makeup helped me cope with feeling confident as a fat*** woman, because i conformed to society with my face, even if my body did not
find stylish clothes that fit you. i recommend fashion nova plus! they have a lot of stylish clothes that are identical to their thin people clothes! let the clothes hug your body if you think you’d be comfortable with it “if you were thin.” you don’t have to wait to be thin, you can do it now. (and by “stylish,” I mean clothes you like! clothes you want to wear if nothing was stopping you!)
read up on feminism. familiarize yourself with body positivity that doesn’t focus on the need to be beautiful, but rather the destruction that a woman’s worth is tied to her appearance.
if you’re able to, talk to a therapist about it. work on it weekly.
find similarly built people to compare yourself to, positively. I used to compare myself to my sister because we have always had similar body types, and I think of her as beautiful. If she can be beautiful and big, then what makes me unable to? This goes back to following good plus size people btw!
realize that “fat” does not equal bad. thin does not equal good or beautiful.
ask people for help. talk with close friends about it. friends notice when other friends have disordered eating patterns.
be the person others can come to for help. ask a friend to go get something to eat if you know you or the other person hasn’t eaten enough that day.
***I use “fat” to describe myself at the time when I did need makeup to help me feel confident. I have since lost weight and would not use that term for myself anymore. I am currently about a pants size 12, and overall a large, so I am still not thin, but no longer fat. Some may consider me fat, and I am okay with that!
