‘She dressed up that 200-pound body. She bought it new clothes. Her confidence oozed out of her.’: Woman reflects on self love, ‘I am going to love myself without losing weight’

“I have a friend who recently lost some weight. She went from 280 pounds to 198 pounds.

She felt fantastic. She LOOKED fantastic. Her confidence oozed out of her. She dressed up that 200-pound body. She bought it new clothes. She admired and respected it way more now. And it honestly showed. Besides appearing smaller, she looked like a weight had lifted. She looked like she was glowing, happy, proud, and mostly, she looked confident and therefore, sexy. I got jealous of her.

Which was confusing because I weigh 200 lbs. I’ve lost weight over the last year and the last couple of months gained it… and therefore, lost my confidence. Lost my drive to want to be sexy. I am not glowing. I am not treating myself as someone who should have a new wardrobe, etc.

And then something snapped in me and I thought, well the hell not?

Why does it have to take losing weight to feel confident? Why does being a smaller size on the scale dictate whether you dress yourself nicely? Or care for yourself? Doll yourself up, shave your legs, or flaunt yourself?

I bet you someone who weighed more than my friend looked at her at 280 pounds and wanted her body, and so on. We are never freaking happy, let’s face it. So maybe it’s time we should be.

Maybe it’s time we embrace the body right now. Not when we lose weight. Not when we drop 10, 20, or 30 pounds. Now. Right now.

For the next 30 days, I’m going to treat myself as if I’ve lost 50 pounds.

And it’s already working.

Today I already lost 3 pounds. 3 pounds of negative self-talk that says my legs should be hidden because I have #psoriasis and my stomach should be tucked in because it’s round. Because I have stretch marks and cellulite.

Today, I am going to work towards believing that I am a deserving person. Today I am going to give myself the same admiration I give to glamorous women on Instagram. Today I am going to love myself without losing any weight.

I hope you will join me.

#30daysofselflove”

This story was submitted to Love What Matters by Laura Mazza, where it originally appeared. Follow Laura on Instagram here. Do you have a similar experience? We’d like to hear your important journey. Submit your own story here. Be sure to subscribe to our free email newsletter for our best stories, and YouTube for our best videos.

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