How I Found Body Positivity during Lockdown

Put your hands up in the air if you just don't care about society' body standards!

As we all begin to get back into our pre-lockdown routines, it’s important to reflect on the experiences and emotions we went through during this time of uneasiness.

Like most people, I began my lockdown by eating lots of snacks, not exercising, and simply enjoying a bit of me-time. However, it soon dawned on me that this was the perfect opportunity to lose the weight I had been trying to budge for months. But along the way, I realised that no matter what you look like, it's important to love yourself and your body, and not a glamourised ideal.

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Body positivity is not something I’ve ever really had before; I wouldn’t say I’ve ever hated myself and my body, but I’ve definitely been self-conscious of it:

“I can’t wear this top, it makes my shoulders look wide,” “I can’t wear anything low-cut,” “I can’t wear shorts, my legs will look big.”

These are things that I would tell myself, and looking back now this attitude did limit my wardrobe, style choices, and confidence, and I believe I felt this way for so long because society has ingrained into us from a young age what we can and can't wear depending on our body types.

When I was at the heaviest back in September 2019, I didn’t like how most of the weight had gone to my stomach, but I also loved how curvy I was, and this element gave me confidence and made me happy about my appearance! And even now, after losing weight, I still feel confident, and this is all because of my new-found love for my body. The media has taught us to believe certain features are not supposed to be on our bodies; but how can you put on weight, even a healthy amount, and not expect to have fat on your stomach, or not have stretch marks and cellulite from puberty, pregnancy or weight gain. Body positivity is loving yourself and the way you look no matter what size you are; sometimes we can’t help the way we look or how our body changes, which is something I think we’ve all learnt during lockdown. Whether it’s putting on or losing weight, the most important thing is to not blame yourself and make yourself feel bad, and remember that:

Life happens. What’s done is done. Embrace your change, or do something about it.

Today, it's a lot easier to feel more positive about your body. With the help of social media, campaigns to include a wider range body types in clothing stores, TV adverts, and much more has been brought to the attention of many companies. Some brands are now starting to include more and more models with a range of body types, from plus size to petite, dark to fair skin, tall and short, and everything in-between. Having all forms of representation and inclusivity is essential, how can we expect young people to love their bodies when it's not seen in the media; and when they are represented, it needs to be in a positive light and not in a shaming or degrading way as to not defeat the purpose.

Despite social media's help with spreading body positivity awareness, it is also a major issue as it promotes society's ideal, and not individuality. It's so important to not let social media's promotion of what society deems "perfect" make you feel ashamed to be yourself; every body is beautiful, not just the bodies that the media chooses to promote to us.

I know and have accepted I’ll probably never be society’s glamourised “skinny” or "slim thicc" body type, it’s simply not how my body is built, and I’ll never be curvy and not have a bit of pudge on my stomach; and I’m okay with that. And if you do look like society's ideal, that's also okay! Body positivity to me is accepting yourself fully without fear and with pride and finding confidence in that. Saying this, it’s absolutely fine to also want to change yourself. If you want to lose or gain weight, or dress in a non-conforming way, or not wear makeup to feel more empowered, then do it! Do what feels right for you and not for others, and make sure to do what fuels you and your goals in a way that’s healthy and non-detrimental to your wellbeing.

I believe another reason why I’ve become so at peace with my body type during lockdown is because of my new-found perspective on life. Life is too short to worry about what others might think of you and how you look. With body positivity, other people’s opinions and comments lose meaning to you, and YOU become more important than them.

Lockdown has been stressful for all of us, and by no means am I trying to make people feel bad if they spent their lockdown not exercising and eating what they like. If it weren’t for the fact I was already on a diet before lockdown, I probably would have been the same! I was very nervous about leaving the house at the beginning of lockdown, in fact, I didn’t really leave the house for the first two months, and I worked out in the garage and garden because I was so paranoid. Where food may have been one person’s comfort during lockdown, exercise was mine. By the time I got up, made breakfast, exercised, and showered, 2 hours of the morning was over, and then by the time I did my uni assignments the day was gone; and this routine comforted me during a very stressful time.

In lockdown, I have learnt that what goes hand-in-hand with body positivity is your wellbeing and your mindset. If you wake up and think about all the negativity and awfulness facing you and the world, you won’t ever want to do anything, let alone have the energy to feel good about yourself. Although lockdown scared me, what got me through was the motivation to stick to my daily routine, and in turn, it helped me find body positivity. I realised that there are so many more important and bigger things happening in the world right now, so why should I let the way I look matter or why strive for a body type that isn't my own. I've found that achieving body positivity has freed me from my inhibitions and I can focus on the more important things going on. Why should I, or anyone else, have to put so much effort into fitting a mould over being happy and living life to the fullest!

Achieving body positivity is a journey of self-discovery and takes time. Here are some tips for beginning your own journey to body positivity that helped me:

1. Set small and manageable goals for yourself; it is important to be realistic so that you don’t feel disappointed and hit a wall.

2. Keep a journal or record your progress; sometimes we come so far we forget who we used to be, and it’s important to remind yourself where you started.

3. Don’t limit yourself; if you have a strict regiment you’re more likely to break it and quit, allow yourself a treat day so you have something to look forward to.

4. Have a daily affirmation to tell yourself in the mirror, you may feel silly and not believe it at first, but soon enough you will.

5. Don't compare yourself to others; don’t be ashamed or apologise for being your true authentic self, you’re in control of how you look and feel, not others.

Thank you for reading! That was my take on body positivity and my journey with it. I hope this has helped you in some way or at least just let you know a little bit more about me and my experience during lockdown.