How To Be Confident In Your Body — 12 Essential Steps!

In this age of social media and filters, it’s hard to keep your body confidence at a steady rate. Like most of us, you might want to know how to be confident in your own body. This is why I created this bulletproof guide to help you be confident in your own skin. 

No matter where you are in your fitness journey, this article will help you let go of the insecurities and embrace your body!

1. Start by being grateful to your body — make a list!

Changing your mindset or your perspective should always start with being grateful! Create a gratitude list that highlights everything your body has done for you. List at least 10 things. It could be as simple as being grateful that your body allows you to go from point A to point B. Or to something as big as your body fighting off an illness or being strong or quick enough to save you from danger. 

Doing this will open your mind to what your body has done for you and why you should appreciate it more. When you start with a grateful mind you will most likely do all the following steps successfully. 

Examples:

“I am so grateful that my body allows me to workout and exercise, which can help me be happier and healthier”

“I am thankful that my body lets me do my favorite fun activities” 

“I am thankful that my body is strong and is recovering from surgery”

“I am grateful to my body because it allows me enjoy the fun things in life”

These are just some examples, it is really up to you. There are no rules on how to be grateful!

2. Practice positive thinking

Making ‘positive thinking’ a habit won’t happen overnight, especially if you are so used to being a Negative Nancy. You will find it hard in the beginning to see the brighter side of things and you will most likely go back to your usual pessimist ways, but, this doesn’t mean you won’t do it, right? 

You must remind yourself constantly to stay positive. When you feel a negative thought creeping up, switch it into something positive. 

Let me give you an example…

Negative thought: 

“I still haven’t lost a single pound even though I;ve been working out and eating healthy for a week. This sucks!”

Why not switch it to something like this…

Positive thought:

“I am so happy that my body and I successfully survived the first week of my fitness journey. I can’t wait to continue this until I see progress!”

3. Practice self-love — pamper yourself!

It is great to challenge your body during a workout. Especially if you are trying to lose fat, gain muscle, lose weight fast, or just completely transform your body altogether. But, you must never forget to pamper your body and give it much-needed breaks. Aside from giving it regular rest days from working out, you must also take the time to spoil your body and give it the TLC that it needs!

Treat yourself to a nice relaxing massage, buy nice clothes that highlight the best features of your body, or spend a night at a fancy hotel. It doesn’t really matter how you choose to pamper your body as long as you remember to do it regularly. 

4. Take a break from social media

Studies have shown that social media can negatively affect a person’s self-esteem. You see all these influencers and celebrities posting unrealistic airbrushed photos of themselves on social media which can lead you on a downward spiral with self-loathing and judgment. You may start to wonder why your waist isn’t as tiny or why your butt isn’t as flawless as theirs. If you start to feel like you are comparing yourself to the people you see on social media, it is time to take a break! 

Pause on scrolling through your feeds, delete your social media apps if you must. Doing this will allow you to see yourself without the filtered lens that compares you to every photoshopped image you see on your feed. This will help you see the beauty of your body without judgment or comparison.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t hate social media. I believe, like with everything, it has its pros and its cons. If you feel like it isn’t empowering you, then pause, take a breather, then reprogram your mind. 

5. Journal!

Buy a journal or simply take any notebook you can find and make a body positivity journal. In this journal, write down the gratitude list I mentioned previously. Aside from that, track your mood and your emotions towards your body. If you are feeling down or happy, jot it down in your journal. 

Also, don’t forget to track your mindset progress! Whenever you feel like you’ve overcome a negative thought you have about your body, write it down and celebrate. 

Keeping a journal can help you manage your emotions better, plus, more often than not when you read back what you’ve written it will open your eyes to see how poorly you see yourself and how much you should strive to correct the negative thinking.

6. Let out your frustrations

In your journal, aside from just writing your gratitude list and your progress, you must also take time to let out your frustrations. You have to unload the heavy baggage you are carrying to start a new and positive chapter! It is hard to try to be positive if you are still holding on to a lot of hurt and frustration. 

Do this regularly in your journal and you should feel like a heavy weight has been lifted off of your shoulders.

7. Affirmations

Words of affirmations are positive statements that can help overcome insecurities or pessimism. When you repeat these statements often, without negating them, you will start to believe that these statements are in fact true. Then, you will slowly shift your negative thinking to a more positive way of thinking. 

Doing this often will help you remove the cynical pair of glasses you’ve been using to look at your body. You’ll be able to see your beautiful body for what it really is. 

8. Treat yourself like how you would treat your best friend

Would you ever treat your best friend poorly or tell her/him that his/her body is ugly? No, right? Then, why are you doing that to yourself? Most of us are kinder to the people we love or even to strangers compared to ourselves. That needs to change! We should start treating ourselves better. 

Talk about your body as if you were a different person. If your thoughts are starting to get negative, you should stop and ask yourself “will I ever say these mean things to another person?”

9. Fake it till you make it

This is an oldie but a goodie. You always hear the “fake it till you make it” advice from people, tv shows, movies, and so on. This is popular for a reason. It is highly effective for the majority of people.

Basically, to apply this method, you must picture yourself as if you’ve already reached your goal. In this case, picture yourself as if you are already confident in your body. Dress, walk, act as if you’ve already succeeded in fighting off the negative thoughts. Soon enough, your mind and body will connect and you will realize you are no longer “faking” it anymore.

10. Fix your social media feed

Fixing your social media feed can help you lessen your triggers. If you find that looking at other people’s posts makes you less confident in your body, then unfollow them. Follow more body-positive pages and people. Soon you will notice that most of the posts on your feed uplift you rather than triggers you. 

11. Reminder — your worth is not based on your weight!

You should ALWAYS remind yourself that your worth is not and will never be based on your weight. Do not stress yourself out because you haven’t reached your fitness goal yet, even if you’ve tried all the fitness tips and tricks. You should be confident in your body before, during, and after your fitness journey.

Stop yourself from saying “I will be happy once I reach my body goal” or “I will be confident in my body once I lose 10 lbs”. Start by loving your body now!

There is nothing wrong with trying to improve your body, just remind yourself to love your body even before or during the process.

12. Get professional help

When you’ve tried your best and still you are finding it hard to be confident in your body, do not lose hope. You can always get professional help. Professionals exist for a reason. They are here to help you especially when you are feeling hopeless. 

A tip for seeking professional help: Look for the best professional that makes you feel comfortable. You don’t have to stick to the first doctor or counselor you see. 

Conclusion

Follow these steps on how to be confident in your body and soon enough you will let go of all the insecurities that have been holding you back. Remember when you are feeling hopeless, you can always ask a professional for help.