Everyone wants to feel good about how they look, but there are many reasons why you might not feel as confident as you would like. Bodies change with time and age for everyone, but certain differences are unique to pregnancy and childbirth when you have had a baby. If you have recently had a baby, or even had your children years ago, and are unhappy with your body and want to start feeling more positive about your appearance again, here are some things you can try to help achieve that.
Maintain a Balanced Diet and Exercise
The first step to feeling happier and healthier is by making sure that you are living a balanced lifestyle. You don’t have to obsessively count calories or go to the gym every day to start feeling better about your body image, but if you do tend to overindulge in comfort food and get little exercise in throughout the week, you will need to start making some healthy changes. You can still enjoy your treats, but make sure that they stay as treats and don’t become a staple of your daily diet. When it comes to working out, try to select an exercise that you enjoy, as this will make it feel less like a chore and more fun which will be easier to maintain.
Update Your Wardrobe
Another way to help you feel better about your look is by simply updating your wardrobe. Everyone holds on to one or two items of clothes that they loved years ago, but now they can’t fit into them, or they no longer look right on them. Taking pride in your appearance and making a little more effort can help to boost your confidence, so if you haven’t treated yourself to some new outfits in a long time, take the opportunity to do so now. For an example of flattering styles that will suit everybody, check out some trendy modest clothing from Sweet Salt for inspiration.
Focus on What You do Like About Your Appearance
Negative thoughts are far more intrusive than positive ones, and it can be easy for them to become dominant. If you are struggling with your confidence, one thing you could try is shifting the focus from what you don’t like to the things that you do. For example, do you feel that you have great hair? Do you like the color of your eyes or even the shape of your legs? Take the time to truly look at yourself and even if you don’t particularly like anything right now, learn how to feel neutral about your body rather than negative. Eventually, this neutral feeling can start to flourish into positivity and a boost in your confidence, or at the very least, those negative thoughts won’t have the same power as you anymore.
Learn to Accept That Things Have Changed
Even if you don’t go through a pregnancy or give birth, your body will change with age. No one will look how they did when they were 18 when they hit their 40s, or even their 30s. If you want to feel more confident, you need to accept that things have changed and will continue to do so. If you are living a healthy lifestyle, you will notice the difference and look your best simply because you are taking care of yourself.
Struggling with body image is not an uncommon issue, and people of all ages and circumstances can experience this at some point in life. If you are a parent who is struggling with your body confidence after having children, consider the points above and see if they can help you turn things around.
Good ideas! It’s tough for me to get back to my pre-pregnancy shape, though. Maybe because it’s been 42 years?
I also need to get back to my pre-pregnancy shape, but then again, 120 pounds was probably too skinny- plus I had no boobs, lol. Love you, Sandy!!!