Every January, multitudes of people create new year’s resolutions. Among the most popular are the healthy habits most want to acquire such as exercising, losing weight, eating healthier, getting fit, etc. And for me, last January I decided to make peace with my body image.  After being thin most of my life, and gaining 65 pounds in the last 6 years, I’m now clinically considered an obese person.  Even though I don’t feel obese, and my medical exams come back normal, I struggled with my body image for multiple reasons, but I had to dig deep to find my true issues with self-love.  

I first had to find what my true problem was when I looked in the mirror.  I had to ask myself, what truly makes me dislike my body so much?  Is it really my belly fat, the mommy pouch, or is it that when I look in the mirror I don’t feel beautiful because my hair is a mess, my face looks pale, my nails are not manicured, and on top of that I’m wearing unflattering clothes that fit too tight or too loose and are uncomfortable? Bingo!  I realized a large part of it is my wardrobe, my lack of beautiful wide width shoes, my lack of an easy morning routine to get my hair and make-up done.   

Think of moments when you have felt beautiful in your current size.  What made the difference?  For me it’s been those times when I dress to impress and my hair and makeup are done.  I’m not recommending that you go to the salon every day to get all done up, but can you set-up a system where it’s easier for you to do your own blow drying, a fast makeup routine, and built a wardrobe of multifunctional clothes that you feel beautiful in? 

In order to love how you look every single day, you need to change your environment and create a system that works for you.  You need an environment to support what you want to accomplish so it’s easy to get a positive trigger of reinforcement. 

Before I jump into my 8 techniques for always looking and feeling beautiful let me tell you that it’s important YOU look and feel beautiful for YOURSELF – NOT for anyone else.  Usually, women tend to wear their ugliest clothes at home just because it’s comfortable and “nobody” is going to see them. Well guess what? YOU see YOU and you’re the most important person you should care about.   

Here are 8 examples of how I created a system and changed my environment to make sure I always feel and look beautiful regardless of how fat I get or what the scale says on any given day.   

1. At home, get rid of all the clothes you’re holding on to for when you lose weight. Don’t clutter your closet, your room, or any space with it because it’s a constant reminder of you not liking your body the way it is TODAY.
2. Now that you have made space in your closet, make sure to begin filling it with clothes that you buy that fit you now, even if you must go out and buy a couple of blouses and pants. Make sure that you start out buying clothes that are multifunctional.  For example, I bought a pair of nice quality black yoga pants that actually look dressy, but are super comfortable and with just throwing on a nice blouse I look done up to have a video conference, run errands, or even go for a walk. Once you have a few items that are multifunctional you can continue adding to your new wardrove as your budget allows.    
3. Buy wide width shoes that are also multifunctional, fit well, and are comfortable such as these Aster blacks. They can be worn with jeans for a casual night out, with slacks for the office, or even a little black dress for full blown class and sophistication.  Or these Dara nudes, that scream style and versatility. All of that, with just one pair of comfortable high quality block heels.  
4. Buy a blow dryer that is also multifunctional, such one that dryers your hair as it styles it at the same time. This will save you a ton of time and there are many options now in days to choose from.  I usually take a shower and do my blow out the night before, that way in the morning I just need to spend 5 minutes styling my hair.  
5. Buy make up that can also service multi purposes. For example, I buy my foundation with SPF 15, and lipstick that can also be used as blush.  Putting my make-up on only takes 5 minutes and I’m out the door.   
6. Put up pictures of your current self with your loved ones, of your happy experiences regardless of your size. They will be a reminder of the wonderful memories you’re making in the present, which is what truly makes one happy.
7. On your social feed make sure you unfollow anyone or any brand that has to do with diet culture, or people that you know can be a trigger to negative body image thoughts even if it’s a celebrity you’ve always liked. Instead, follow people or brands that genuinely care to make a difference in the body positive movement.
8. Finally, but not least loose the friends or family, that don’t add positive value to your life and happiness. If you can’t cut them cold turkey, make it a point to distance yourself more and more from them.

Most importantly, you can start with a small change.  Don’t feel like you have to do all 8 steps listed above at once. Be sure to take your time, and ease into changing your environment and creating your own system to see yourself with loving eyes.   Start with the easiest one to create momentum and before you know it you will be on the autopilot of self-love. 

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With love,

Jacqueline Prado