Body Confidence & Positivity

Throughout my career, I was always typically shaped like our lovely Poppy – even when I was trying to trim down to a size 8/10 in my early “straight size” modelling days, I could never seem to lessen the extra inches that used to reside on my lower half.

In July 2014 – I was officially diagnosed with Lipoedema by Professor Mortimer at St Georges Hospital in London. Finally! I had an answer as to why I had struggled so much with the shape of my legs and bottom over all these years.

Lipoedema is a fat disorder that progressively affects the lower half of your body – it is a long term condition which is caused by an abnormal build up of fat cells in your legs, thighs and bottom area – and it is very painful. It can also affect your arms and sometimes certain other parts of your body.

There is no cure for it and no one knows why you get it although, they are starting to think that it may be hereditary.

Lipoedema is known as the painful fat condition. No amount of diet or exercise will shift the lipoedema fat which has a completely different structure to the “normal” fat that we all carry on our bodies.

Lipoedema, sadly, is often misdiagnosed as obesity. I went to a number of Dr’s searching for help – I kept being told to go away, eat less and exercise more. Eating disorders are prevalent in Lipoedema sufferers, it is easy to see why.

More and more women are being diagnosed with Lipoedema and many more women don’t know that they have it – infact, it is believed that 11% of the female population have some form of lipoedema.

There are different stages that the condition goes through and all we can do as Lipoedema sufferers is try and manage it as best as we can – with compression garments, manual lymphatic drainage as a massage and also it is believed that non inflammatory foods can help reduce the swelling.

I will be doing many more posts on Lipoedema here on Love Curves as I am determined to try and help get the word around about this condition. In the meantime, if you want to find out more information, please go to www.lipoedema.co.uk I am also part of an amazing support network of ladies – www.talklipoedema.org Such beautiful, strong, amazing Ladies – we love them all here at Love Curves 🙂

Lots of Love

SELF LOVE

This is something that we all struggle with from time to time. Indeed, some people more than others. I have been various different dress sizes over the years and my weight fluctuates depending on what is going on in my life! However, what I came to realise during this time is that neither your size nor your weight defines you as a person and that losing weight or dropping a dress size doesnt automatically qualify you to be a fully fledged member of the “Happy for Life” Club!

As cliche as it may sound, self love comes from the inside and then radiates to your outer being. It is of course a work in progress. Every day we are subjected to outside sources that can make us feel bad about ourselves, unfortunately, this is life – not everyone or every experience we have is going to be a positive one. Moreover, it is how we deal with these people, situations and experiences that more often than not determines how we perceive ourselves on a daily basis.

So, I decided to put together my Top 10 Thoughts on How you can help yourself feel better and more confident with the beautiful Body and Mind that is uniquely Yours in order to help with the cycle of daily life.

BE KIND TO YOURSELF

YOU ARE BEAUTIFUL. You are Unique, You are Enough and You most certainly have got this. STOP giving yourself such a hard time. Life is tough enough as it is, without beating yourself up about the way you look or how you handle situations. Treat yourself to that new lipstick or that pair of fab shoes – you are SO WORTH IT.

FORGIVE YOURSELF

Try to silence your inner critic. This is a tough one. If you can, try and change your thought process and more over, the words you choose to use to describe your body and mind. Its amazing what will happen. Stop beating yourself up about things that you may have said or done – Remember the decision you made at any one particular moment was the correct one for that given situation and that specific time. Release it into the Universe!

PRACTICE MINDFULNESS

Meditation is an amazing tool and it isnt as hard to do as you may think. Being present in your current moment is a pretty powerful thing to do and can teach you a lot about how you handle yourself and others around you. Dont be scared of giving it ago – it takes some time to master but once you get the hang of it, it can have a really positive influence on your Body and Soul.

STOP COMPARING

We live in a very Social Media dominant World and unfortunately, sometimes, this leaves us comparing ourselves and our lives to everyone elses. How can you base your worth on someone elses journey? Dont compare your 1st step to your best friends 100th. Every individual excels at different things – find your forte and watch your confidence grow.

“A Flower does not think about competing with the Flower next to it. It just Blooms”

Zen Shin

SURROUND YOURSELF WITH POSITIVITY

Is it time for a clear out? A de-clutter? Cut out all the negativity in your life and all those toxic relationships which arent doing you any favours. Surround yourself with people who love you and who are your biggest cheerleaders – its so true – Positivity breeds Positivity.

SUPPORT OTHER WOMEN

Lets not face this journey on our own – by helping and offering support to other women, we can learn a lot . When Women support other Women incredible things happen. Smile, offer a beautiful compliment and inspire other Women to love themselves. Remember, kindness flows back in abundance.

LET GO OF THE PAST

That was then – this is now. Its a tough one to crack sometimes, however, what use is wallowing in past regrets and mistakes? Learn from them and live for the present. Have a declutter of everything in the house and at work and do the same in your head. Its amazing how fresh and revitalised this will leave you feeling.

FIND YOUR HAPPY PLACE

This is such a powerful thing to do – whether it is getting out in nature – walking your dog or reading a book, learning how to play the piano or trying out a new recipe – whatever it is that makes you feel happy and self-fulfilled, commit to doing this once a week and show up – you owe it to yourself.

EMBRACE YOUR DIFFERENCES

This is what makes us unique. Thank Goodness! How boring would it be if we were all the same? Love the fact that your big bum jiggles when it walks or that by being lovely and tall it means that you can help people reach things off the top shelf in the Supermarket! Embrace everything that is unique and different about you. You are your own blueprint – how awesome is that?!

BE REALISTIC

Lets be completely honest here – this is real work in progress – Self Love is an ever evolving process. Dont put unnecessary pressure on yourself trying to do all these things at once – a little at a time is all it takes and you will soon start seeing the difference. Most of all, enjoy it, embrace it and shine your beautiful light everywhere you go 🙂