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#MyBodyMyBFF with Curvy Kate


How do you talk to your body? How do you talk about your body? Do you treat your body with kindness, compassion, understanding and respect? Or are you more likely to reach for criticisms and harsh words when describing the form you inhabit? Is you body you BFF? Curvy Kate's newest campaign, #mybodymyBFF, focuses on how we talk to and treat our bodies, and urges women to treat their precious bodies as their BFFs for one month.


Our bodies are our constant companions. While I am more than a shape, a size, a physical presence, my body is still an integral part of who I am. It carries me through my life, it has been there for every success and failure, for all the joy, and all the sorrow, through thick and thin (lol, yup I went there). And yet... I spent the vast majority of my life not knowing my body at all. All I knew was I didn't like it, that I was ashamed of it - because it didn't fit society's standards of what a "good" body was. In my teens I wore bras way too many sizes too small so I didn't have to admit my band size to myself or anyone else. I took my clothes off in changing rooms with my back turned to the mirror and my eyes closed. I went swimming in oversized t-shirts or not at all. I never got undressed in front of friends. I didn't look down in the shower. I never stood in front of a mirror, and honestly looked. I did anything and everything I could to divorce myself from my body. I stopped at the neck. My body did not exist. Except as a reminder of my perceived flaws and lack of self control.

I dieted. God did I diet. I made myself sick (literally). I lost and gained so much weight I had 4 different dress sizes in my wardrobe at any one time. And no matter what I did, I actually felt no differently at all. My body was a stranger. An uneasy presence that I had to tolerate but had no relationship with.  

When I turned 30, something started to change. I had spent three decades in my body as a stranger. Maybe it was wisdom coming with age. Maybe it was the proliferation of different bodies I was seeing online - some like mine, some not, all beautiful. Maybe it was just time. But I started getting to know my body. I started spending time in front of the mirror, naked. Really looking. I opened my eyes in change rooms. I wore swimsuits in public. I got my arms out when I was hot. Initially it was not a love affair. It was a slow, tentative acceptance. A 'getting to know you'. A realisation that as long as I was on this planet, I was going to be in this body. So best we start getting along.





I want to say I am now head over heels in love with my body, but that's not true. I have good days, and bad days. I see the beauty, and sometimes I see the "flaws". But I do live in a state of acceptance. And of celebration - that my body and I have largely found peace with one another. And so I am accepting the challenge thrown down by Curvy Kate - to treat my body like my BFF for a month. So, what does that mean for me?

Speaking to and of my body kindly, celebrating, supporting and complementing my body like I do my besties.  I am going to have BFF dates with my body, filled with quality time - long walks in the park in the sunshine, lying on the grass reading, swimming at my local pool, pamper days with long soaks in the bath, yoga sessions, marathon masturbation sessions (is there a better way to love your body, and yourself?!) and dancing in my living room to whatever Spotify plays next. 

I am going to look after it - in this hot weather I need loads of water to keep hydrated, and lots of fruit and vegetables to keep healthy when I am run down from too much summer day drinking!
I am going to tell my body it is beautiful, because it is (and so is yours). I am going to shower it with all the love it deserves, and tell it regularly just how beautiful I think it is. I am going to praise my milky skin, my long shapely legs, my full breasts, the small of my back, my strong arms that are excellent for hugs, my sunny smile, my cute toes, the two little freckles on my right knee that I picked up in the Caribbean last year, my cascade of curls, my big squishy tummy who I too often have been unkind too. I am going to speak to my body like it is my very bestest friend. Because it is.


How are you and your body going to be BFFs? Tell me the kind, sweet things you'll be whispering to your beautiful body this month. And thank you Curvy Kate for reminding me to stop, and be kind.

Thanks to George from Fuller Figure Fuller Bust for her excellent photography skills!

**This post features gifted items or sponsored content**

2 comments

  1. I read this and associated with so much you had to say. I hated myself for so long, and again like you I have my good and bad days, but I have accepted myself much more. I love the idea of you doing a months challenge with the wonderful Curvy Kate. Can't wait to see updates! xxx

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  2. You are looking fabulous in this beautiful and awesome designer swimsuit. The color pink adds an extra touch of sexiness. Looks very comfy and perfect on you. Will feature it in My Lingerie Magazine

    ReplyDelete

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