Plus size visibility in fashion, and mainstream media, is slowly but surely catching up to what we’ve been saying for years – plus size folks are beautiful, worthy of self love and full of talent!
It’s a beautiful thing to see more images of plus size bodies on the covers of fashion magazines (can someone say Jessamyn Stanley and Callie Thorpe on the Cosmo cover for the win?!). Not to mention, there are more plus size mannequins in storefronts as more and more clothing designers include plus sizes in their selections, making plus sizes bodies more visible and mainstream.
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We are loving it!
But wait a minute though!
As anyone in a plus size body knows… it still can be difficult to navigate the world in a plus size body. How do we *truly* embrace how beautiful our expansive bodies really are? Even if you’ve been practicing self love for a while… we are all still human, and we all have our bad body days.
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And that’s okay!
We have been told what an ideal body should look like as early as infancy! Diet culture and anti-fatness can do a number on our self-esteem and affect many other aspects of our lives.
The plus size community is vast, with many unique points of view and multiple other identities. My advice is to find your plus size community! Make friends with other plus folks, join curate your social media feed with people that make you feel good about yourself and bodies that look like yours!
That is definitely a form of self care that I’ve implemented myself, and it changed my life and helped my mental health immensely!
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To embrace true body diversity, body positivity, and fat liberation is a journey.
Every shape and size is beautiful in its own way. No matter what toxicity we grew up learning!
For many, one of the first steps of their body acceptance journey is learning how to practice self love. Self love is not selfish. It’s actually quite the opposite! There is nothing wrong with wanting to love yourself and your body and working on healing our relationship with fatness.
There’s no stopping a person who knows and loves who they are, who believes in all parts of themselves. It is so empowering, and it is very possible to get to that point. We promise.
A great place to start loving one’s self is by speaking tenderly and lovingly to yourself, exactly the same way you would speak to someone you love.
Affirmations are an excellent way to love up on yourself. Let these words of affirmations wash over every glorious bit of you as you acknowledge all of you on this amazing journey to self love.
Say these with utmost love in your minds, hearts and voices to yourselves!
21 Affirmations of Self Love & Care for Plus Size People
- I am worthy.
- Belly, thank you for helping me digest.
- Thighs, thank you for carrying me to where I want to go.
- My very existence makes the world a better place.
- I am a gift to the world.
- My needs are just as important as anyone else’s.
- I am my own standard.
- The beauty in me attracts beautiful things all around me.
- I am perfect and complete just the way I am.
- My body deserves kindness.
- I am a force to be reckoned with.
- My body is not a problem to be solved.
- You are not what other people say about you.
- I am grateful for my body.
- My body is my home, and I will not tear it down.
- I am more than a number on the scale.
- Body, I promise to love and cherish you always. I am sorry for ever being cruel to you and ask for forgiveness.
- All bodies are good bodies.
- Happiness isn’t size specific.
- I am valued.
- Food is not good or bad. It has no moral significance.
Practicing saying some or all of these affirmations in the mirror to yourself, every day. It will really help your outlook on your body and how you feel about yourself. The best part of these affirmations is that it’s all true!
Do you practice saying affirmations daily? What affirmations bring you a sense of love and calm?
Thank you so much for this. I really needed and was able to hear this today.
With gratitude,
Carolyn Hyman
I’m so glad the message was well-received, Carolyn. We all need these reminders for ourselves sometimes. <3
Hey Mayra!
Thank you so much for this read. As a plus sized woman I have struggled with my weight, image and self love every now and then over the years. Honestly I’m usually okay, but since last year I’ve been struggling a lot. You see when I first met my now boyfriend he would always talk about his type – which is completely opposite of what I look like. As our relationship contined to grow, my self consciousness has gotten higher as well. I hate it, but the reality is that thoughts like: is he just settling for me?, does he want me to lose weight and look like other women?, is he ashamed of me?; constantly run in my head. The weird thing is that he never talks about my weight, just about his own. And I guess today it really hit me and im down a depressive spiral. So, as I was trying to find some solace/comfort I stumbled upon your article. I really needed it 💜
all I can say is “very good”
Thank you for reading!