Boost Your Body Confidence

One of the most common reasons for which people decide to embark on a weight loss quest is to boost their confidence.

While we might excitedly tell our friends, neighbors, and coworkers that our reasons for losing weight are to be healthier, live longer, feel fitter or just to feel like we’re not being lazy, many of us actually feel that deep down, we need to improve our confidence — by looking "better" or fitting in with societal ideas about attractiveness.

You walk around in your body every day, so if you’re not happy with the way you look, it’s understandable that that can make you feel self conscious, perhaps a little unhappy, and feeling like you’re stuck in a rut.

This is often the start of a vicious cycle. You feel a bit depressed about the way you look, so you turn to food for comfort and avoid the gym, for fear of being looked down on by all the fitter, more experienced gym goers, meaning you gradually put on more weight, and feel even more body conscious.

This isn’t just limited to women either. While we might think that women suffer most, men are just as likely to have body image issues. A portly mid-section, man boobs and skinny muscles can affect a man just as much as bingo wings, a muffin top and saggy thighs can make his female counterpart feel self-conscious.

By reading this article, you’ve made the hardest, and certainly the most important step in deciding that now is the time to make a change.

While what you look like doesn’t define who you are or even how you are, our bodies are the first thing that people judge us on. It doesn’t matter how much you think you judge people based on their personalities, because the scientific fact is that (nearly) all of us immediately form a preliminary opinion of someone based purely on their looks.

So don’t hide yourself away, or fall into the trap of skipping the gym and sticking to your old ways. Boosting your body confidence can be easily achieved. It may seem like a long journey to get where you want to be at the moment, and the world of fitness, exercise, gyms and healthy eating can seem like a scary and confusing one, but the key is to take baby steps.

Once you’ve made a start on your journey, you’ll automatically feel more confident. As you see progress happening, and your body changing for the better, along with improved health, there’s no doubt that your confidence levels will go through the roof and you’ll feel like a brand new, happier person.

Your Journey To Better Body Confidence – 6 Easy Steps

Decide on Your Goals

So you want to have more confidence – that’s great.

But what exactly does more confidence mean?

Picture how you think you want to look – this is your end goal. You may get there in 6 weeks, or it may take a couple of years. This doesn’t matter though. Try to imagine every aspect of a more confident you – how you’re standing, what you’re wearing, what your body looks like. Keep this figure in your mind all the time. This is what you’re aiming for, and this is where you will get to.

Do you have a six pack? A slim waist? 18-inch biceps? Or are you just a few pounds lighter, and a whole lot happier than you are now?

Stay Positive

It’s easier said than done, but it’s critical for you to stay positive.

There will be times when you may feel like you’re never going to reach your goals, your confidence potentially drops, and you want to sink back into your old bad habits, but these thoughts are only temporary. Remember that you, and only you, are in control of your own destiny. No one else can sabotage your journey unless you let them.

It doesn’t matter where you start, only where you finish. Guess what does matter? The journey. The fact that you've not yet arrived at your destination doesn't take anything away from the progress you've already made. So whenever you're feeling overwhelmed or like you're not getting results fast enough, simply look back to where you started. Take pride in what you've achieved so far. Then, keep going.

Post It Notes

Write down your goals on a series of post it notes, and stick them in places you often visit – your office, on your computer screen, in your bathroom, on the fridge door, etc. You can make all the post it notes the same, or have a different mini-goal on each one.

Make sure to put a small positive piece of encouragement on each note, to keep you going when times are tough.

Avoid negativity with your goals too. Rather than writing “don’t stay in and watch TV every night” or “don’t eat chocolate” try to encourage a positive habit instead, such as “get to the gym three times a week” or “eat veggies with every meal.” More general reminders, like "you're worth it! :)" work wonders, too.

Motivate Yourself with Negativity

This method works brilliantly, in two different ways.

Firstly, no matter who you are, and what social company you keep, there will always be people trying to bring you down. Friends and colleagues will be jealous of your new found motivation and drive, so will either try to tempt you away from your healthy lifestyle, refuse to acknowledge what you’re doing, or make fun of it. Use these people to drive you on, and have a desire to prove them wrong.

Secondly, all of us, at some point in our lives has had someone make fun of us for who we are. These people are the perfect motivation you need. When the going gets tough in the gym, or when you really crave unhealthy foods, think of this person, and make it your mission to do your utmost to prove them wrong too.

Get a Plan

It sounds obvious, but too many people just don’t have a plan.

Setting goals is great, but do you know how you’re going to get there?

Get your diet in place – either find one from a book or magazine, ask a friend who’s had success how they’ve done it, or hire a qualified trainer or dietician to help out.

The same goes for training too. If you’re feeling confident enough already, you may wish to join a gym and get a program put together with the help of an instructor, or you could just try walking, jogging or swimming on your own to begin with, until you’re comfortable enough to take things a step further.

Look Out For the Positives

Boosting body confidence is all about developing a more positive outlook.

Have a weekly weigh in to see how you’re getting along. Provided you’re sticking to the plan, you should see some decent weight loss every week.

Progress photos can also be an excellent way to give you a boost, when you can physically see positive changes happening to your body. Your clothes should also start to fit better, and you’ll hear encouraging compliments from friends.

Use these positives to keep you on track to a more confident you.