Recovering Positive Body Image

Last week I was bad, and I didn’t write any blog posts! I was really busy, but I told myself no excuses this year. This post is a bit behind schedule, but I’m attempting to get back to a schedule this week.

I’ve really been wanting to write this post because I feel like it could help other people possibly struggling with the same issues. I truly strive to be the best version of myself that I can be. This applies to cosplay, my relationship, my friendships, my job, and my appearance. Recently, my self image has deteriorated, and while I know I still look good in photos there is a lot going on in my head that has made me feel out of my own skin.

What Happened?

There are a few factors that played a big role in why I’ve lost the positive vibes for my body.

1. Several months ago I quit crossfit. This was mainly for financial reasons, and partially because it just wasn’t fitting into my schedule anymore. I have switched from mainly weight-based workouts to cardio based workouts, and I have lost a lot of muscle mass.
2. Hormonal imbalance. WalMart, who is no longer my prescription provider, royally messed up my prescription coverage, and put me off a week for my daily medication. I noticed that I started to feel bloated all the time, and when your stomach feels gassy and full all the time it also causes a loss of appetite. When I went to the doctor he explained that because my body didn’t get the medicine it started to produce its own hormones again, so when I got back on my medication it essentially doubled my hormones causing my body to have a hormonal imbalance that has taken several months to even back out.
3. Weight loss has been inevitable with the above two changes. I didn’t notice until a family member sat down with me over Christmas, and asked if I was eating. This prompted me to check my weight when I was at the gym. It turns out that I weigh less than I did when I was in high school. This would be great if I needed to lose weight, but I don’t.

That last point was the eye opener. It was really upsetting to me knowing how much these things had effected me in such a negative way without realizing it. It’s hard to realize that you are losing weight when your body feels like you’re bloated and giant all the time. I developed a habit of constantly checking my body in the mirror throughout the day. The slightest fluctuations made me extremely stressed out. People are constantly telling me, “You’re so skinny; go eat something.” This is even harder to hear when I already know there is a problem.

What am I doing about it?

Figuring out the factors that were contributing to the problem really helped me start trying develop a solution. These are some of the steps I’ve taken to try to get my stomach issues under control.

1. Make sure I take my medicine on time every day. No fluctuations; no chances for another imbalance.
2. Workout regularly. I’m back to running three days a week, and I joined Planet Fitness to get some weights back in my routine. I’ve also started doing more Yoga routines to help with my stress levels.
3. Eating habits. It’s not that I need to eat more or less, but the food I am putting into my body definitely is improving with a few meals to cheat each week. I’ll probably be doing a few recipe posts here pretty soon.
4. Tea. Herbal tea has been my salvation. Green tea in the morning, peppermint in the afternoon, and either ginger or chamomile at night before I go to bed.
5. Don’t focus so much on how I look, and instead focus on how I feel. Below is the video that inspired me to write this post. I found it the other day, and I really wish I had found it four months ago when I became obsessed with checking myself in the mirror. It has really changed my outlook over the past week.

This has been a really long post. Thanks for staying with me if you made it this far. Like I said before, I really just hope this reaches someone who it can help that is possibly lost on where or what to do. I really hope to be feeling like myself again soon. I’ve really started to notice a difference in the last week, and I haven’t been so obsessive with how my body fluctuates throughout the day.

What do you struggle with in terms of body image? Did you find this post helpful? Do you have any tips for me? Feel free to leave a comment below, and don’t forget to subscribe.