The ladies participating in the #UnconditionalBodyBeautiful series are back with the third part in our series towards loving our bodies unconditionally!!
Today, we're talking about our legs...our gams, stems, pins... Whatever we call them, we all probably have some kind of relationship with our legs.
My body type tends towards an endomorph with some mesomorph tendencies, meaning that I gain weight easily, but I also tend to build muscle tone quickly, especially in my legs. When I work out regularly, I very rapidly begin to see increased muscle definition in my legs. In my 20s, when I worked out often, my legs were often referred to as dancer's legs or even Xena legs. I absolutely LOVED the reference to Xena, Warrior Princess, but when I was at my thinnest, I sometimes bemoaned the fact that my muscular legs were never very slender.
As I gained weight, my legs also became thicker. The muscle tone remained, but it was now covered with a layer of fat, making my legs appear even fuller. I hated this for quite some time and avoided shorter skirts and shorts because of cellulite or anxiety over larger thighs.
In the last year or two, as I have learned to appreciate my curves more, I have learned to love the shapeliness of my legs. I embraced wearing shorter skirts as I did in my early 20s. As a petite, I find shorter skirts flattering. And as I often try to disguise my belly fluff with looser fitting dresses (you won't likely see too much of me in bodycon looks), I find the shorter hemlines help balance the overall look.
I'm still not much of a shorts gal. Their ride-up factor has always annoyed and intimidated me, but I have definitely embraced shorter hemlines, as I did with today's look, and as I've done here with these other styles:
I have learned to love my fuller thighs and thicker calves. The fear of showing cellulite has decreased as I realized that women of ALL sizes can and often do have cellulite. A little dimple here or there shouldn't limit me from feeling the breeze on my legs on a warm day!
My legs take me where I need to go. They allow me to dance, and kick, and cycle. I am fortunate to have legs that are fully functional, and I appreciate that more as I have gotten older.
My legs were somewhat of a gateway body part towards loving the rest of me. Once I realized that I could love my legs and that I could show them off in short hemlines, it did not seem as intimidating to show off my arms or to start embracing other features.
A bit of advice towards self-love is to find one body part that you love and then work from there to starting accepting and loving the rest of you. For me, it has been about showing a little more skin - showing my legs rather than hiding them, wearing tank tops that show my arms, or trying out a crop top. Once I realized that the world didn't stop spinning because I flaunted my chubby thighs, it became easier to expose other parts of my body without as much fear of reprise.
The more I wore what I wanted to wear without worrying about adhering to rules about what I should wear, the more I have learned to love my legs. As in any relationship, there are the bad days, but my relationship with my legs has become quite healthy and generally positive. My legs are curvy, muscular, and thick. They are short like the rest of me. They help me do the things I love to do, like shopping or dancing. My legs are awesome, and I love them!
Have you employed any strategies to love your body more? I truly do think that learning to love ourselves in our completeness is a teachable skill, but it does take affirmative steps. We have to change the negative voices to positive ones!
To catch the first two installments of #UnconditionalBodyBeautiful, see here and here.
For this dress in other looks, see here, here, and here.
For this jacket in other looks, see here, here and here.
Don't forget to check out this month's segments by the other amazing bloggers participating in the Unconditional Body Beautiful series:
Toodaloo Katie
http://www.toodalookatie.com/2015/03/unconditional-body-beautiful-part-3-my.html
Katherine Hayward, My Life With Cerebral Palsy
http://katherinehaywardmylifewithcp.blogspot.com/2015/03/my-legs.html?spref=fb
Just Me, Leah
http://www.justmeleah.co.uk/2015/03/unconditional-body-beautiful-3-legs.html
Natty Nikki
http://www.nattynikki.com/2015/03/uncondtional-body-beautiful-part-three.html
Josofab's Curvesity World
http://www.josofabscurvesity1.com/?p=63
Beca: Under Construction
https://beckamaynewbeginnings.wordpress.com/unconditional-body-beautiful-series-3-legs/
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| Dress: labworks from Target |
My body type tends towards an endomorph with some mesomorph tendencies, meaning that I gain weight easily, but I also tend to build muscle tone quickly, especially in my legs. When I work out regularly, I very rapidly begin to see increased muscle definition in my legs. In my 20s, when I worked out often, my legs were often referred to as dancer's legs or even Xena legs. I absolutely LOVED the reference to Xena, Warrior Princess, but when I was at my thinnest, I sometimes bemoaned the fact that my muscular legs were never very slender.
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| Jacket: Old Navy Petites |
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| Heels: Target |
In the last year or two, as I have learned to appreciate my curves more, I have learned to love the shapeliness of my legs. I embraced wearing shorter skirts as I did in my early 20s. As a petite, I find shorter skirts flattering. And as I often try to disguise my belly fluff with looser fitting dresses (you won't likely see too much of me in bodycon looks), I find the shorter hemlines help balance the overall look.
I'm still not much of a shorts gal. Their ride-up factor has always annoyed and intimidated me, but I have definitely embraced shorter hemlines, as I did with today's look, and as I've done here with these other styles:
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| Tickled Pink: Fringe Shift |
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| 12 Days of Holiday: Solid Gold |
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| Date Night In Black & White |
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| Black for Spring: Cutouts & Lace-Ups |
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| I'm Thankful or...Cozy Knits & Lace |
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| I Resolve To...Show More Leg!! |
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| eShakti Holiday: 70s Child |
My legs take me where I need to go. They allow me to dance, and kick, and cycle. I am fortunate to have legs that are fully functional, and I appreciate that more as I have gotten older.
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| Clutch: Cameo de Bore (Sold out; Other styles available here) |
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| Necklaces: Target and The Limited |
A bit of advice towards self-love is to find one body part that you love and then work from there to starting accepting and loving the rest of you. For me, it has been about showing a little more skin - showing my legs rather than hiding them, wearing tank tops that show my arms, or trying out a crop top. Once I realized that the world didn't stop spinning because I flaunted my chubby thighs, it became easier to expose other parts of my body without as much fear of reprise.
 |
| Necklace worn as bracelet: The Limited |
Have you employed any strategies to love your body more? I truly do think that learning to love ourselves in our completeness is a teachable skill, but it does take affirmative steps. We have to change the negative voices to positive ones!
For this dress in other looks, see here, here, and here.
For this jacket in other looks, see here, here and here.
Don't forget to check out this month's segments by the other amazing bloggers participating in the Unconditional Body Beautiful series:
Toodaloo Katie
http://www.toodalookatie.com/2015/03/unconditional-body-beautiful-part-3-my.html
Katherine Hayward, My Life With Cerebral Palsy
http://katherinehaywardmylifewithcp.blogspot.com/2015/03/my-legs.html?spref=fb
Just Me, Leah
http://www.justmeleah.co.uk/2015/03/unconditional-body-beautiful-3-legs.html
Natty Nikki
http://www.nattynikki.com/2015/03/uncondtional-body-beautiful-part-three.html
Josofab's Curvesity World
http://www.josofabscurvesity1.com/?p=63
Beca: Under Construction
https://beckamaynewbeginnings.wordpress.com/unconditional-body-beautiful-series-3-legs/
Love your legs! Fab little dresses!
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