It looked pretty awesome to me and I wish guts to have joined in rather than just gone along to see it. The parade was all about body confidence and basically saying “I look good and feel good in the body I am in”. I think it is a great positive message to send out to people and one I hope the younger generation will pick up on too.
Elizabeth is very aware of the fact that I am on a diet and I always wonder what sort of effect that is having on her. Knowing that I am not happy in the body I am in. I never say that I hate the way I look or that I don’t like myself but the fact she knows not to give me cakes and chocolate and that I go to slimming world must be enough to put those thoughts in her mind.
I am happy with the way I look. I mean it doesn’t depress me or worry me, I am not concerned about it but I would like to be thinner to ensure my future health. I would like to be running around after the kids in ten years time and winning all the parent races on sports day. I would like to be able to shop the sales and not have to go to the plus-size section and miss out on all the best-looking clothes. Most of all I would love to be able to wear leggings in the summer, large ladies shouldn’t wear leggings.
I told Speedo Sculpture how much I would have enjoyed taking part in this event but unfortunately, it didn’t come to pass. However, they did offer me one of their swimsuits and so I promise to you that I will have a photo on my blog in one of their swimsuits as soon as it arrives. I want to be able to show it to Elizabeth and say how proud of myself I am. After all, I am two stone lighter than I was at the start of the year. The thing I like about the sustainable swimsuits is that they give support and sculpt the body making it curvier. Now that is something I like the sound off.
I love this photo from the day where all of the ladies in their speedo sculpture swimsuits jump into the pool at the end of the parade. It is my favourite one of the day.
The four members of the public were each given personal coaching from a psychologist to tackle their body issues before they undertook the parade and I couldn’t think of more extreme therapy that doing that in public. The main issues that came up were how negative they are towards their own bodies and it is not just them. So many women complain about how they look and are constantly putting themselves down.
Top psychologist Anjula Mutanda comments, “Negative talk amongst women about our bodies and looks is so common and well practised it seems to happen almost without thinking. It can be contagious and it’s easy to spread and reinforce negative messages amongst ourselves; resulting in avoidance behaviour around exposing our bodies. The good news is that we can take control and shift our mindset from negative to positive thinking. When you change how you think it will change the way you feel, and the way you behave.”
Talking positively about our bodies has a positive effect on our wellbeing, self-confidence and self-esteem.
Here are some tips to fight ‘fat talk’ and get you parading to the pool include:
· Stay fit with exercise like swimming. You’ll stop seeing your body as purely aesthetic and more about performance and movement
· Don’t overthink things! When you overthink you’re more likely to stop yourself doing something. Throw off your towel and parade to the pool instead!
· Fake it until you make it. Focus on confident body language; keep your shoulders back, make eye contact, that’s what people will remember
· Surround yourself with positive friends and people with a good self-image. Make each other feel good
· Enhance what’s great about you. Stop looking at what you hate and start focusing on what you like
· Don’t see your body as separate from you, it’s part of you and not your enemy
· Manage your expectations of being judged. Most people aren’t looking anyway!
· Build self-esteem around what you’re good at, rather than what you look like
· Talk positively about your body in front of your children. Just as they can learn your positive habits they can learn your bad habits if you don’t
· Keep a diary as a way to spot your negative talk
Help and advice from Anjula Mutanda to stop ‘fat talk’ and be more positive about body image will be available through the Speedo YouTube and Facebook channels.
