We have a very strange way of looking at ourselves in the mirror. Our eyes seem unable to see us as we really are, the real person reflected in front of us.
We focus so much on small details that all the rest disappears, leaving of us with our heads filled by what we don’t like instead of what we do love. With time, our body image becomes distorted and sadly we start to believe that we are our imperfections.
Here are listed 5 simple things you can do to fall in love with your body a little bit more.

1 Stop b****ing about yourself

“I’m Fat! Look, can you see? Disgusting…”
Fabiana is a sweet person, and she would never say anything like that to anyone. She would not think it nor say it, but when she is in front of a mirror on a bad day, she thinks it is ok to behave like that with herself. If someone else would say the same things to us, that would be the beginning of a huge fight. Nonetheless, we allow ourselves to be so harsh that without noticing it, we slowly self sabotage our confidence and ruin our day.
First step to a healthier life: start being kinder to yourself. Stop talking ill of you now and smile at your own reflection. Do it every day.

2 Focus your attention on the right detail

During our Experience call, the phone call we have before photographing any woman, we ask a specific question. And every time we know that the person is ready to answer before we finish the question. “When you are getting ready to go out for a nice evening and you stop in front of the mirror, what do you…” That is the moment when every single woman is about to answer, but then something unexpected happens, we finish our question with “…LOVE about yourself”. Almost everyone stops in mid-air, surprised. We are so ready to list all the parts of our bodies that bother us that suddenly we dont know what to say. This shows how many of us don’t know how to relate positively to our body. The saddest thing is that some women we photographed told us they don’t actually love anything about themselves. How is this possible?
Second step to a healthier life: look at yourself telling you what is great about you. It is not about bragging, it is being honest. Push yourself to look at what you appreciate. Initially it can be a tiny thing, but slowly you will start seeing right again.

3 Listen to your friends

There is another question we ask every woman during the Experience call: “what do your friends love about your body? What do they compliment you for?”
The sad thing is that most of us tend to believe if someone tells us we don’t look so great, but if someone pays us a compliment, we think there must be more to it and they surely meant something else. We should really stop dismissing the positive feedback we receive from our friends and family and start looking at things from a different perspective.
Third step to a healthier life: if someone pays you a compliment, accept it and be grateful.

4 Rethink your standards

Fabiana and I have been published in quite a few prominent fashion magazines and worked with high fashion models. I can tell you that those girls you see are not real. Apart from having listened to horror stories of girls freezing grapes to so they would eat less to remain skinny and fit into child like sizes, we all must remeber that their income depends on their image. They have to spend a lot of time at the gym and almost constantly dieting to maintain an impossible standard because that is what they do for a living. Those are not the girls you should take as standard of beauty. And to be honest everybody has flaws.
Fourth step to a healthier life: start looking at yourself for the beautiful woman you are. Stop comparing yourself to others because everybody is unique.

5 Live a healthier life

We live in a society that over-feeds itself, focusing on quantity more than quality. Eat slowly, cut on sugars and over-processed food, drink a lot of water, cut on fizzy drinks and exercise more. With patience this will make you look fitter and make you feel better. Latin says “Mens Sana In Corpore Sano” (a healthy mind in a healthy body). In the last month I have been walking much more and I now drink a LOT of water, and guess what? I feel fabulous!
Fifth step to a healthier life: help yourself to live better

We want to leave you with a fantastic video from Dove. They created a campaign that focus on women’s self-image. It is truly inspiring and definitively worth watching!