How do you feel about your body?

[thebestveggiesausagesarelindas]

I generally feel very positive about my body. I think possibly because I have several chronic illnesses and mostly can appreciate the fact I'm still able to do most of the things I can do! And I think I look fairly nice, and am very relaxed in myself.

However if I have a bad few days being ill and get very tired, or have rotten PMT, I can get quite negative. I think how different my life might have turned out if I'd been healthy. Then it can spill over into feeling quite ugly in my own skin too - I find that difficult.

Anyway, I'm just curious about how other people feel about their bodies in different ways?

I tolerate it. Ancient (30yrs old) self harm scars that will never fade and a tattoo I can't afford to get rid of. I avoid mirrors.

Positive. Before i had children, I felt almost ashamed that I wasn't taller. Embarrassed? Ridiculous I now see. My body has conceived children, borne them, given birth, breastfed, menopause hasn't given me any problems, so far! My body still rewards me for my very healthy diet with good health so I'm thankful. Long may it continue. Fingers crossed.

I loathe the way I look. I'm 5'8 and 10.6 stone, so I'm slim ish but I've got shapeless legs and look gangly and matronly. I'm also however extremely grateful that it's mostly healthy and has done me very well so far.

When it works I’m happy, Parkinson’s makes me hate it, and angry with it!
injured my right knee,I think muscle damage, 5 weeks ago annoying, still a while before it gets better😟
Diagnosed last September think about 6 years, had it, and undiagnosed nuro eye issues, optically correct tho, affecting 3D vision, stopped driving too, annoyingly , at 61, I had hoped for better health

Body pretty bloody good for someone in their mid 60s. Face, that's another matter!
Another one thankful for good health, long may that continue.

I struggle with the way I look , I’m 5 ft 6 , 8 stone 9 , and flat chested, I’m also 50

Similar to @N0ëlle I’m pretty positive overall and bearing and feeding my children has given me a new level of respect for my body and allowed me to let go of a couple of small complaints I used to have about it.

I try and love it. I have been ill on and off for years so that's annoying but it's all I've got.
I'm no great looker but not bad and try and focus on the positives. I'm not getting a new one anytime soon so may as well make peace with it.

Like you, it depends on my mood. If i have PMT, I look in the mirror and feel as though I literally look about 4 sizes fatter.

I try and love it. It's grown and nurtured my children, it's healthy etc.

But I often, more often than not, hate how I look, both weight and my face, and sometimes feel so ugly my skin crawls and I feel embarrassed to be walking around in my body. I feel encased in a shell that everyone is laughing at. Then I feel guilty and ashamed as I know many people long for a healthy working body. I'm not even that overweight. And on good days I can see I'm just average, not really attractive but not as startlingly unattractive as I sometimes feel either.

I'm 37 and a very curvy size 12. I'm 12.5 stone. Some days I love my shapely hips, big bust and toned legs. Other days I detest my stomach that isn't flat and is stretch marked from pregnancy and my strong man arms.
I love my face. I have almond shaped eyes, nice lips and long eyelashes but my body confidence goes up and down.

I'm happy.
I'm overweight and know I should lose weight for the health aspect but it doesn't bother me in terms of the way I look.
Almost 30 and size 16-18

Body itself is amazing for birthing and breastfeeding

As in how I feel about the look of it? Awful. It's the worst thing about my life, and for context I'm 5ft 1 and 7st 12lbs and all I can see is fat and flab

Mind you, when I was bigger - I felt the same. I'll never be happy with my body

I love my body and myself.

I hate it I'm 5ft 1 I'm 7st 7oz my legs are really skinny and my arms are really skinny and I just have a fat stomach I do have 3 children which my youngest has just turned 3 but any clothes I do wear just looks awful on the stomach area

I neither love it nor hate it tbh; it's just there and does what it needs to. I could do with losing a few stone so have a few extra rolls than I should but it doesn't look too bad I don't think.

I think conflicted sums up how I feel. I've been massively overweight all my life, but it got really out of hand over the last 3/4 years or so. I had surgery to help me correct this in February so I've lost a considerable amount of weight since then, but I'll never have what's considered a "beautiful" body, but I love that my body is part of me, and enabled me to carry and birth two beautiful healthy children. So I love my body, just not necessarily the way it looks.

I'm a size 14 when I used to be an 8/10 and I don't like that. I regret my massive tattoos that are impossible to hide in the hot weather. I hate my arms.

I hate my boobs and belly
I'm aging badly , my face seems ' longer ' now !
My hair isn't glossy anymore
Hate my feet too. It's not going well lol

At the moment, I feel sorry for my body - after 14 miscarriages in 3 years, 5 rounds of IVF egg collections in a year, it’s been through a lot of trauma. I’ve gained weight from all the hormones and steroids I’ve been taking so that is hard. I also have a pregnancy body but no children, which feels unfair. I’m now on a heap of immune-suppressing medication (5 separate meds) to try to help me hold onto a pregnancy, which I worry is causing long term impacts (cancer risk increase, liver damage etc). I’m grateful it’s still going /how resilient I am but feel like my body needs a lot of TLC. I’ve given up on looking attractive though, my belly is huge now!

I don't think these threads help
Anyone who has issues with their body.
You will have posters saying they are 6 stone/8 stone:/13 stones who all say they hate their thighs/stomach/arms etc. which leads to more insecurity.

I see a lot on MN and social media about loving your body because it's borne children. I struggled with body image since I was a child - skinny and shapeless, and then I couldn't conceive. IVF didn't work. I saw this as a failure and another marker of how unfeminine I thought I was. ExH didn't help. I am thankful these days at the age of 48 that I am slim and fit and strong and I can do sport and do activities. My new partner has really helped me change my attitude. He's very much "It's a body! It's the one you were born with - I love you so I love it." Lovely man.

Not that I should need external validation etc etc.

My body is older, heavier and very much saggier than it used to be and I'm really struggling with that. Main issue is my boobs which have always been very big and heavy but now have succumbed to gravity and I hate if I'm bra-less, the feel of them sagging down against my chest.

I have a prolapse which no one seems to talk openly about but that affects my daily life. I wish more information on the risks to our bodies by having a baby. Prolapse, tooth damage, scars, skin changes, etc.

I have a great big scar - I'm mostly used to it and thankful I survived but some days wish I didn't have it.

I am neurodiverse and only discovering this as an adult. I wish I'd known sooner so I could have been kinder to myself about my brain.

I have vitamin deficiencies that make me tired.

I am glad I have mobility and independence thanks to my body though and I try to be thankful and positive for the most part.

I struggle too,

8 years ago I was 16/17 stone.

I dangerously and stupidly dropped to 7 stone very quickly through stress/not eating.

Now im 10 stone. Size 12/14. I hate my stomach (numerous operation scars) and I wish it was flatter. I started slowly exercising two weeks ago and eating healthier, it was looking flatter! my health has been a bit shit recently, and now I've got my period and im all bloated and wobbly again,

DP is on a ship, going to the gym daily, doing 25000 steps and has lost nearly 3 stone in the two months he's away,

It's really bothering me that he looks so good and I don't 😩

I feel older than I am… I could do with a bit of Botox… my body is not bad and not a stretch mark after 3 children. My boobs are horrible. I sometimes like it I sometimes feel rotten