Accepting your curves

In the last year I've gone up two dresses sizes. This isn't a massive big deal as I'm now only a size 12 but as anyone who has suddenly gained weight will know, it can make you feel quite down. My weight gain in part is down to the medication I take for my migraines and (not surprisingly) to the pill but I'm pretty sure it's also just my body changing naturally. I'm 27 now and in the last year I feel my body has become much more womanly and I love it!

When I was a teenager I was really skinny and I absolutely hated it. I find it very odd when I see teeny tiny 16 year old girls walking around who love being thin, because when I was that age and that size I absolutely hated it. (I should add here that I'm really happy for these girls to love their bodies as long as that is their natural size and not because they are on some ridiculous diet and trying to get onto Britain's Next Top Model). I would spend hours crying over the fact that no clothes fitted me (my Mum had to take everything in), that I had no breasts (thank you padded bras) and that no boys would fancy me EVER because I looked so awful (turns out all of my ex boyfriends have loved my figure no matter what size I've been!).

So now I have the curves I always wanted, I'm trying to enjoy them and think about my 16 year old self who would have loved to have some meat on her bones.

In recent months my biggest problem has been accepting my body has changed, so this afternoon I spent 3 hours clearing out my wardrobe getting rid of anything that didn't fit. It wasn't a very nice process; but then squeezing into pairs of jeans that don't fit is never going to be (especially when several pairs wouldn't even make it past my thighs!). 3 hours later and 3 charity shop bags later and I was done. So what that I'm only left with 2 pairs of jeans? Those two pairs fit fantastically and I don't feel awful when I wear them! The great thing of course when you sort out your wardrobe is you remind yourself of all the wonderful clothes you do own; that little black dress that makes you feel amazing, and of course the shoes! Oh the shoes.

So I'm going to stop giving my body such a hard time. I don't want to become the kind of woman that obsesses over her weight. My boyfriend loves my body, he tells me often and he also tells me that he likes me having a bit of "extra" weight! So I think it's time I start loving my body; appreciating it in all it's curvy glory. My 16 year old self would love how I look in dresses (I know she'd be over the moon with the size of my boobs!) so I'm going to join her and start loving my body too.

How do you feel about your body? Do you love it or hate it?