Cat Meffan

Find Your Body Confidence For Summer

With my summer holiday to Ibiza coming up in under two weeks, I can’t help thinking more than ever about whether or not I’m happy with my body. When the summer approaches and we start baring some flesh, we all think about the parts of our body we’re happy to show off and the parts we’d rather hide.

With brands constantly telling us to get fit in time for summer, and forcing us to compare our bodies with the seemingly perfect models they use in their campaigns, it’s easy to get a bit obsessed with how we’re going to look the first time we slip on a bikini this year. I think that so often we forget that body confidence doesn’t have to come from making aesthetic changes, it can come from the mind. The biggest part of this, for me, is acceptance.

Don’t get me wrong, I love to workout and eat well and I keep a close eye on the changes I see in my body, but in the last year I’ve come to realise that how I feel when I’m slipping into my bikini depends more on my mental attitude than how toned my stomach is or whether my legs look too white.

When I first started Imperfect Matter, someone made a joke about me being full of myself because I’d secretly called it “I’m Perfect Matter” (not that that really even makes sense), and even though it isn’t called that, what would really be the issue if it was? What would be wrong with me saying that actually I’m pretty happy the way I am? It got me thinking, why can’t us ladies celebrate each other’s confidence, no matter the shape or size? Why must it always be a competition, or a case of body shaming? I named my blog Imperfect Matter because every human has imperfections and that’s what makes us unique. It’s a beautiful thing to see someone become the best version of the person they were made to be. And even more beautiful to see said person strutting their stuff along the beach in a bikini if that’s what they wish to do.

body confidence

It’s not my poop, it was the ducks – honest!

We constantly compare our bodies to others and it’s great if you’re doing that to look for health and fitness inspiration/motivation, but remember that you are you and it doesn’t matter how many squats you do or how good you look, you’ll never feel confident until you’re willing to accept that no one is perfect. So many people think they’ll be happy with their body when their stomach is a bit flatter or they’ve got a thigh gap or whatever else it is they’re fixated on, but it doesn’t work like that. Body confidence starts from the inside.

It’s not very often that I feel the need to quote Christina Aguilera, but ladies, take note:

“I think that whatever size or shape body you have, it’s important to embrace it and get down! The female body is something that’s so beautiful. I wish women would be proud of their bodies and not diss other women for being proud of theirs!”

Anyway, I hope this little bit of food for thought gives you a sprinkle more confidence this summer. Ladies, we’re a beautiful bunch, we just need to learn that the beautiful version of us is the one wearing a smile.

Love, Cat x

WEARING – Shorts: Sweaty Betty  | Sports Bra: Running Bare | Hoodie: Nike | Trainers: Nike