Feeling Body Confident At 30

This is not my usual kind of post but one I felt like I wanted to write & share for a number of reasons. One, I turned 30 nearly 2 weeks ago & wanted to celebrate it, two, I have never really covered body image instead I usually talk about how I like to dress my body & reason number three, I love the pictures my boyfriend took & although I usually would never even think to share them on here I thought why not?

My plans for my 30th birthday were to go to Portugal for a long of weekend of celebrations with my family, it’s a place my family have always gone to & I see it as home from home. Arriving on Thursday evening it was four days of bliss with plenty of sunshine, laughter, delicious food & a cake that was absolutely perfect for me, layers of pastry, light whipped cream & an abundance of fruit, I loved it!

So rewinding a little bit, I have always been conscious of my body, I know what clothes flatter & those that don’t, but this is just from the outside & what I decided to wear to show my body in a certain way & who doesn’t want to look their best? We don’t go shopping to buy unflattering jeans or a dress that’s too tight, but I’ve always been aware that I can help my body be it’s best on the inside & the outside.

I have been going the gym since I was quite young as I am prone to easily putting on weight. I love food, my family does, when I was younger we ate out a lot at restaurants, dinner was always a family occasion with plenty of food. So honestly if I don’t watch what I eat I can easily add on the pounds, I know what foods I love & what are the ‘right’ kind of foods for me to eat & what ones to avoid. Alongside this the gym became a part of my routine, in my old job I would go the gym before work some mornings & at the weekend, it became part of my routine & whilst I don’t love going I do love the feeling afterwards. I’m always so glad that I have gone & my energy levels are much higher, I can definitely say for me that whilst yes I do notice the changes in my shape, the way it makes me feel mentally is a much better feeling.

Doing my current job as cabin crew one of the down sides to it is no structure so I try & fit gym sessions in when I can, an with my 30th coming up & knowing we were going away I got it in my head I had to pull out the stops to get in shape. I don’t know if it was hitting a milestone that had me in a panic & I had an image in my head of how I should look but real life happened & if I have been happily going the gym & enjoying my workouts & my results why on earth did I suddenly expect for drastic changes? So whilst I kept my gym sessions & actually enjoying them more as me & my boyfriend went together when I was home so even though in the days before we went no six pack popped out I was happy with how I looked & most importantly how I felt.

But also one thing that helped give me a boost was wearing one of my new Freya bikinis which trust me wearing a bikini that fits so well makes a HUGE difference, this alone had me feeling way more confident heading to the beach. So when the day came & we were snapping away pictures of my birthday on a beautiful beach, after eating a delicious cake & champagne for breakfast, surrounded by family & my boyfriend I was more than happy & happy in myself! AA x