Fun fact: Despite my consistency in the gym, I still sometimes battle with the level of confidence I have with myself.

It’s crazy, I know; but it is possible to work very hard at something and still not always feel like you look as good as others may see you. I’ve received many compliments on my dedication and consistency; and even when I post before/after photos, I can see a very small change. To others, it’s probably drastic, but to me sometimes it only looks minimal. You can workout, eat right, drink water; and still you look in the mirror and feel sort of “blah”.

I believe this is common. Looking at the same body every single day can get a little discouraging, especially because your eyes will not see the true changes in your body for a long time. Because of this, you have to have a level of self-confidence to get you through the slow transition.

“I began to give up entirely on gaining back a part of myself that I really wanted to take ahold of; my self-confidence.”

Whit C.

I’ve done my best to stay away from the scale unless it was absolutely necessary. Not focusing on a number (something I talk about more in this post) was a big part of my confidence boost. I focused so much on the numbers, and not really being happy when the number didn’t change; I began to give up entirely on gaining back a part of myself that I really wanted to take a hold of; my self-confidence.

So how do you do it?

Confidence is built and displayed in many different ways. Showing off your muscles, wearing that shirt you keep in the back of your closet, switching up your style; all of these things are simple and subtle ways to be confident in yourself, even when your physical appearance isn’t immediately changing.

Another way I continue to keep my confidence up, is NOT stepping on a scale. Stepping on the scale has proven to be counterproductive for me. When I look at myself in the mirror, take pictures and find that my clothes are fitting differently, and then step on the scale, it often makes me feel like my perception of what I see is altered, and even though I look different, the number on the scale says otherwise. The scale is possibly the scariest place to judge your progress; and it shouldn’t be the only thing you use to judge your progress. Pictures, a tape measure, clothing; all of these things are also good ways and tools to measure your progress, but I wouldn’t use the scale alone.

The key to finding confidence in my opinion, is finding your way of feeling good about yourself. You cannot mimic someone else’s methods because you are two different people. Take some time to dig deep and find out what will make you the happiest along your jouney. Choose that and hold onto it, lean on it when you’re having a bad day. It’ll pay off in the long run. 🙂