Who wears short shorts?

I haven't worn shorts in, oh I don't know, 8 years? Maybe even more. And even then it was a mandatory gym uniform. I wear skirts, capris or pants, but no shorts. Even after losing 33 lbs, I never wore shorts outside the house (and even inside was rare) I didn't like the way my legs looked in shorts so I didn't want to subject anyone else to having to look at them.

This all changed last week after Monday's Boot Camp session. It was hot and I started thinking that maybe I would be a little more comfortable in a pair of shorts over the next few weeks? But wearing shorts, would mean going into a change room and trying them on, which would lead to buying them and then taking the plunge and wearing them in public - could it be done?

The answer my friends, is yes.

I took a trip to the Nike store last week and purchased two pairs of shorts. I would be lying if I said that trying on 6 different pairs in the change room was easy. Not only was the lighting bad, but the negative self talk in my head started up as soon as I had dropped my pants.

"Your thighs are going to look fat"

"You have cellulite"

"You are going to feel self-conscious"

SHUT UP!!!

I pushed out the negative thoughts by reminding myself of how hard I was working at boot camp. All of those squats, lunges, and burpees aren't just for kicks - as a result of doing them I am changing my body. I had an objective look at my body (in the horribly lit, full length mirror) and felt proud of how far I had come from 3 years ago. I told myself that I looked great. I told myself that I feel awesome and healthy. And I finally reminded myself how much cooler I was going to feel in shorts when it's 30+ degrees outside. After all of this tug of war I decided on a grey pair and a pink pair and took them to the cash.

I wore my pink pair to Booty Camp on Monday night.

Joey even told me that my butt looked good!!

I have to say that I felt a little self conscious after seeing that picture and stepping outside the comfort of my own home, but then I decided that I was going to rock my shorts. It felt really great to be kicking my issues to the curb and doing what made me feel good.

I reminded myself of all the things I've accomplished in the last three years and told myself that I looked great. I also thought about how silly it was to be obsessing over something like an article of clothing. Other girls in the class wear shorts. Heck, millions of people in the WORLD wear shorts! There was no real reason for me not to be wearing shorts.

The power of positive thinking is an incredible thing and I really encourage you all to rid yourself of those negative words and thoughts that have been swirling around your head.

The first step is to recognize those negative thoughts. Think about the words that you are using. I heard myself using terms like "self-conscious", "fat", and "cellulite" and realized how horrible I was sounding. Negative thoughts often have words like can't, never, only, but, or won't. Once you realize that you're thinking negatively you need to...

Challenge those negative thoughts! Just like I did with my own comments about my shorts, ask yourself if what you're saying is realistic or grounded in any sort of reality. Would you make these comments to a family member, friend or loved one? Then...

Replace the negatives with positives. Rather than focusing on the negative, find positive things about the experience. Maybe you're frustrated because you overate at dinner. Instead of thinking negatively, go through the situation in your head and see what you did do to help and think about what you learned from the experience. When my negative short thoughts crept in, I thought about all the weight that I have lost and the work I'm doing at Boot Camp and kicked my negative thoughts out the door with my much more positive thoughts.

Don't beat yourself up over negative thoughts - they do happen and it can take time to change your thinking and your habits. You can do it!

There have been a few posts in the blog world in the last week or so about loving your body and they've really hit home for me. Check out Leslie's post on her experience in the fashion industry. It is really brave writing and I really applaud Leslie for putting herself out there like that. You can also check out Operation Beautiful. Caitlin's initiative has really taken the idea of positive thinking to a new level. I think it's absolutely wonderful.

How do you get past negative thoughts? How has positive thinking improved your quality of life and/or your weight loss journey?