Like any woman, I have struggled with my body image. Every day, someone has an opinion of my body, whether I look skinny or gordita (chubby). Every day, I look myself in the mirror, and I see what is reflected. Sometimes I like it and sometimes I hate it; yet in many times there is not a difference between those two days.

If you ask me today, there is nothing I would want to change with my body. I love the way I look. I love dressing up to go out with my friends or sometimes just wearing sweat pants all day and staying at home. I love eating whatever I want every time I go out. My love for chocolate and fries is so deep that I do not think I can ever give them up.

However, I was not always like this. About four years ago, I gained a lot of weight and my self-esteem started to go down. I had no idea how I gained the weight but I just knew I had to lose it. I would compare myself with everybody and I would see how everyone was healthier, skinnier and better looking than me. You probably imagine that this is the point of the story where I became a fit freak and began to count every calorie consumed and exercise every day, but that is not my story.

I did start to workout a little bit. Sometimes I would look up some work-out videos on YouTube and try to follow them the best I could. My eating habits did not change that much; I only gave up soda. I just drink water and do my best to stay hydrated. I try to eat more greens, even if I’m not still the biggest fan of them, and I avoid to have a big dinner every night. Also, I cut some sweet, but I still eat ice cream. Slowly but surely, I saw some changes in my body and I felt with more energy.

However, I think the most important change was mental. Instead of pointing put every single flaw I saw in the mirror, I would look for something I would like and focusing in only that. Or sometimes, when I could not find anything positive, I would just tell myself that I was beautiful, even if many times I would not believe that. This change not only helps me to look at myself with better eyes, but it also helps to focus on the little everyday things that many times we take them for granted.

I still have those low days, when I do not feel as beautiful or confident, and I have learned that is fine. Somedays I can stay home eat all of the junk food and do not feel bad about it. I remember that nobody is perfect and then, even Angelina Jolie has days like those.