How to be more confident about your body!

Shift your focus from what your body looks like to what it can do, Silverman says. "Instead of saying 'I hate my thighs,' ask yourself: What do your thighs allow you to do?" she says. "Maybe it becomes 'my legs allow me to take Zumba class, which makes me feel awesome.'
"When you can talk positively about yourself in terms of what your body can do, you start to view your body in a very different way," she says.

If you’re like most women who aren’t comfortable with their bodies, you try and avoid yourself in the mirror- especially while nude. Here’s the harsh reality: the mental effects of seeing yourself in the nude more often can actually change your perception of your body, drastically!

Body posture affects how confident you feel about yourself. Slouch, and you can't help but feel schlumpy, suggests a study from Italy. But sitting up straight or assuming standing "power poses" (think Wonder Woman, or legs apart and hands on hips) is enough to supercharge your self-confidence almost instantly, research shows.

Make sure you're also focusing on the things that you love about yourself, Silverman suggests. "Some people look at themselves in the mirror and say horrible things. If they're saying it out loud, then they're hearing that—they're underscoring the problem." Pick a body part that you love—your breasts, your shoulders, your butt—and talk out loud about it. "In the same way, if you're saying 'My butt looks great in these jeans,' then you're hearing that, too."

We’ve all heard that misery loves company, and it’s true! If you’re friends with someone who constantly rags on their own body, their self-hate may be affecting the way you view your own. The next time your friend brings up her body hang-up, tell her why she should learn to love and accept it, and turn the conversation around.

Discuss the things you love about your bodies vs. the things you loathe, and the positivity will spread like wildfire. Remember: the effect of a positive thought is so much greater than a negative one.

Women asked to listen carefully for the sound of their own heartbeat felt better about their bodies, found a study published in PLOSOne. It's common for women to think of their bodies as "objects," which can lead to negative self-assessments, the study authors says. But listening for your heartbeat seems to counteract this self-objectification, and so improves body image, they suggest.

Why not be as nice to yourself as you are to the people you love? "Think to yourself, 'would I say this to my best friend, or my sister, or my mother?'" Silverman says. "If you cannot imagine another human being who you love saying this to themselves or someone else talking to them that way, then how are you talking to yourself in that manner?"