painful insecurities [and overcoming them]

*warning: some very unflattering photos of me straight ahead. i would never show the world these pictures if i didn't fully believe in this product with all my heart. 

skirt: c/o Modest Pop [similar] // top: Target, clearance // belt: thrifted // sandals: BYU Bookstore // bra: c/o Braologie // necklace: Cookie Lee

i have always, always struggled with my body image. 

i can specifically remember when i first started noticing all the flaws in my body, the first time i started nit picking everything about myself and what was wrong with me. 

it was in the 4th grade. and i was insanely embarrassed about my legs. 

i hated wearing shorts above my knees because that meant you could see my thighs, 

and that thought sent me into waves of turmoil.

as i got older, the self-conscious thoughts just continued to escalate. 

i was a bony girl, which meant i didn't have those sexy curves that all my friends started getting as they entered their teenage years. 

i hated it. i felt so ugly, so undesirable. 

eventually i finally grew some sort of chest that helped me {barely} graduate from training bras. but i still felt so.... unwomanly. 

i would layer bras and undershirts just to give me more padding. 

and it would work for the most part. i mean, it did its job at hiding my insecurities under the layers of cotton. 

but that doesn't mean those insecurities ever left. 

fast forward a few college years and the birth of a baby and my self consciousness about my body rivaled the sad, pathetic feelings from my teenage years. 

here i was, standing inside Motherhood Maternity, full from needing to feed Elijah, and being told i wouldn't fit their smallest size bra. 

you know those stories about women saying they quadrupled in size when they were pregnant & nursing? i shrunk. 

after i was done nursing Elijah, my chest was so flat that i didn't need to wear a bra at all. 

the only reason i even did wear one was so i didn't look like a 10-year-old girl carrying a baby. 

my insecurity about my body affected everything and everyone around me. 

already suffering from body image issues from the post-partum weight, this just piled more problems on top of that. 

not to mention all the feelings of anxiety & depression i was dealing with after having a baby.

i hated myself. i hated my body. 

i didn't feel comfortable enough in my own skin to even let Adam get close to me. 

i couldn't believe that a great guy like him could ever like me, let alone be attracted to me, and many times i would just start crying from being so overwhelmed by it all. 

so all this, 

all this turmoil & frustration & shameful insecurity, 

all this has been going on for a goooood while. 

the last three years being the worst of it. 

and it wasn't until recently that i finally started seeing the light. 

what changed? 

MY BRA!! 

i never, ever, would have thought a bra could make that big of difference in how i looked 

and {more importantly} how i felt about myself. 

but that's because i haven't been wearing the right one after all these years. 

80% of women are wearing the wrong bra. 

and most women don't realize that the bra they have been wearing has brought them back & shoulder pain as well as poor posture and migrated breast tissues at the back/armpits. 

{i didn't even know migrated breast tissues was a problem but i totally see the difference now!}

Braologie is out to change all that! 

they have created their own line of products that specializes in correcting a woman's posture and body shape through their revolutionary bra fitting technique. 

you can feel and see the difference instantly! 

i was able to test out the Posture-Contour Bra & Mini Vest. 

at first, the bra and vest were pretty uncomfortable and i didn't really jump on board right away. 

though, i really liked the push-up feature :)

but it didn't feel the best as the bra & vest worked to improve my posture. 

i kept with it though and in no time i saw & felt a huge difference. 

i told Adam, "I FEEL LIKE A REAL WOMAN!" 

and i finally started to like my own body shape a little more. 

i even felt {dare i say} sexier!

the people over at Braologie [namely Tallia, we got close :)] are wonderful to work with and really go out of their way to give you the best experience possible. 

i sent in my pictures and measurements to get fitted for a bra and they took the time to make sure i got the best product for me. 

they even gave me post-fitting advice to make sure i was wearing the bra correctly which helped tremendously since i needed to make some adjustments to help with the fit. 

and Braologie offers free fitting advice even if you don't purchase one of their products. 

their biggest goal is to educate women who have been wearing ill-fitting bras and have body & posture issues. their bra-gurus will help give advice on your current bra, understand what can be done to get a better fit, and help improve the comfort of the fitting and overall posture. 

i truly, truly, LOVE my Braologie bra and cannot stress that enough. 

since switching, i have more confidence in myself and my body, with and without the bra.

i know it can seem like such a vain thing, but how you see yourself does make a huge difference in how you feel overall. 

and i can honestly say that even though i still may not look like a Victoria's Secret model, i'm more accepting of my body and feel much more confident. 

i mean... it only took 25 years! 

be sure to check out Braologie on their 

blog 

Facebook page 

& Twitter 

DISCOUNT:: to help more women get the best fit & support in their lingerie, Braologie is offering all Mrs. Robinson Readers $15 off all products from their online store with the code megancamille. code expires June 6th, 2013.

[how to input the coupon code: when checking out, the site directs you to PayPal right away to collect your shipping and billing address. after that, you will return to Shopify where you will pick a shipping rage & type in the discount code. the price is updated accordingly and, on that same page, you will be able to finalize your transaction.]

[i also want to say, for the record here, that i have gone to other places to get fitted like Victoria's Secret and they all have told me the same thing: they didn't have anything that would actually fit me. i tried their bras anyways because i was desperate but after wearing the Braologie bra now i realize how bad they were for me. Braologie has been the first company ever to actually cater to my needs and size. serious.]