How Demi Lovato Learned To Love Her Body

Demi Lovato, like many of us, doesn't always look in the mirror and love what she sees. However, that mindset is becoming less and less an occurrence as of late. In Complex magazine's latest cover story, Lovato says that seeing Kim Kardashian and her sisters made her finally feel confident with her curves. "When [the Kardashians] came into the spotlight, they kind of revolutionized what beauty was when it came to body shapes," she said. "For so long, it was the heroin-chic ’90s supermodel thing, and I feel like, when the Kardashians came into the picture, people started to look at it because it was different. They were like, 'You know what? That’s actually really beautiful.'" The 23-year-old, who has spoken at length about her issues with anorexia and bulimia, said that from there she started noticing that "Beyoncé was thicker, and Nicki Minaj is thicker" and that thicker wasn't a bad word. "When I say thick — like when I call my thighs thick — I love it. I think it’s a good thing," Lovato explained. "Watching them really helped me learn to accept my body image, too. I’m not naturally super thin. I have an athletic body. I just have to embrace that. There are days when it’s hard to, but more and more, there are days where I’m actually proud of my body."

Since last year, Lovato has made it a tradition to post #NoMakeup selfies on Instagram, after discovering that an unflattering photo can mean something so much more to her fans. "I went to this pool party, and somebody got a picture of me in bad lighting. It was just cellulite city. I saw it, and I cringed at first," she said. "Then I read the caption underneath, and it was like, 'I’m so proud of this girl. She’s real. Even though she may have cellulite, she’s not letting it stop her from rocking this bathing suit. She looks awesome. She’s worked hard.' I saw that, and I replied to it. I was like, 'At first I cringed when I saw this, but this makes me so happy to see.'" Of course, it's all a process and with Complex she talked openly about nearly 86ing a still from her "Cool For The Summer" video because she thought her leg looked fat. In the end, her longtime boyfriend Wilmer Valderrama convinced her she looked hot and she posted it. “Lately, I’ve been coming to terms with my imperfections and not obsessing so much about trying to make myself perfect,” she said. “It’s a growing process.” We can't help but feel like the cherry on the top of Lovato's body-positive sundae is that she felt confident enough to pose topless for Complex.