How to Feel Better About Your Body Image
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How do you feel about your body image?
Are you one of the 96% of women who struggle with body image, weight, self-esteem, and exercise? That number kind of makes me sad.
Would you like to feel better about your body image and LOVE the body you have?
Do you feel that no matter what you do or what you wear, there is always SOMETHING you don’t like about yourself?
Body Image, physical confidence, body shaming, dieting, excessive exercising, striving for physical perfection, worrying that you’re too big, too small..let’s kick that to the curb once and for all.
It was a struggle for me
I spent so long beating my body up, and when you do that, guess what.. your body pushes back. Shocker. I had to learn that a strong body should FEEL good, not just look good. I had to learn that my body wasn’t supposed to be constantly injured or sore every day. Another shocker. I had to realize that I NEEDED to fuel my body properly with healthy foods. Yep, I was counting and measuring until I was blue in the face.
When I started focusing on what it would FEEL like to love myself, be strong, healthy, and energized instead of focusing on the LOOK of it… That’s when I found strength. That’s when I found what works for my body. You have to find what works for YOURS. Since I started taking care of myself, I’ve noticed that my body image has improved.
It took some time
It took me a while to figure this out. Being in the profession I am in, there seems to be this stereotype of how one is supposed to LOOK in the health and fitness field. Isn’t society great? I had to tell it to shut up and get out of my own head that it was OKAY if I didn’t “look the part”. I can tell you when I did look it, I felt like crap and I STILL hated my body.
I had to break some hard habits and make new ones. I am still a work in progress but I am learning that when I love myself, things work out the right way. It was like I had to redefine ME from the inside out. It’s not just a look, it’s a FEEL.
What is Body Image?
Body image is how you see yourself physically, both when you think about yourself, and when you look in a mirror.
Body image can be affected by:
- How you feel about your body, including height, weight, and shape
- Your beliefs about your appearance, which may include views about the ‘right’ appearance
- Stereotypes and beliefs, including those of the people around you as well as your own.
Having a positive body image does not mean that you have to think everything about your body is perfect. After all, nobody is perfect, not even supermodels.
Positive body image means accepting your body for what it is, being okay with your natural shape and size, and how your body performs.
So how can we work on feeling better about our body image?
Tips on how to feel better about your body image
Start with a loving mindset:
Love yourself first! You must have a loving mindset towards YOU and the body image will follow. This kind of mindset shift had me realize that it wasn’t so much about a LOOK that I was chasing by trying to eat super clean and workout until my body was super sore. It made me realize that there is a deeper issue than just the surface “look” that would have me loving the person I was and the body I was in.
Speak kindly to yourself:
We are our own worst enemy and we tend to beat ourselves up toe most. Would you talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself? We must start to become aware of our own negative self-talk. It is destroying us. I know the things I would say to myself and the thoughts that would run through my mind are something I would never say to a client or my younger self, let alone my best friend.
Catch your negative self-talk. Acknowledge that it’s negative, acknowledge that it’s not based in truth, and then find something positive to say about yourself.
Start from the inside out:
Yes, beauty starts on the inside and it isn’t so much about a look. You can be the prettiest person in the world yet on the inside, things can be ugly. Start working on your mindset and making it positive. Your thoughts become your reality so stop with thinking that you aren’t enough because you don’t look a certain way or that your body isn’t what you think it should be.
I use a holistic approach with my clients when we work towards overcoming these blocks. Work on all the relevant aspects of your being – your mind, heart, body, and spirit. We are so much more than just a look.
It’s a FEEL, not a LOOK
Remember this!! We are not defined by a dress size or body type.
When you improve how you feel about your body, it does so much for your self-esteem! When you have a more positive view of your body, your body tends to cooperate with you and you’ll experience better results!
Final Thoughts
People with positive body image understand that personal appearance has very little to do with ability or character. They are confident and comfortable with themselves and do not waste time worrying about their bodies.
Learning to accept yourself and your body—or even just to give yourself some grace every now and then—is one of the most important personal skills for the mind. I hope you have found some value in reading this and can give yourself that grace if you are struggling with your body image. You’ve got this! LOVE YOU!!
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