Love Your Body

Think about what you love about your body.
Instead of letting your mind think about what you want to change about your body. Think about what you currently love about your body.

This may feel totally strange at first, just give it time and practice, practice, practice! Growing your “body love” is a day-by-day, moment-by-moment, second by second kind of thing.

Workout to feel good; not to burn calories
Move your body in ways that you love. Ways that you make you light up inside. This can be taking a dancing class, or hot yoga.

Find exercising that don’t feel like you are working out. When I was in the gym, I made up my own workouts based on what I like. I love kickboxing. To be it’s very therapeutic to hit the bag. It relives stress and anxiety. And its just plain fun to hit things (so long as it’s not people).

I don’t workout to burn calories or lose weight, I workout cause it is good for me and it makes me happy. And in the words of Elle Woods “Exercising creates endorphins, endorphins makes people happy…” Exercising creates all sorts of happy chemicals in your body.

Why wouldn’t you want to do it. When you shift your mindset and workout to feel strong, vibrant, and whole, you’ll keep coming back for more.

What activity makes you feel good and empowered? Go do more of that.

Appreciate what your body does for you
What does your body let you do that you appreciate? For example, I’m grateful for my strong arms from weight lifting, so I can lift heavy things.

And I’ve come to love my strong sturdy shapely thighs.

They allow me to hike, walk long distances, and run, things I love. When you reframe and list, all the wonderful things your body allows you to do, you start to look at your body in a different light.

It’s no longer something you oh so desperately wish you could change, it’s a vessel that allows you to live your life and live it to the fullest. 

Honor your hunger and fullness
When you eat mostly whole real foods and tune in to your hunger and fullness factor (before, after and during your meals), you’ll nourish your body with exactly what it needs. 

I used to be a crazy calorie counter and it was exhausting. Plus, people don’t eat calories, they eat food! If you hate calorie counting and want a different approach to lose weight and or make peace with food, find different ways to do so. 

Eat the “off-limit” stuff:
You know what happens when you can’t have something? You want it even more. When we create all these “off-limit” foods, it’s easy to get into the restrict = binge = feel crummy = restrict = binge (and repeat) cycle.

Ugh, I think I’ll pass.

Doritos and ice cream were two examples of “off-limit” foods I had. If I got a hold of them, I’d eat way too much, feel bad, and then want to go exercise it off, eat less the next day, starve myself or take laxatives to shit it out.

That’s a whole other story for another time.

I decided this all had to change.
To do this:  I gradually shifted my mindset with mantras, experiments (more on this later), and the decision to truly care for my body.  

I wanted the foods I ate to make me feel whole, energized, and good, which generally meant eating healthy stuff.  

I also wanted to be able to enjoy not so healthy stuff, (we only live this life once). Food is meant to be enjoyed.

So, I started being fully present at eating occasions; 80% of the time I ate whole foods (think stuff not in a box, can, bagged or even frozen. This was real whole fruits, veggies, salmon, steak, avocados, etc. I nourished my body frequently throughout the day; and honored my hunger and fullness cues.

 All of this lends to eating the right amount of anything and best yet, creates a healthy relationship with food.

Really enjoy your food ,whatever it may be, with pleasure. I know I certainly do.

Find support
It’s so important to feel not alone. You can’t do this shit on your own.

And sometimes just admitting our fears or insecurities is such a relief.

Whether it be a sibling, friend, partner, coach, or group, find others you can be vulnerable and open with who support you. Nurturing people in your life are key for growth. Finding those ones that love you for you above all else, really makes a difference.

Do the things you’ve been putting off now
Stop waiting to do stuff until you feel “perfect.” We tend to put things off till we lose weight; feel more toned; get that new love in our lives; make more money; land that job; or have more friends. Instead of waiting, just do that stuff now!

You’ll start to cultivate an inner joy and peace that will have you shining from the inside out. Health and happiness begins with inner change that eventually equals outer change.

Think about why loving your body is really important to you
If you want to change, it has to be important to you. Without YOU knowing why it’s important to you, on a deep level, it’ll be hard to continue doing the daily work that is required.

Think about it, why is loving you and your body important for you right now? Let your intuition guide you, not be guided by the outside world.

Don’t go by the scale
Let how you feel guide you. Because generally, when you’re nourishing yourself with good foods, honoring your hunger and fullness, moving your body, and showing up for yourself your weight is what it is.

Realize your body is your body!
We all have our own unique shape. I have an athletic fit build. I’ll never have be a tall-lanky like the latest Victoria Secret model. Own your YOUness and stop being so harsh. Hello….self-kindness, please?

Surround yourself with people who make you feel good
Stop hanging around those who make you feel not good enough. Choose people who make you feel happy, positive and comfortable.

By choosing more positive influences in your life, you’ll feel more positive. And with this feel-good, happy, confident vibe, you will naturally be drawn to other positive people, situations, and things that are important for your well being (think journaling, alone time, exercise).

The more you fill your life up with stuff that makes your soul come alive, the less you stress about your weight and body, and the more you realize feeling good in your skin isn’t about your weight. It’s about self-love and acceptance. And when you get here, the weight thing, ironically, works out.

Remove the body “garbage” from your life
Anything that makes you feel bad, weird or make you doubt how you are supposed to look and or act….remove it. Tabloids, Instagram accounts, Facebook pages, friends on Facebook, magazines, remove them from your daily life.

We have the power to choose how we want to feel.

Why choose stuff that you know makes you feel bad? Guard your body mind, soul and spirit.

Talk to yourself like you would a friend
Start to tune in, I mean really tune in, to the thoughts you think about yourself, your body, your self-love, self confidence and self respect.

Observe.

Would you speak to your daughter, friend, or sister like that? Turn the situation around and talk to yourself, like you would talk to your loved ones.

Remind yourself of all the positives you’ve done
When you get all in a funk, look back and ask yourself, “How have I grown in a positive way?” You can get yourself in a better space quickly. Just pull up the positive. And remember, it’s not about never feeling terrible; it’s about having the tools and the ability to shift your mindset and energy out of a negative space into a healthier happier state when you choose.

We always have a choice. ALWAYS!

Message 3 friends and ask them why they like you
Sounds cheesy and maybe silly, but it’s totally awesome. Hands down, I guarantee they won’t say your weight or anything about your physical appearance as being why they love you.

You’re more than your outer self and sometimes, we need to be reminded of this.

Nourish your body because you love your body
Remove the intention of losing weight from what you eat. Instead, focus your intention on what foods will nourish my body? What health benefits will that bring to my body?

Detach yourself from your body, just for a moment and think about your body as something you’re babysitting, watching for a short time, looking after.

Wouldn’t you want to take the best possible care of a plant, animal or child that you’re babysitting? Why not do this for your own body? When you shift your mindset from your body being something you despise to a gift from God, the Universe or whichever deity you are into, that allows you to live your life, you’ll care for your body out of love and that my friend, is magical.

Make time for yourself
Even if it’s just 10-minutes of sitting in a quiet room to journal. It matters.

Set boundaries and put yourself first.

When you can’t care for you, it’s harder for you to care for others. Your needs being met allows you to be the best version of you and that’s what you owe to the world.

Show up for yourself, even if for 15 minutes a day. It all matters.

Look at things as experiments
I used to think if I didn’t workout one day for X amount of time every day, I’d get fat. That if I ate fries and maybe a cheeseburger (which hells to the yeah I still eat), I’d suddenly get a bigger. That if I said NO to people, they wouldn’t like me.

So, one day, I didn’t workout, I ate whatever I wanted and I just said NO to something I didn’t want to do. And what happened? … Haha…. Nothing!

I didn’t gain weight and I still had friends.

I just feel a whole lot more free.

We all have limiting beliefs that hold us back. That keep us stuck. Break them. See what happens.

Most likely, nothing but good will come, and you’ll be set free to move forward. But, it all starts with looking at things as an experiment, so you can gain confidence and momentum to keep going with your beautiful self.

Connect with your body
Tune in. How’s your body feeling today? Does your body need a break from exercise? Does your body need movement? Does your body need more sleep? What does your body need?

Connect with and honor whatever comes up.

Create a grateful mindset
Appreciate you’re healthy. Appreciate that your body allows you to move. Appreciate you can read this. True body love and acceptance starts when you honor your body as is, even if you’re working on losing weight, gaining muscle, or staying well.

You can still love your body while working on it, it’s just that the motives are now different. Self-love and respect versus body bashing and hate.

Which do you choose?

Reframe
Be kind to yourself. Don’t pretend that you don’t have negative feelings, but come at them with self-kindness and work with them, instead of against them.

Instead of…
I have horribly chubby thighs; I wish they were smaller
Try:
I have strong sturdy thighs that enable me to do the things I want to do in life.
Instead of …
Oh my goodness, I have a large patches of cellulite on my legs and butt!
Try…
Yup, I got some cellulite, and it’s really not a big deal. All women have some. Yes, even the super skinny ones. It’s not about what my outer body looks like, it’s how I feel on the inside.

Would I want to be super skinny and a miserable human? Absolutely not!

When I workout, eat well, and treat myself with kindness, I feel good. Feeling good in my skin is my priority and when I do the things that keep me in this space,

I love and accept my body, which is what it’s really about.

Get yourself in a better space
Literally! If you’re binging, having a pity party or just in a super negative funk, repeat after me, “Stop, drop, breathe, move.” Stop what you’re doing.

Drop what you’re doing.

Take a few deep breaths to bring you back to the present moment and then physically move into a different space and do something to calm your energy, like journal, call a friend, go for a walk.

You have a choice, and you can change your energy at any moment of the day.

Remember, it’s not about you
If people say not nice things to you about your physical appearance, remember, it’s not about you! Its a reflection of themselves. And they’re working through their own stuff. However, you can learn here.

There’s always something we can learn to better ourselves. People, things, and situations show up in our life because we need to learn how to gracefully work through them so we can grow.

Growth=evolving. We all need to change in order to evolve.

Wear clothes that make you feel good
This is a no-brainer. If you don’t feel good in what you’re wearing, then why are your wearing it. You will feel weird all day long.

Wear clothes that make you feel good and if you need to buy some, go out and do it! Stop waiting till you get to a certain size.

The time to feel good is now.

Communicate your needs
This is critical and something I’ve grown into! It was hard for me. But, once you get it down, you can make magic.

Let those key people in your life know what you need from them on your journey, whether it be for your family to stop commenting on your weight; for your partner to be more open with compliments and things he appreciates about you more; or whether you need help in finding a group or coach to help you move forward.

Be honest, be brave, and most importantly, be you.