In order to start to really love our body, we must come from a position of being as self accepting as we can be about our body image. This is really important when we don’t really like our bodies size or shape and can be really challenging but it is worth the effort to change that.
Some people believe that if you accept your body the way it is right now that you are giving up but that is not the case at all. When we feel bad about our body it is near impossible to change it if we don’t start to accept it the way it is. It doesn’t mean we have to be satisfied with our weight or shape, it is about coming to terms with what is.
Simply say “This is where I am right now. I don’t know what the future holds, but I know if I want to change I have to be as comforatable with my self as I can be right now”.
Here are three tips on how to build a more positive body image are:
- Recognize your negative self talk about your body:
Learn to recognize your negative self talk like “your so fat, you have big arms, you are ugly, you have thunder thighs, or your waist is thick. Whatever you are saying to yourself, it stops today. You must do some rephrasing of your self talk.Imagine your thought written on a chalkboard, and taking an eraser and wiping it off.Or picture the thought coming out of the T.V and you go shut it off. You will not listen to those thoughts any more by saying “NO, stop it right now.When you say”I am fat” say ” I may not be at the size I would like to be, but this is the biggest I will ever be and from here forward I will be getting healthier everyday. It is not easy, and will take practice, but you will get there. Invest in yourself and have fun. Take the focus from what you look like to feeling comfortable in your body.
2. Dress for now:
Many of us have a variety of different size clothes in our closet hoping one day we will fit back into them because we did wear them at one time. They believe that keeping the smaller sizes will give them motivation to lose weight. Often the opposite happens. We can’t fit into the smaller sized clothes anymore and we start to feel worse.Then we wear clothes that are to tight and look awful, or they go out of style because they are in our closet for so long and we feel demotivated rather than motivated.The answer is to buy clothes that fit you now that you look fabulous in because then you will feel better too.When we look better we feel better.
3.Come from a place of gratitude for what our bodies can do for us:
Most of us take our body for granted, but when you start to come from a place of gratitude you learn that our body is really wonderful. For example. In the book from Louise Hay; Love your Body she says ” I love my fingers. My fingers give me the pleasure to touch and feel, mend, repair, create, and inspect.I choose the thoughts that enable me to touch with love.I love and appreciate my beautiful fingers”. Can’t you just start to feel how much you are grateful for your fingers? The same could be said for every body part we have.
I have broad shoulders and muscular arms, and there are lots of days I don’t like them. I now tell myself I am so grateful that these arms are strong, and carried around three babies. They lift weights to keep my muscles strong, they let me type this blog post, clean my house, hug my husband, hug my kids and friends, do cartwheels and so much more! All our bodies are beautiful and wonderful and amazing. When you really think about all the things our bodies do for us it is truly incredible, and let’s start focusing on these things and not what we think are wrong with them. As always,
