It is so important to come home to yourself and your body.
I have extracted some principles from my 30 Day Self Love Challenge that is inside the Food Freedom Online Program
Why is it so important to respect your body and have a positive body image? Besides just having confidence.
If you peel back all the layers when it comes to struggling with food, at the very core you will find dissatisfaction in your own skin which then feeds the belief that you need to change your body. This lack of satisfaction informs how we relate to food. This is not to say you cant have health and fitness goals but it’s important to respect your body so that its not negatively impacting your relationship with food, yourself and others. When you don’t feel good in your own skin, others notice. How do you feel when you’re feeling good? You act + show up differently, right? Same is true for how we feel deep down in ourselves.
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Let’s cover 5 easy things you can do to immediately feel better in your own skin
Enhance your visual diet
Your visual diet is EVERYTHING that you look at on a day to day basis. What is going into your mind daily? Do you have a visual diet that serves you instead of hinders you?
The things you are looking at directly affects how you perceive yourself and reality. It can even affect and influence eating disorders. Evaluate what you are taking in on a day to day basis; magazines, tv shows, social media, etc. Where, when, and how are you comparing yourself to the things you’re looking at? I used to look at all these fitspos and such for motivation thinking that it will give me what I needed to achieve my goals. However, deep down the negative impact far outweighs anything that it can positively do for us. So anything you find yourself comparing yourself to and feeling less than you shouldn’t be looking at it. Comparison and wanting others bodies makes it hard to have gratitude and respect for our own. If you’re comparing more than you’re being inspired.. Unfollow.
Only wear clothes that are comfortable and make you feel good, right now.
We have to start practicing self respect, part of this is allowing our body to move freely and comfortably in clothing. Clothing is meant to fit your body not for you to fit the clothing. Start pulling stuff out of your closet that doesn’t make you feel good. You can either: give it to a friend, store it away for the meantime or give it away. You deserve to feel good in your own skin and that doesn’t need to wait until you lose x amount of pounds. Start buying clothes that make you feel good right now. Buying a size larger than you’re used to is not a failure or giving up, I promise. Our bodies ebb and flow and we go through different seasons of life, give yourself grace and compassion. You did not fail because you failed the diet, the diet failed you because we’re not meant to forcefully control our food. Restoring your body image cannot wait until you get to x y + z goals. It has to be practiced, even right now. Instead of grabbing the clothes that you “wish” you would fit into, grab 3 sizes and start by trying on the largest one, then if it doesn’t fit you can size down.
Remember: A little number does not have power over you. Do not base your confidence and worthiness based on a little piece of fabric! This is not admitting failure. It is accepting that you are human and you still deserve to feel love and respect.
See how kind you can be to yourself
Dare to try something different? Try to be nice to yourself. This is the only place you’re going to live (your body + mind) How can you make it the safest, most loving and INCREDIBLE place to live on earth? Please do not underestimate the power of compassion and kindness, it will lead to a different outcome; mentally physically and emotionally than beating yourself and living in guilt ever will. Things begin to change internally when we start caring for ourselves and practicing these little self love acts. Think of it this way.. When we put good oil into our tank it is efficient, our car runs well and reaches our destination smoothly. But when we put in bad oil or run our car dry of good oil, we are less likely to get to our destination. Good oil = self love, compassion, body positivity, empowering visual diet. Bad oil = toxic visual diet, negative thoughts, harsh inner critic and rigid diets.
Challenge: Look at the cycles and how they have repeated themselves.. Have you ever been able to sustainably motivate yourself with being harsh or extremely critical?
Repeat Positve Affirmations
Go into the note section and write down 3-5 positive affirmations that directly attack 2-5 of the most damaging self critical thoughts you have on a day to day basis. The more you repeat these things the more natural they will become. We have to make what is familiar, unfamiliar and vice versa. Set an alarm to go off 3-5 times daily to read this affirmation. We are reprogramming new thoughts into our brain which happens through repeated action. Read them out loud if you can. I promise within a week of doing this you will start to notice a shift in yourself internally.
Heal your relationship with food
When you begin to feel normal around food the self critical thoughts that consume you begin to dissipate and your perception starts to switch. I used to look in the mirror after a binge and felt like I gained 300 lbs because I was so ashamed of my behavior with food that my perception was completely warped. When you pursue finding freedom and healing in those areas the self perception dramatically begins to shift because you feel balanced, peace, freedom around food. When your internal environment is less pressurized you automatically will start to shift to a more positive mindset.
You deserve to feel fabulous in the skin you’re in, as you are. You are worthy, beautiful, and your body is the least interesting thing about you.
