How To Start Loving Your Body
Always remember that your body is working with you, not against you
How often have you entered a new chapter in life wanting to be healthier, skinnier, fitter, to feel worthy, and appreciated?
The statistics on how many people actually follow through and accomplish their New Year’s resolutions are rather grim. Studies have shown that less than 25% of people actually stay committed to their resolutions after just 30 days, and only 8% accomplish them.
If you truly want to love your body and self this time around, I highly invite you to try something different and:
Stop the Diet Talk
Diet talk is 2020. Actually, diet talk should have stayed in the 80ies where it belonged, and it’s time for us to move on and start getting deeper and bring up different topics, which are more interesting than hopelessly complaining about our wobbly bits.
On top of it, is never about the body, is it?
People that are unhappy with the way they look, they normally have something much deeper troubling them, such as career, money, and relationship issues. Maybe they want to be loved and have more sex with their partner. Unfortunately, it’s so normalised in our society to admit that there is something wrong with our body (it’s almost socially expected), but we cannot admit we would love to be touched and loved.
Also, diet talks is incredibly detrimental for the new generation; whenever a friend of mine comment about her body in front of my daughter, I have started saying “ We do not discuss body image and body parts in this house” . As simple as that, no apologise needed.
Find a purpose outside losing weight
As I said before, it’s never (only) about the weight.
What do you really want? What are you trying to achieve by reaching a specific number on the scale, or by fitting into the old pair of jeans?
Do you want to be noticed? Loved? Is that what you are looking for?
Or are you dealing with grief, loss, redundancy, boredom, lack of money, and purpose?
Be curious and become your investigator. Tap into that part of yourself that has the answer and hold that sacred space. And then act on it.
Stop thinking that thin is better
I’m sorry to let you know that skinnier isn’t better and not even healthier.
Being underweight can lead to lack of libido, hair loss, hormonal imbalance, dementia, osteoporosis, insomnia, constipation, and so forth. Being overweight almost has the same contraindications.
Don’t live your life thinking that you will be happier when you can squeeze yourself in a size 8. It doesn’t work that way, people can change their shape and size, but that won’t affect their perception of life.
Your size doesn’t dictate who you are, and who you want to be.
Stop comparing your body to others, and stop judging other people bodies
We have no right to judge other people based on their appearance; it’s insensitive, useless, and plain dumb. Ok, a plus-size model is showing off her cellulite in a tight bikini at the beach, and you feel entitled to stare and comment. Why?
Her body, her house; if you don’t have anything positive to say, I invite you to say nothing at all.
On the same note, you have no idea what’s happening behind curtains, so avoid comparing your life to someone you don’t even know on Instagram.
Focus on you for a change, find out where your worth is coming from, live your every day with meaning and kindness. It sounds so Hallmark’s card, but it is the only way out.
Stop whining about where you are not, and embrace where and what you already are.
Stop restricting
From a diety perspective, stop restricting calories and foods in general. Restriction means unhappiness, bingeing, feeling of unworthiness, and lack.
Let’s say that you have a block of chocolate after a tough day at work, and you go to sleep, thinking, “ I will start a detox tomorrow.” Do yourself a favor: don’t. Wake up the next day, accept the fact that you needed chocolate, have a normal-sized breakfast, and go on with the rest of your day.
There is no benefit in restriction; think nourishment instead.
Also, stop restricting yourself from the possibility of living a real-life, of meeting new people, of trying new opportunities, on saying yes to something that scares you.
Go out of your comfort zone, feel uncomfortable, and grow in the process.
Stop allowing tracking tools to run your life
This year, try something different and get rid of your Fitbit watch, the MYfitnesspal app, and all the scales you own.
Don’t allow external tools that know nothing about your metabolism, stress level, sleep quality, and hunger to dictate how much you should or shouldn’t eat.
Stop pacing up and down the apartment to reach 10,000 steps a day, eat at 11 am if hungry, also if your Diet app tells you otherwise; don’t allow the scale to dictate how you should feel and throw it out of the window. Have an adult-sized meal when hungry, have dinner at 5 pm if you can’t wait any longer, eat pizza after 8 pm, have breakfast before 6 am if you want to. Skip that exercise class if exhausted, challenge your deeply ingrained and old fashioned beliefs.
Live a little, let go of guilt, embrace food freedom, and smile.
Give yourself the chance to truly change in the new year.
Claudia is a Qualified Nutrition & Dietetic Consultant (BHSC) specialised in hormonal balance, women’s health, and disorder eating behaviors. She sees clients online and in clinical practice; you can find more about her or the Hypothalamic Amenorrhea recovery program by following her on Instagram, Facebook, or by checking her website.
