What Does Real Body Love Look Like?
From constantly being bombarded with images of how we should look and messages about what it means to have an attractive body to health marketing verbage that borderlines on shaming (‘clean eating,’ we’re looking at you) many of us with perfectly healthy bodies wind up feeling inadequate and unattractive.
So while self love emphasis is usually focused more on external factors that center around some kind of change, loving our bodies really has more to do with changing our perspective towards our selves - often in radical defiance of social views. Here are the ways we try to love our bodies, no matter what it looks like or is capable of doing.
1. Listen to it
When you are tired, rest, when you are hungry eat. Listen to what the body is saying and try to treat it how it needs to be treated. Sometimes pain is not gain. Listening to our bodies intuitively allows us to prioritize our personal needs for our body over what the world may be asking from it.
2. Stop focusing on Numbers
From scale numbers to measurements to number of miles or minutes on the treadmill, numbers often get in the way of seeing real benefits to our bodies. While we’re all about doing what is best for the individual - whether that be gaining a few pounds or opting for a more superficial treatment such as coolsculpting inner thighs, it’s important to remember that numbers only hold value because we assign it to them. In the words of John Lennon, ‘nothing is real.’
3. Talk positively about it
Instead of focusing on the body part you hate or the thing that you can’t do anything about, think about the good things your body has to offer such as the strength it has or how well it helps you to go about your day - or even how shiny your hair is, why not. The more we think about our body in a positive way, the more we learn to see it for what it truly is and love it as it is - and the best part is that there will be significantly less stress when it comes to making any healthy changes that need to be made.
4. Exercise in a way you enjoy
We can not stress this one enough! So many people end up punishing their bodies with exercise because they see their bodies as imperfect and they want to change it. This sets us off on a negative start and can lead to hating our body - and even resenting the healthy things we do to support it. Finding forms of exercise we enjoy, even if it is just walking or hiking, it far more important. Skipping the squats and going for a walk in nature is often the better choice.Not only are you more likely to stick to doing what you love, but you are also more likely to treat your body with kindness and respect when you are enjoying yourself, too. After all, movement is a gift - it’s important to remember that.
5. Stop The Comparisons
If we are constantly comparing your body to those of supermodels, movie stars, and Instagram fitness gurus, we’re never going to embrace the body we have. And news flash - most of those people we are comparing ourselves to don’t have the body we think they do either. And the truth is that no one has a better body for you than the one you already have.
