7 Ways To Really Start Loving Your Body
Loving your body is something that takes time and something that can be very difficult. We have all been there. From days we really dislike what we see, or maybe this goes on for quite some time.
Here are 7 ways to start loving your body so you can live a fulfilling and wonderful life. These steps are all things that helped me and I hope will help you too!
1. Unfollow, Unfollow, Unfollow
This was a big one for me that really helped turn my life around in order to start loving my body. I found that social media influences heavily the way people think they should look.
Not only does it set you up in life believing you should look a certain way, but it further makes you believe you are only worth what you are seeing on social media.
Many individuals follow celebrities or ‘influencers’ such as Kim Kardashian or Emily Ratajkowski that deem to have a “perfect body”. In no way shape or form am I body shaming these woman, but many young individuals look up to people like this and see the images being posted of what society deems to be the perfect sculpted figure.
If you find yourself starting to compare what you look like to these people particularly in a negative way, with thoughts such as “I want a waist that small”, or “why don’t I look like that”, then I highly recommend unfollowing them immediately.
This will give you such a sense of freedom mentally and will boost your self esteem not having to see this in your feed everyday and as the weeks go by, you will 100% begin to appreciate the body you are in so much more.
I admit, it’s one of the hardest things to do. Unfollowing someone that you may believe gives you some sort of validation in regards to your body. But by unfollowing these people that may be negatively impacting your mental health and wellbeing, you will begin to start loving your body more as you will stop comparing yourself.
2. Re-Follow
When you start unfollowing the negative people on your social media, replace them with new and better ones that will help you begin to start loving your body more.
When I first unfollowed many toxic accounts on social media in regards to body image, I found replacing them with positive accounts made me so much happier.
The body positive revolution is growing stronger everyday, so you will never be short on accounts to follow. Instead of logging onto social media and comparing yourself to other individuals thus leading to not liking who you are as a person, you will begin to feel happier with what you are seeing.
I highly recommend following @bodyposipanda. She is very real and raw. She teaches you ways to start loving your body and how you can begin to do it yourself through the use of social media.
She uses it as a tool for good and to help people, not drag them down. I promise you, you will not regret following her. She will teach you how loving your body can make you the happiest you may ever be with yourself.
3. Talk nicely to yourself
This one is a big one and is something that is highly overlooked. Many people dislike their bodies and the biggest factor is the way YOU talk to yourself.
If you are standing there looking in the mirror picking out all your “flaws”, then of course you are never going to be happy.
Instead, everyday pick out one thing you like about yourself and say it in the mirror. It an be something simple as “I really like my eyes today”, or “my legs are amazing”.
It takes one thing to say it, and another thing to believe it. The more you focus on the positives, the more you will begin to start loving your body. Every time a negative impulse enters your brain, push it aside and leave it alone.
Think of it this way. Would you talk to your best friend the way you talk to yourself? Would you say the things to your mum what you say to yourself? The answer is most likely no because it would be cruel.
Think about the effects it would have on someone else if you said to them the things you say to yourself. Then put that into perspective when thinking of how its impacting you. I can promise you, it’s not positively.
The moment you start doing this, the easier it will be to start loving your body.
4. Be Aware Of Your Bodies Capabilities
I find that this one can really help me particularly when times get a little harder and i’m struggling to like what I see.
Instead of picking out the things my body isn’t or what it can’t do, I pick out the things it can of.
I focus on things I wouldn’t be able to do without different parts of my body. If I didn’t have my big beautiful legs or maybe they stopped working, I wouldn’t be able to compete in my running competitions.
If I didn’t have my big brown eyes, I wouldn’t be able to watch the waves crash into the sand. If I didn’t have my long large arms, I wouldn’t be able to reach things and help others.
Look at the positives, what can your body do that maybe someone else’s can’t? Put it into perspective. Love your body for what it CAN DO, not for what it CAN’T DO.
Writing and creating a list of your bodies strength’s may help you to visually see your capabilities particularly if your a visual learner.
5. Don’t Believe You Are Worth Your Weight
This one is so hard. through the use of social media in particular, Hollywood movies and celebrities, we are constantly viewing things that are supposedly what society needs/ wants people to look like.
We as human beings, want to be the best we can be. Look the best, act the best, sing the best. We want to show society how we can live up to its expectations.
Don’t get me wrong I do to, but I believe that people are never worth what they weigh. People seek constant validation and a lot of that has to do with self esteem issues and lack of confidence.
If you want to start loving your body more, then start believing that you are not worth what you weigh. You don’t have to be a size two to be accepted into society. Any size, shape, colour etc is worth the world.
The moment you start believing that you are so much more worthy than a number on a scale, the moment your life become so much more amazing! I promise you.
6. Notice How Amazing Your Body Is
Whenever you start disliking your body, remember this. Your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining every five days, your liver every six weeks, and your skeleton every three months. Your body is extraordinary—begin to respect and appreciate it.
This ties into remembering what your body can do and loving in no matter what. Your body works so hard to make you a better person.
When your body is sick, it rejuvenates itself. All the little cells work hard to get you back to your beautiful healthy self. If you are sitting there hating it, its clearly not going to be doing a good job.
Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day. It does a lot for you.
7. Consider How Short Life is
This one always makes me think really hard. Its tough to ask yourself difficult questions but it really does help in the long run.
This is the question that really helps me pull through when I am down. “When I am on my deathbed, will I regret thinking or feeling this way?” Its a good question to ask yourself with anything.
“When I am on my deathbed, will I regret eating this doughnut”? The answer is probably not. Imagine yourself taking a few last breathes. Do you really want to look back on your life saying wow I hated my body.
Don’t waste time hating yourself or your body. Learn to love it, learn to cherish it, and learn to respect it.
When you consider how short life is, you’ll stop thinking about how much you dislike yourself.
