Tips for Body Positivity

Loving You. Just the Way You Are.  

When you consider that 94% of girls have been body-shamed by the time they get to high school, it’s understandable that as a woman you might see loving your body as it is as a big challenge.

Body positivity is a movement that represents appreciation, respect, and acceptance of your body as it is. More specifically, body positivity includes:

• Appreciating what makes your body unique
• Gratitude for how your body can perform
• Comfort and confidence with your body
• Focus on the positives rather than imperfections or flaws
• Rejection of negative images or information about how your body is perceived

Body positivity is a process and requires the practice of self-compassion and acceptance. We all come in different shapes and sizes, and being a certain size or weight does not always reflect good health. Loving your body and loving yourself is a huge step towards a healthier you.

Tips for Practicing Body Positive

Recognize that everyone’s body is unique

Every day we are bombarded with unrealistic images of beauty. Who doesn’t look amazing with a professional makeover or a photoshoot with great lighting? At one time or another, each of us has compared ourselves to images we see in magazines or online. But, we need to embrace the fact that everyone’s body is different. Our bodies have unique proportions and characteristics. It is time to
shift our brains to focus on what makes us healthy and celebrate our strengths.

Practice positive self-talk

Being human, we all have an inner voice that babbles on all day long. In fact, according to recent studies, up to 70 percent of our daily self-talk is negative. To practice body positivity, it is important to limit negative body talk.
What are you saying about your body? How does this make you feel about your own self-worth? Would you say these things to a friend? A stranger?
When you catch yourself having a negative thought about your body, don’t dwell on it. Take a moment to notice the negative thought and choose to replace it with a more positive thought such as:
• I honor and respect my body
• I thank my [body part] for [doing its physical function]
• I celebrate the uniqueness of my body
• My body takes care of me and I take care of my body
• I love my body because it is mine
• Thank my body for letting me enjoy life

Switch from fear to gratitude

It is easy to focus on what we don’t like about ourselves. These shame-based thoughts come from a place of fear: fear that because we don’t like what we see in the mirror, others won’t either.

Find ways to be grateful toward your body and recognize how it allows you to live your life. The moment you start to view your body for all the miraculous things it DOES for YOU, you will learn how to love your body.

Set health-related fitness goals instead of size-related fitness goals

Having fitness goals is wonderful. But the motivation behind those goals can make a huge difference. Try to focus on your overall health, longevity, strength, endurance, and energy. Make those healthy choices because you love your body and feel worthy of honoring it with actions that support your health goals.

Live the life you want right now

We have all be guilty of postponing something until we reach a certain weight or decline invitations to events because we don’t like the way we look.
There’s no reason to wait until you are a certain size to do the things you want. No matter what, don’t let life pass you by until you reach a certain weight or look a certain way.