How can you build a healthy relationship with your body?
In a world constantly bombarded with unrealistic beauty standards, distorted body image ideals and FADs - it is no wonder it has become a challenge to build a healthy relationship with our body.
Cultivating self-love, acceptance, and respect for our bodies is not only essential for our mental and emotional well-being but also plays a vital role in maintaining overall physical health.
Let’s get right to it and explore practical tips and insights on how to foster a positive and healthy relationship with our bodies, allowing us to embrace ourselves with confidence and grace.
Practice self-compassion
First and foremost, we are not going to love every part of ourselves every single day for the rest of our lives…
And that’s okay. What we want to strive toward is a healthy relationship and as we are all aware, relationships are not perfect all of the time.
It is important to be kind to yourself, acknowledge imperfections are normal and treat yourself as you would treat your bestie.
Adapt the ‘health for the sake of health’ approach
We can either be healthy for the sake of weight loss, external validation and a hope to increase happiness.
OR we can be healthy for the sake of respecting and nourishing our body.
It all comes down to our intentions - exercise for joy, eat healthy for fuel, sleep more to improve focus, limit phone time to increase presence…
In any relationship, we want to show respect and love to the other person. A relationship with our body is no different.
Practice mindful eating
Food is fuel. It is energy. It is a form of nourishment.
Work on any unhealthy relationships you might have with food and focus on mindful eating.
Picture every meal to be something that is going to boost your immune system, give you energy, build strength, increase brain power and nourish all parts of you.
Dress for yourself, not others
Make your outfits a beautiful expression of who you are - embrace your style and individuality. Never dress to impress anyone other than yourself.
I recommend doing a closet clean out and getting rid of all of your clothes that don’t make you feel good.
(and then go on a shopping spree to find things that make you feel empowered, bad ass and beautiful!!)
They might be too small and you’ve kept them hoping to fit back into them one day. They might be too baggy and you’ve been wearing them to hide your body. They might be not even be your style but you have been trying to fit in with society norms.
Surround yourself with supportive humans
This includes people you follow on social media!!
There is NOTHING more empowering than surrounding yourself with people who lift you up, embrace body positivity and love you unconditionally.
If you are constantly being put down or seeing posts that drop your self-esteem, it is going to be really challenging to work on building a healthy relationship with your body.
Audit your circle, review your social media accounts and make some big decisions.
Avoid comparison and judgement
There are two ways to judge and compare yourself to others…
1 - putting yourself on a pedestal and putting them down
2 - putting them on a pedestal and putting yourself down
Neither are beneficial and both are detrimental to your self-esteem and body image.
Remember that everyone is beautiful, everyone is fighting their own battles and everyone is unique.
Set achievable goals
Set goals that are related to your health and wellness not your appearance.
This might be learning to run in order to tick off a marathon from your bucket list or it might be learning a new skill to improve your brain power!
Always celebrate achievements along the way as a form of reward and motivation to continue.
Find accountability buddies to keep you going.
Look at yourself in the mirror
A simple task like this can be incredibly challenging for some.
Take small steps, for example:
1. Look yourself in the eye in the mirror and ignore the rest of your body
2. Look at yourself in the mirror fully clothed
3. Smile when you see yourself in the mirror
4. Avoid judgement and negative self-talk
5. Every time you look in the mirror, say 1 thing you love about your appearance.
6. Look at yourself in the mirror naked
(and when I say look, I mean REALLY look… not just glance! Look deep and really see all parts of yourself)
Building a healthy relationship with your body is a journey, not an instant destination.
Practice self-love, self-compassion, and acceptance to gradually cultivate a positive connection with your body.
Remember that everyone's body is unique, and embracing your individuality is the first step towards living a fulfilling and content life.
Let us embark on this journey together.