How to Love Your Body, Even When You Don’t

Do you love your body?

Or did you have something unkind to say about your body from the time you woke up this morning?

Was it when you looked in the mirror as you were getting dressed?  Was it more along the lines of’ “I hate my thighs,” or “Look at that muffin top, I hate it so much,” as you grabbed some skin around your middle?

We’ve all done it.  Pinching here and there the places on our bodies that don’t measure up to the “ideal”standards.

So you don’t love your body.

Do you think there is a way to begin to accept and in the future love your body?  Or have you given up?

I would like to offer that there is a way and it does not involve a diet.

In fact, it is a way of feeding your mind and your soul instead.  So it permeates every inch of your being.

It starts with your thoughts, which trigger a feeling in your body, which drive an action, which create a result.

Let’s say you stepped on the scale this morning and up came a number that made you want to cry.  What did you say to yourself?

“I hate myself, ” or “I am fat, ” or “I hate my body!”

What feeling did that cause inside you?  Discouragement?  Guilt about the cookies you ate last night?  Despair?

Then what did you do?  What action did you take? Go grab a doughnut?  Or did you do nothing but beat yourself up all day?  Maybe you were grumpy with your family.  Or short with everyone at work.

What result did that produce?  Nothing positive, right?  You continued to eat some not-so-healthy food the rest of the day thinking, why not?  Maybe you alienated some family members.  Or had a fight with your spouse.  But you still were hating your body.

I’d like to propose an alternative way of thinking, so you get a different result.

What if, when you read the number on the scale or looked in the mirror, you said, “I have a body” (neutral) or “I have a strong body or nice curves”, or “My body is a temple of the Holy Spirit.”  It needs to be something you believe or your brain will toss it right out.

That would generate what feeling?  Hope, kindness, love, appreciation, acceptance? What?

Then what action might you take?  Make a loving commitment to yourself to maybe avoid sugar or processed food today?  Buy yourself some flowers?  Walk during lunchtime?  Spend some time journaling or listening to music that you love that is inspiring?

The result would be what?  No beating yourself up.  No hating your body.  New habits developed to love on your body – to appreciate and take care of it?  Wouldn’t that be a lot better than a spin cycle of being mean to yourself?  It has to be practiced, a lot, because your brain will want to go back to the “I hate my body” thought. You will actually make a new neural pathway to replace the old “hate my body” thought.

This will penetrate your whole being in a new and amazing way.  It starts with your brain.   Come up with an alternative thought that will propel you towards loving your body.  Use scripture, if that inspires you.  Eventually, you will find that your feelings have really shifted from beating yourself up to being kind and caring towards your body.

Start today, OK?

Would you like some help to stop hating on your body and begin taking care of it?  Send me an email at jane@janespringer.com and we will set up a complimentary call to talk about your challenges and how you can really change the way you feel about your body.

With love,

Jane

www,janespringer.com