10 Ways to Up your Daily Dose of Body Positivity
Build up your body confidence with these 10 tips
We all have days where we don’t feel our best. Where our insecurities seem more persistent than usual. Where the smallest imperfections in our face, size or skin make us uncomfortable, cringe or cry. It’s all part of the human experience. Fortunately there are a world of self-care remedies for those times when we are down on the way that we look.
Looking to amp up your daily dose of body positivity?
Here are ten things you can do today to feel more confident in the skin you’re in.
1. Identify your values
Having a good grasp of what you do and don’t value is essential in understanding who you are as a person. Knowing your self-worth and that you are worthy of love will help you dispel those ill feelings of what you think you should look like on those days you’re feeling down. Think about the characteristics that you value about yourself that have nothing to do with appearance— maybe you’re smart, funny, a good listener, a hard worker. All the above. Drive the idea into your head that you are so much more than your body.
2. Redefine health
How do you define health? Is it rooted in weight? Emotion? Disease? A combination of all three? Figuring out what health means to you will help you take control of how you think about your body and work towards accepting what you cannot change and changing what you cannot accept for yourself. Think about your beliefs about weight loss and where they came from. Unlearn all the negative stereotypes and unpack internalized anti-fat bias. Practice talking about health without including physical attributes or weight management. Remember, big bodies can be just as healthy or unhealthy as small bodies.
3. Focus on self-care and body respect.
Self-care isn’t only about manicures and spa dates. Self-care is what you do every day to attend to your physical and emotional needs. Self-care is how you take care of yourself and shape your life to fit your needs. On those days you’re feeling down, focus on what you can do in the moment to feel more comfortable. Learn to respect the body you have right now. Self-care isn’t selfish. If we don’t take care of ourselves, who will?
4. Move your body in a way that feels good.
Stop using exercise as a punishment for what you ate. Our bodies aren’t machines that need to be sculpted. Move your body in ways that are fun and make you feel free. Focus on how it feels, rather than playing the numbers game of counting calories burned.
5. Start a mindfulness practice
Mindfulness impacts our critical awareness skills and helps us make better sense of our emotional life and life experiences. Set aside 10 minutes or so each day to quiet the mind and simply notice what's going on in our bodies and mind without judgement. Meditate on all things that are good and positive. Extend gratitude to God and your surroundings. Learn to tune inward towards your internal dialogue and the signals your body gives off. Constantly challenge your thoughts and feelings. They’re not always true.
6. Stop assigning morality to food
Defund your inner food police. Legalize all foods and don’t give yourself a badge of honor for eating less or having a salad for lunch. Ignore the Nutrition Informant that labels food as “healthy” or “unhealthy.” Assigning morality to food often leads to assigning morality to our character, like saying I’m so bad for eating this. You're not “good” or “bad” based on the foods you choose to eat.
7. Respect your emotions
We all experience emotions such as anxiety, loneliness, boredom and anger. Learn to manage and explore your emotions with self-compassion and kindness. Food may provide temporary comfort, but it won’t solve the problem. Find kind ways to comfort, nurture, distract and/or resolve your uncomfortable emotions directly. The best coping strategies are the ones that make you feel better, not worse.
8. Throw out the scale
If stepping on the scale has the power to ruin your day or provide a temporary high, it’s time to get rid of your scale. The number on the scale isn’t a measure of how well you take care of yourself. If you have anxiety about being weighed at your doctor’s office, you always have the option to opt out. There are very few circumstances where being weighed is a requirement. In these instances, your doctor can take your weight without telling you the number.
9. Stop complimenting weight loss
“You look like you lost some weight” isn’t always the compliment you think it is. You never know why a person lost weight or how they may feel about changes in their body. Instead of focusing on weight, complement their smile, hairstyle or clothes. Anything that doesn’t uphold the toxic belief that weight loss is a goal to which we should all aspire to.
10. Find a supportive squad
Last but certainly not least, surround yourself with people who are positive and uplifting. Whether in person or online, plug yourself into a community with similar life experiences. Diversify your feed with real people, not models and influencers selling a lifestyle. If it comes down to it, unfollow all the accounts that trigger bad body image thoughts.
✨Feel confident in your own skin and the food choices you’re making.✨
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