In the spirit of Valentine’s day, we’re going to talk about love, specifically loving your body. Looking in the mirror, it’s easy to say, “I wish I had a six-pack, I wish my hips were smaller, I wish my arms were stronger.” It’s easy to get knocked down by these feelings, especially when you’ve been putting in the work.

You’ve been eating better, you’ve been moving your body, you’ve got the Stanley and are drinking 120 oz of water a day… but you’re still not where you want to be.

It’s okay to feel those feelings. It’s VERY valid to feel those feelings.

Friends, It’s okay to love your body in the season you’re in AND still want to see it change.

You’re probably saying, “great, but I want to see the change; how do I love my body”

That’s what we’re going to talk about today!

Learning to Love Your Body

Disclaimer it’s not an overnight process. Waking up tomorrow saying “I love my body” will not put you in a position of complete love with your body. Like everything else in health, loving your body takes time and work.

Journaling

Journaling is something I come back to quite often, however, it is a wonderful way to get your thoughts on paper. Some things you can journal out about your body:

• What do you love about your body? Get specific here, your hair? Your stronger legs? What did your body do to grow a human? Etc.
• What do you not like about your body? Again, get specific.
• What are you doing to change your body? How long have you been doing it?
• What makes you proud of this journey?

Spending time with yourself in the mirror

As cheesy as it sounds, spend time chatting with yourself in the mirror. Become comfortable looking at your body. The more you avoid looking at yourself or talking to yourself, the harder it is to fall in love with yourself.

Remember, thoughts become things.

Our words MATTER. It hurts to hear negative things from our best friends so why are we okay with putting ourselves down? Spend some time paying attention to the words you are using, and shift your mindset with them.

For example: instead of saying ‘I will never be the girl with a six pack’ shift your words to ‘dang, look how much progress my stomach has made.”

Be proud of how far you’ve come

Look back to where you started and how far you’ve come already. If you have pictures from before you started your journey, pull those out. Remind yourself how to dang proud that women would be of where you are today.

Long-term change takes time. Our bodies are always evolving and will continue to change with each season of life. We get one physical body for our entire life. The most important thing we can do is protect it, take care of it, and love it.