Accepting and loving your body as it is doesn’t just happen. You don’t wake up one morning to find that you magically fell deeply in love with yourself and suddenly respect your body for everything it is instead of hating on it for everything it isn’t.
Loving your body is a process – just like most everything in life.
However, there are certain things body-lovers do differently than those who are still holding on to body-shame and the guilt for being who they are. The following ten actions are just the beginning of what differentiates those that respect their body from those that simply don’t.
Here’s what body-lovers do:
They hand control over to the body
Most of us believe that our brains are all-knowing and we give all of our power to the small part of ourselves that sits in our head. However, those who are serious about accepting their body know that the body has a wealth of wisdom and power to offer. They consciously connect with their body, listen to it and allow it to guide them to their truth – not only when it comes to food but also when it comes to living their best life.
They investigate their limiting beliefs
Our believes – oh those pesky little things running through our head, shaping our reality every second of every day. Our believes can be vile, but they can also be healed – if you choose to. Investigating your limiting beliefs is a journey that leads you deeper to your core, your essence, the you. You can start by doing The Work by Byron Katie, picking up a journaling practice or learning more about how to use ACT. There are many ways to work on your beliefs, the only thing that matters is that you do it.
They let go of the need to diet
They stop dieting altogether. It’s not even an option anymore. They stop believing that diets will save them, support them in living a great life and make all their dreams come true. They know that their true power comes from within.
They work on accepting their body right here and right now
This is the heavy lifting but they don’t shy away from it. Accepting their body right now doesn’t mean that they don’t care about how they look, how they dress up and show up, but they don’t obsess about the details of their shape, the size of their clothes and the amount of fat on their hips. They know that what really matters is not related to losing 5 more pounds or running to the gym 7 times a week.
They declutter their closets regularly
And their cupboards.
Nothing is worse than having clothes that are too small or diet food that reminds you of the diet you were “supposed” to be on. Get rid of it. All of it.
They practice gratitude all the time
Those who respect and accept their bodies practice gratitude in all areas of life. The more content and happy you are in general, the less important your exact body-shape and weight is. Body-lovers make it a point to stop and consciously look for the many blessings they have in life. They feel their blessings, they recall their blessings and they hold their blessings close to their hearts at all times.
They journal
And they go deeeeeeep. They don’t just stay on the surface, but instead they allow themselves to get vulnerable and focus on the points of the past and present that are not yet resolved.
They eat
what they want when they want and then move on with their day.
They let go of the belief that their weight shows their worth
In other words, they stop creating stories around how their body equals who they are. They stop believing that they are what they eat and how much they weigh and instead, they focus on living their true best life; a life that doesn’t revolve around their scale, diet books, diet apps and weight loss groups.
They join power posses that focus on body positivity
Healing in a vacuum takes waaaay longer and is waaaay more difficult than having the support of like-minded women. This is especially true for creating a loving relationship with your body. In this diet crazy world it’s life-saving to find an oasis of women who want to be more than pretty shells that need to lose weight.
Join us over in the Escape Diet Prison Group or – even better – in the Tribe and begin your journey to being a body-lover.
*Photo by {this is glamorous} on Flickr
