I'm a certified Personal Trainer and Eating Disorder Recovery Coach! I help women (and men) embrace intuitive movement and food freedom by ditching diet culture stereotypes and living free from rules, restrictions and reservations!
We hear the phrase “body love” thrown around so much, and it is a great concept. It may be a bit harder to achieve than we think, though. After listening to a few podcasts surrounding this topic, I’ve started to lean more towards the concept of BODY ACCEPTANCE over BODY LOVE. Body acceptance and neutrality has been much easier for me to grasp and appreciate and I want to tell you why.
Body acceptance is the idea of being understanding and respectful of our bodies, even on the days we aren’t necessarily happy with it. Being free to eat what we want, do what we want, and exercise how we want. This is different from body love, because it doesn’t necessarily mean we have to wake up and love every little part of our bodies. We don’t have to be 100% confident in every inch of our skin. But, even if we aren’t 100% confident, we still live our lives freely and unrestrained and unapologetically.
To me, body love seems to be an unattainable thing, at least in this day in age. To be completely happy, content, and proud of every aspect of your body is ideal for most. However, it may be unlikely due to the society and culture we live in (in my opinion). But body love isn’t necessary to be happy. If we can be free in our bodies and embrace body liberation, then body love isn’t quite as necessary. As I try to reduce my focus on body image, I am constantly trying to embrace body liberation!
Loving your body may seem difficult now, and may be hard for a while. I would urge you to try embracing the idea of body liberation. Try to ACCEPT your body for what it is. Instead of constantly trying to change it, appreciate it for what it is. Allow your body to just be, instead of constantly trying to change or “fix” it. I’m not saying this is easy either. It takes time and patience and work. But freeing your body may be the next step before loving it. So let’s chat about how we can do that…
Here are a few tips to start embracing Body ACCEPTANCE:
stop viewing it constantly – don’t go to the mirror first thing in the morning, don’t walk past mirrors just to body check, stop pinching and grabbing at parts that you don’t enjoy.
wear clothes that make you feel good – instead of focusing on sizes, focus on how clothes make you feel. wear items that make you feel confident and secure.
realize you are MUCH more than a body – explore hobbies and appreciate other aspects of you and your life that have NOTHING to do with the shape and size of your body.
give yourself grace – again, no one is perfect and loves their body every day. so remember, even on the days where you don’t feel so great about it, your body still deserves to be respected.
I'm a certified Personal Trainer and Eating Disorder Recovery Coach! I help women (and men) embrace intuitive movement and food freedom by ditching diet culture stereotypes and living free from rules, restrictions and reservations!
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