If you are making the hard-fought effort to regain your health and wellness, kudos to you! Weight loss is a touchy subject in the body confidence space because it always presents the question:
“Can you love your body and desire weight loss at the same time?” The answer is yes, but there’s more to it. Wanting to get healthy and accepting the body you have today don’t have to be mutually exclusive.
Here are a few ways to show your body love in the process of weight loss.
Shift Your Focus about Weight Loss
Everyone should acknowledge that they are amazing, beautiful, and worthy of love at every stage of their journey. But loving your body means much more than just accepting it for what it looks like. Loving your body also means respecting it and approaching it with kindness.
We encourage you to shift your focus from solely a place of weight loss, to thinking about healthy habits in the context of your overall well-being. Start by widening your focus to encompass more than just the numbers on the scale, the way your jeans fit and yes, even what you see in the mirror.
Find the Joy in the Process
Embarking on a healthy weight loss program should inspire you, energize you and make you feel proud of yourself. It shouldn’t feel like a burden with no end in sight. Let yourself feel the fresh emotions and new pockets of life that open up in the process, no matter how small or far apart they feel in the beginning.
When you begin a weight loss program from a place of self-love and acceptance, you are more likely to set realistic goals and allow for the little setbacks and disappointments that are a common stumbling block for many.
Ditch the Numbers and Diet Culture Goals
We’re culturally misguided on what is most important, and many of the goals people seek are toxic and stressful. Things like:
Fitting into a certain size
Expecting the scale to drop every week (or every day!)
Getting rid of cellulite or stretch marks
Having a certain size waist
In the grand scheme of good health, the indicators above are not important at all. Instead, think about how your new habits make you feel inside your mind and in your body. Think about how much opportunity opens up when you are prioritizing your health.
You’re sticking to a commitment you made to yourself
You no longer experience shame or anxiety around food
You can feel your stamina and strength increasing
You’re keeping up with your grandkids at the park
You’re combating chronic disease and coming off medication
You will be around—healthy and thriving—for those you love
You are actively taking control of your life, each and every day
Silence Your Inner Critic
Everyone experiences life's obstacles and it's easy to let the daily grind bring you down. While you can't always control what comes your way, you can control how you react to it. Make a sincere effort to silence your inner critic—we are always much more harsh on ourselves than anyone else.
Stop listening to that voice that tells you that you're not good enough, smart enough, or thin enough. Start each day by affirming to yourself that you will do the best you can—no matter what happened yesterday. Thinking of every day as an opportunity for a fresh start can help you to avoid getting into the cycle of negative self-talk that causes many people to give up on their weight loss goals early in the process.
If you wouldn't say it to your best friend, don't even think about saying it to yourself.
Go Back to Your Why
Your “Why” is a powerful guiding force, and it’s different for all of us. No one’s journey is linear; every path has it’s ups and downs. Do not label each day a success or failure, just a journey toward a healthier lifestyle with some bumps and setbacks along the way. Letting yourself be human will help you succeed, and going back to your “Why” will propel you forward when the going gets tough.
