Banish the bad self-talk for self-love

We all have those days where we look in the mirror and just don’t love what we see. Whatever the reason for it is, this negative body image can have a huge impact on how we rate ourselves as a whole. When you’re trying to create a healthy lifestyle, a negative body image can be one of the biggest barriers. Daily self talk can impact how you view your journey, as well as making you doubt yourself (and consequently give up on your goal). We’ve got some tips to help you fight the negative self talk and love your body.

Focus on the whole

Look at yourself as a person, not as a bunch of body parts. Concentrate on all the positive things about yourself. Are you good at your job? A good friend? A hobby you absolutely rock? Remind yourself about these good aspects daily. By focusing on your good traits and achievements, you’ll begin to feel good about yourself, your health and your body again.

Don’t put pressure on yourself to lose weight too fast

You may want to lose weight for your health, but crash dieting isn’t the way to do it. For a healthy and sustainable weight loss, you should not lose more than 1kg per week. You can do this with some gentle lifestyle changes to your daily routine.

Hide those scales

Resist the temptation to weigh yourself every day! Weight fluctuates drastically due to a range of different factors including water retention or muscle building. If you have a target weight in mind, only check your weight weekly. This will also stop regularly beating yourself up if you have a bad day – if it’s spread over a week you know you can make up for the odd slip.

Keep it regular

One of the best ways to boost your mood is actually by being physical. Healthy exercise releases the feel-good endorphins, boosting your confidence and making you feel better about yourself. This is a great cycle to get into; the more you fit regular exercise into your routine, the better you feel, and the more you’ll want to exercise! Start with something little that you will enjoy and work towards something challenging that will give you a great sense of achievement. As you focus more on healthy exercise you’ll feel less anxious about food and your body image. Just remember to drink plenty of water .

Look around…

At the type of people you are surrounding yourself with. Are they encouraging? Or are they perpetuating the negative cycle? If you find your friends are unsupportive of your health and diet plan, or make you feel uncomfortable – they are not true friends. Give toxic friends the boot and find new ones!

Try to be realistic

Make sure you accept the shape and size your body is meant to be. We all have a natural body shape that is influenced by our genes. Wear clothes that complement your particular body shape. If you’re having a bad day, try wearing your favourite outfit as this will help lift your confidence and make you feel better and healthier. An instant body image booster!

Don’t let the media influence your body image

We’re constantly bombarded with images of beautiful thin models or celebrities with limitless money to spend on beauty and fashion. These images can distort our image of what the ‘ideal’ person is supposed to be, and are not an accurate representation of a healthy body or body image. When you look at those mags remind yourself: the photographs have no doubt been airbrushed to reduce inches from waists or thighs, and remove any imperfections the celebrities may have too. And they really do have them. You may be surprised at what is airbrushed out of images, check out the below video to get a glimpse:

Following the laws of attraction, the more you tell yourself something, the more you’ll believe it. It’s the old ‘fake it till you make it’ mantra, and it really works. So say to yourself every day: “I love my body”. It may sound silly at first, but you have to believe it to change your attitude. Positive thinking works! So take some time out and start loving your body now!

2018-08-29T20:08:48+12:00