Mindset
10 Actionable Steps to Bettering Your Body Image!
Mar
Are you struggling with your body image, not feeling the most confident in your skin, or finding yourself constantly comparing your own body to others?
Well, here are some of my best tips to start feeling more body confident!
1. Exercise in a way YOU enjoy!
Incorporating some non-aesthetic goals into your training routine is a great way to focus less on how you look and pay more attention to how exercise makes you feel, which is a great way to show up for yourself and build a stronger relationship with your body through self care. This could be a consistent goal of “x” amount of sessions per week, setting strength goals, focusing on mobility + stretching to balance out your day-to-day sitting, walking more to get out in the fresh air, or even simply trying new ways to move your body to find what you enjoy most!
2. Wear what feels good!
Squeezing yourself into clothes that are a size too small will only make you feel more uncomfortable – instead, try to stick with clothes that fit the body you’re in NOW, so that you’re as comfortable as possible day to day – don’t fall for vanity sizing and buy something too small for “motivation”, you’re the only one that sees the tag, and the body you’re in right now deserves to feel cute and comfortable! So if you need to, size up for a comfier fit, and it’ll feel so much better!
3. Celebrate those non-scale victories!
There are so many other ways to better yourself than to focus solely on losing weight. If you want to be healthier, focus on that – have you been eating more veggies than ever before? That’s a win! Learn to satisfy your cravings with a few cookies instead of previously being all-or-nothing? Awesome! Other wins to celebrate could be strength/fitness improvements, ditching a bad habit or creating a new one, spending more time on stress management, sleeping more, or just FEELING better!
4. Ditch the comparisons.
It’s SO common to be scrolling through social media, seeing other people’s bodies/accomplishments and getting a sense of envy. We’re all guilty of this! If you find that someone else’s posts regularly leave you with a negative emotion (whether they intend to or not!), think about unfollowing that account, muting them from your feed for a period, or spending less time scrolling in general! Then, try to follow new accounts that align with how you want to feel, especially if they share helpful tips on body positivity, intuitive eating, or self-love!
5. Avoid toxic diet culture!
This doesn’t mean remove yourself completely from anything health and fitness related, but if you find certain messaging triggering (for example detox products, meal replacement shakes, fat diets and extreme measures) try to distance yourself. This could involve hiding ads on social media, changing the content you consume, or even avoiding specific conversation topics with friends/family if it leaves you with a negative feeling! Boundaries are essential, so if you have to chat with a few people around you and let them know you no longer want to participate in conversations around food/weight, this will help minimise your exposure to unhelpful messaging.
“How you love yourself is how you teach others to love you”.
– Rapi Kaur
6. Self care is KEY!
It’s hard to hate a body you’re taking great care of, so on top of being active, aim to eat a wide variety of foods (including the foods you love), stay hydrated, and take some time each day to do something relaxing. 15-30 minutes to work on your mental health/stress management, using tools like journaling, reading, meditating or just stepping outside for some fresh air and you-time will help to ease some of the tension we sometimes take out on our bodies, so start showing up for yourself and treat that body with kindness and care!
7. Redirect your thought patterns.
Find yourself picking apart that one body part regularly? Every time you feel a negative thought coming on, try to replace it with a kinder one, or even two or three! Think of things you DO like about yourself and give yourself compliments to drown out those bad vibes – it sounds over-simplified, but it does help override your brain and give more time and energy to the positive thoughts, so we don’t get stuck dwelling on the negatives that can sometimes overshadow our day!
8. Stay off the scales!
There’s nothing inherently wrong with the scales, however if you’re weighing yourself regularly and find your mood is better/worse as a direct result of what the number says that day, try going scale-free for a little while. Or even better, ditching it altogether and focusing more on positive habits, healthy behaviours, consistency, and how you are feeling!
9. Having a negative day?
Try noting down some positives about yourself that have nothing to do with your body. Do you have certain qualities that make you great? Skills you’re proud of? Things others would find valuable about you aside from looks? Of course, you do! You might be a loyal friend, a hard worker, and a great listener. You could be super funny, empathetic, or make people smile. Those are amazing qualities that are not affected by your body, it’s so important to recognise these qualities and celebrate them!
10. Fake it ’til you make it!
If you simply act more confident, even if you don’t FEEL it just yet, you will eventually! Hold yourself with better posture, wear clothes that you feel great in, give yourself positive affirmations – believe in yourself! Even if you don’t just yet, align your behaviours with what you’d do if you already loved your body, and over time, you will!
As always, my inbox and DM’s are always open to chat. These concepts are also something we can focus on in any counselling sessions if you’d like more individualised help unpacking mindset hurdles, underlying triggers, creating a healthy relationship with food and exercise, or challenging some of those limiting beliefs keeping you stuck in a negative headspace! You can follow the link below:
Sami
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