When I was trying so hard to lose weight – and basically abusing my body at the gym and depriving it of delicious foods – in the back of my head I really believed if I loved or accepted my body for what it was, my body would just be like: “OK she’s cool with me, I don’t have to change.” And then I’d never lose weight, I might even GAIN weight.I was absolutely someone who stood in front of the mirror and critiqued myself, thinking that would motivate me into eating perfectly or never skipping a workout. I’d say things to myself like “arms are pretty good, calves are nice, but THIGHS, BUTT, you need WORK!” I was very critical of everything.I had no interest at ALL in improving my body image. What was the point??I had 1 goal and 1 goal only: to lose weight. Anything less, meant I failed.Go big or go home, no pain no gain…all that stuff.This mindset kept me in a state of constant stress for a really long time, and just fed into my diet-binge cycle. My mental space was kept to capacity constantly tracking food and counting calories and logging hours at the gym. It was exhausting and tedious.And bottom line: I NEVER lost weight with this approach that I could keep off long term. This plan was not effective. So now what, and what about you??When you look in the mirror, are you happy with what you see?Do you look at each part of your body and over-critique and analyze which parts could be smaller – like I did?Do you compare your body to other women’s bodies?What do you love about your body?What upsets you? {Is your list of things you love about your body longer than your list of what upsets you or you wish could be different?}Is there really a connection between body love or acceptance and weight loss?I hear all the time that women feel they can’t love or accept their body at its current size. That once they lose weight, then that’ll just happen naturally.That they need to body shame themselves to motivate themselves to lose weight. They need to punish their bodies for being what they are now.I want to help you learn from my mistakes.So right now, take a step back and think about how you answered my questions from earlier in this video: how do you view your body? Are you happy with it for what it looks like NOW?Thinking about this may seem silly and unproductive if your goal is weight loss, I definitely thought it was, but it’s actually one of the best things you can do to improve your health and happiness. Trust me! Working to attain a positive body image or at least accepting your body now for what it is, is often overlooked, which is one big reason why dieters fail.The way you think about yourself (in the body you have today!) is the key to forming lifelong habits that’ll give you the sustainable results you’re looking for.The BIG reason behind that is that we naturally want to take care of what we love and what’s important to us. If you love your body, you’re naturally going to want to do things to take good care of it…which in this case will help you effortlessly make and stick with the healthy habit changes you’re looking to make.The reverse is true too, if you’re unhappy with your body, chances are you’re not going to treat it very well. It’ll be a constant uphill battle and struggle against yourself.I want to invite you to meet yourself where you are, and work from there. Come from a place of kindness and curiosity.The society we live in is constantly sending us messages that we need to be smaller and that our worth is largely based on our appearance. Because of this appearance-based focus, we’re inundated with messages around needing to exercise more and eat perfectly and jump on the next quick fix diet bandwagon.How long can you go punishing yourself through hardcore diet and exercise to meet unrealistic beauty and weight expectations?We’re fed the false hope that when we drop those last few pounds we’ll automatically be SO happy and confident and love ourselves.This is a lie. If you’re unhappy with yourself and body now, you still will be when you’re smaller (if nothing else changes).At my smallest and lightest weight, I was the most unhappy. I’ve heard that from so many other women too! Sure I fit into a size 0 or 2 or whatever, but I was even more paranoid about taking an off-day from the gym or what I was eating or drinking because I thought it would make me gain weight.I couldn’t relax or have fun because I was always thinking about my next meal and how I could make sure it was super clean or how I shouldn’t meet up with friends at a bar because I’d be tempted to drink…and drinks have sugar and empty calories which are no go’s!!Working through body love or acceptance, and what else to do if crazy exercise and dieting isn’t the answer can be a bit of a process, they’re both KEY pieces in my coaching program, but I do want to give you 4 starter tips to think about and practice!First, start small.Instead of overhauling your diet and your exercise reg
Source: How your body image affects your weight – Healthy Eaton | Healthy Eaton