Three Steps
It sounds simple, but feeling good about your body will start when you stop feeling bad. Here are my three steps to start feeling better today.
Step Number One – Notice the negative voices:
What voices do you use towards yourself? How have you spoken to yourself today about your body? Your clothes? Your hair? Your abilities? Your intelligence? Would you speak this way to a daughter, sister or friend? To go deeper into the work, for the next 24 hours, write down or keep track on a post it or your smart phone every time a voice pops into your head with something mean to say. You can keep track of the comments themselves or simply count how many comments occur. It is impossible to feel good in your body if you are constantly criticizing yourself. Being able to notice this voice and know it is NOT YOU is the first step in quieting the voice.
Step Number Two –Identify dieting's impact on your happiness :
Write a body biography and a dieting timeline. Have you ever dieted or attempted to control what you eat? When was the first time you did that? Did you lose weight? How much did you lose? Why were you doing it? Did you gain the weight back? How much? How long did it take to both lose and then regain? And the next diet? And the next? What is the first memory you have about feeling bad about your body? Did someone say something? Did you see something? How did this affect your behavior towards food and your body going forward? What can you conclude about how effective dieting has been for you? How does it make you feel about yourself?
Step Number Three - Recognize and exorcise external influences:
What diet culture influences can you identify surrounding you? What do you see in magazines or on TV that talks about dieting or eating clean or eating healthy? How many times have you heard someone comment on what they ate or didn’t eat today? How many times have you heard someone comment on their exercise habits today? How many times have you seen only thin bodies represented in the media today? How often do you hear people talk about “good” and “bad” foods? How does it make you feel? Once you recognize diet culture’s influences, how can you protect yourself from them? What magazines can you stop reading? What social media can you unfollow? How can you change your language to be more body positive and accepting? Can you stop participating in body bashing conversations?
How can I support you further on your quest to feel good in your body? Head back to my website to get your free 30 minute coaching consult today. I want to help you learn how to help yourself.