Every single woman I work with is afraid to accept her body. (And I was terrified to accept my body for a long, long, long time). Why is this? We have this belief that if we accept our bodies, it means that we’ll never lose weight and we’re giving up on ourselves.
It took me years to stop despising my body, so I want to save you endless months of grief and turmoil by dispelling this belief.
Accepting your body doesn’t mean you’re giving up.
Actually, moving into peace and softness around your body IS the thing that brings acceptance, which ironically, unlocks the change you really want.
What is our usual way of operating when we don’t like our bodies?
We criticize ourselves until we feel worthless and not enough. We live in shame that makes us want to hide our bodies from the world. This is truly no way to live. When we don’t accept our bodies, we live in this prison of self-hate.
Criticizing yourself never makes you happier (or thinner). It never brings the lasting change that we desperately desire.
Take a few breathes and gently ask yourself…has not accepting your body worked for you?
I know it’s never worked for me. I hated myself all the way from a size two to a size twelve.
So if “giving up” means stepping out of the endless cycle of self-loathing and misery, then I’m in.
When you love yourself, your whole world changes for the better. And it’s the farthest thing from giving up.
I can’t think of anything that I’ve loved that I don’t go out of my way to care for.
My significant other? I love him dearly and am always thinking of what I can do to show him he’s special to me.
My nieces and nephews? I am constantly squeezing them, hugging them to death, and thinking of all the ways I can spoil them.
My family? I adore coming up with creative ways to give them thoughtful birthday gifts to make them feel loved.
When you love something, you take care of it. You show it appreciation. You’re grateful for it and you nourish it.
When you accept your body, you give yourself some room to breathe. You stop operating in this cycle of hating your weight/body so much, that your life is one strict diet punishment after another.
When you accept your body, you free yourself from the prison of hate that has kept you locked in the diet/binge cycle.
Yes, it takes courage to reject the standards of beauty that we see on every magazine cover. But these ideals vary from decade to decade. How can we ever possibly keep up with the changing standards?
Accepting yourself where you are is actually what allows you TO change. It brings space, gentleness, and love into your life where there was otherwise only loathing.
You are worth this gift. Imagine how releasing this burden could radically change your life?
