What would happen if you took time away from the noise and thought about what you wanted your body to look and feel like?
What would happen if you thought deeply about your insecurities, the stomach, the Christian mother arm, the face, the legs, the dark armpit, etc
What is so bad about it? and
Would you be able to tell me in what way they are bad in relation to what or whose standards?
What would happen if you let go of these standards and instead focus on what your body feels like from the inside out
- Do you feel strong
- Do you feel happy
- Do you feel steady
- Do you feel confident to move
- Do you feel strong in your ability to play
- Is your self based on the size or shape of your body
- Do you have a problem with concentration?
- How is the quality of your life
- Do you have the ability to exercise…
I could go on and on about other things your body can do for you and what your fitness and health habits should help you with instead.
When the focus is on these things instead, exercising, eating nourishing meals, and taking care of your body start to come easily to you…
That is why healing your relationship with food, your body, and exercise is really important on your fitness journey.
Think about this: you have been on the journey for years, thinking about your body in parts, choosing to hate a particular part every new day, and also choosing to fix a part every other day.
I have been on different diets for as long as I can remember. Either to lose or gain weight, I believed I had to eat a certain way or specific foods to achieve that. Which was and still valid…
But the bigger question is to what end…
Why can’t I have ice cream without feeling like I was letting myself down…
Why can’t I enjoy myself on the day I don’t exercise without feeling like I am a total failure
I was always counting my meals, and picking and checking calories, always scared of eating past the required amount, or I would not get to my goal
I remember the anxiety that came with that, the fear of gaining weight, when I was on a diet to lose and
the fear of losing my gains when I was on a journey to gain weight
And all this time, I was only doing all this to prove a point, not that I was happy or confident or that my body felt healthy
I was just looking to be up to a standard that society has said is acceptable
As you can tell, I couldn’t go on like that forever; I was not healthy, physically and mentally; it was draining; I was scared of eating, my joint hurt, I was barely getting enough sleep because my body was crying out
I knew something had to change.
I started taking any nutrition course on Udemy and YouTube, and I started learning more about my body, food, and exercise, only you realize I have been doing all wrong.
I could get all that while still not breaking my body down
I would lose weight without counting everything I ate
I could gain weight without demonizing foods
But the most freeing of them all is that I can choose to be okay with where my body is as long as I take care of it.
Health comes first, before aesthetics unless, of course, you are a physical athlete.
Healing your relationship with food looks like eating the food you love without guilt, even when it is the yummiest bread and
Learning about your body and Listening to what it needs the most
Moving your body for the health it provides and also for the fun it brings
It takes time, but it is worth it,
You don’t want to spend the rest of your life obsessing negatively about your body, food, and whether the exercise you are doing is growing your butt and giving you abs.
Take the time to think about what would happen if you let go of trying to fix things and start taking care of your body.
What would happen if you wrote yourself a letter from Love directed to your insecurities?
If you take some time to close your eyes and picture what you genuinely want your body to be like, think about all the parts of your body you like and think about the parts you hate
What does that look like?
And what do you look like?..
