While I was out for a morning walk in the company of a podcast recently, a coach told a story about his 90 year old client, who had been “sentenced” to a mobility scooter to get around. The client’s goal was to be able to walk unassisted again.
Whoa. That’s perspective.
It made me think about how little time we invest in appreciating ALL that our bodies can do, particularly when we’re on a weight loss journey. Our thoughts are filled with what we want to lose. Little attention is paid to the value of what we already have.
Newsflash: Your most repeated thoughts become your most trusted beliefs.
Read that again.
For example, if you label your thighs as “disgusting”, they become your nemesis. If you refer to your stomach as “chubby”, you’ll never want to get into a swimsuit. If your arms are “batwings”, you’ll never put on a tank top with confidence.
But these parts of you are so much more than what they look like in shorts, a bathing suit, or a tank top. They are what carry you, allow you to bare babies, and offer comfort when a friend, a family member, or a complete stranger needs to be held.
Can you imagine hating on your body for the rest of your life, only to end up in a wheelchair, longing to walk on your own once more?
That word again—perspective.
But what if you could tell your brain a different story, starting today?
Would you choose to stop wasting time being dissatisfied with the skin you’re in?
Why not choose to believe better? The truth is, if you don’t practice loving, respecting, and appreciating your body at the size and shape that it’s at today, you’ll probably have a hard time feeling good about it when it gets to your goal weight, size, or shape.
Ask yourself what feelings you want to have when you look in the mirror.
If it’s feelings of contempt and disappointment, keep up with what you’re doing.
If you want to feel empowered, grateful, and inspired, rewrite your narrative.
Change the reflection that you see in the mirror just by changing your self-talk.
Ready to give it a try?
Look down at those legs. What have they done for you?
One of my newest clients told me about travelling all over the world, climbing mountains, having unforgettable adventures. The size and shape of her legs were irrelevant in their ability to bring her so many memorable experiences.
How have your legs carried you to the places you’ve wanted to go?
I often thank my legs for their ability to carry my 60+ pound kiddo around. Today, I carried him up our god-awful driveway. If you’ve been here, you know what that must have been like!
But I’m grateful that I can carry him wherever he wants to go. He sees me as a strong mama and often tells his dad that I’m the strongest one in our family. I can choose to focus on the physical strength of these limbs, or I can focus on my discomfort with their lack of “perfection” when it comes to showing them off in the summer months.
The thing about our brains is that they are always listening, and they will believe whatever we tell them. The cool thing about this is that it allows us to create our own reality. For example, the more I reinforce that I have dreadful thighs, the more my thighs become defined by that thought. When I tell myself that they are powerful, I’m always eager to test my limits in the gym to find out just how much more I’m capable of.
How can you apply that to your stomach? What are you proud of? Did it get to be the shape it is because you’ve had multiple babies? Do you make sure to laugh deeply from it daily? Does it digest your food and absorb nutrients crucial to your health and longevity?
And what about those arms? Who do you love with them? How do they help you earn a living? How do they make it possible for you to participate in things that bring you the greatest pleasure? Are you an avid paddle-boarder, do you canoe, knit, or paint? How are they your greatest assets?
If you want to go deep and start patterning love, appreciation, and respect for all that your body is and all that your body does, I have two fun exercises.
These work because your brain has the remarkable ability to change. It’s neuroplastic nature means that you can reshape it and establish new pathways of thoughts and habits. By repeating new thoughts over and over, you can shut down those old and well-worn stories about your body that no longer serve you.
But before you get to the exercises, ask yourself a question.
Will you just skim through them and then cast them aside?
To be honest, I know most people will. But to truly change your life and how you feel about your body, doing this work may be the catalyst you need. Change takes time, it takes investment, and it takes commitment to doing unconventional and uncomfortable things.
Will you start here?
Exercise Number1 – The Mind-Body Scan:
Find a quiet place, free of interruptions. Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth. Repeat five times.
When you’re ready, start at the top of your head. Let your mind run over your hair. As you do so, consider what you appreciate.
Slowly, inch by inch, work your mind down your body, examining it and reflecting on what you love about each detail.
Go all the way to your toes. Invest the time it takes to truly appreciate all that you are and all that you love about your body.
Next time an ungrateful thought surfaces, replace it with one of appreciation. The more you practice replacing unkind thoughts, the more your mind will start leading with love and respect.
Exercise Number 2 – The Diagram:
Find a quiet place, free of interruptions. Close your eyes. Breathe in through your nose and slowly out through your mouth. Repeat five times.
When you’re ready, draw a stick-figure or the outline of a body. Similar to above, work your way down your diagram, jotting notes about what you appreciate about YOUR body.
Keep this close and anytime you feel an ungrateful thought float to the surface, pull the diagram out and choose a replacement thought. Again, the more you practice this process, the more your brain will begin to lead with empowering, loving thoughts.
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