THREE WAYS TO LOVE AN IMPERFECT BODY

If someone asked you to describe yourself, what would you say?

I am short? I have big hips? My arms are flabby? I have rings under my eyes? I have a saggy belly?

Most likely your description is on the subjective and judgmental side. The way we see ourselves when we look in the mirror is only an image that can reflect what we think and believe about ourselves. We believe others see us the same way and, therefore, we accept that body image as accurate and true.

However, that image is biased. The negative mindset does not reflect how we actually look. We have complicated relationships with our bodies. While we learn to love the bodies we were born with, we’re also bombarded with what the ideal body form should look like.

Appreciating our bodies will help us place value in who we are, not just how we look. Here are three ways how to love our imperfect bodies.

Learn to Accept and Love Yourself

Having a negative body image is like having a critic in your head passing negative comments the whole time, such as, “My thighs are too big,” or “I don’t have a flat stomach”.

This criticizing voice can make you feel terrible and look for ways to feel better. For instance, you might want to eat something unhealthy that gives you momentary pleasure, only to have this critic take you on a guilt trip moments later for making the wrong food choice.

Your body hears everything your mind says. Therefore, the key to accepting and loving yourself is to give this critic no space in your mind in the first place. Next time you look in the mirror, instead of pointing out everything you hate about your body, identify what you love about it and give yourself positive feedback. It will take a while, but it’s a start to rewire the brain.

Change Your Mindset

The problem is not your body. The problem is what YOU think about your body. Try to give yourself compliments and positive affirmations, like “I am beautiful”, “I have beautiful eyes”, “I love and approve myself”. Our commonly accepted concept of beauty is society-imposed and, to be frank, unfounded.

Your body is a miracle, regardless of whether its outer appearance meets others’ subjective criteria. Beauty shouldn’t be a prerequisite for loving it or for your worthiness as a person. It’s more important to focus on being a good human being rather than having the “perfect body”.

Ask Yourself Why

When you feel you’re not beautiful, it’s not enough to say you want to lose weight or exercise more. You have to ask yourself why. Eating healthy and mindfully is necessary. Wrongful dieting and over-exercising, on the other hand, can damage our body and overall development.

Focus on eating clean to nourish your body and exercising to stay fit, rather than losing weight to fit an ideal of beauty. After all, weight is just another symptom of gut health out of balance. Beauty is about being comfortable in your own skin and accepting your perfect body with all its imperfections.

You just need to learn how to love it.