Practicing Body Acceptance

 

Part of having a healthy relationship with food comes with having a healthy relationship with our body image. We can’t eat intuitively and happily if we don’t give our body what it wants, whether that’s a salad or a pizza, and it’s easy to fall into a downward spiral if we consume so-called “bad” food:  have you ever indulged in a treat and told yourself you’re fat? That you failed or cheated on your diet? Did you then restrict the next day to make up for it? It’s okay—it happens—but you have the power to stop the cycle of vilifying food, degrading yourself, and comparing your body to others.

 

Oftentimes we will say negative things to ourselves that we would never dream of uttering to another person, and the first step of body acceptance is stopping your negative self-talk in the moment. If you are putting yourself down, acknowledge the thought and imagine a giant stop sign. If possible, you can even say the word “stop” out loud.

 

This might be all you can manage in the beginning, but over time try to counter the negative dialogue with something neutral or positive about your body. For instance, if you think “I hate my bingo wings” when you look in the mirror, tell yourself “stop” and counter with anything from “my arms are fine” to “I love my arms that give me the ability to hug my children.” If talking positively about your body is too difficult, at least aim for a neutral statement in the beginning.

 

You can also try practicing daily gratitude by writing down three things about your body that you are grateful for; perhaps you are thankful for your legs that carry you around all day, or the muscles you have cultivated from years of hard work. Another good exercise to practice is writing down compliments to yourself and putting them in a jar. When you’re stuck in a negative self-talk rut, pull out a few notes to read out loud. Lastly, social media has a huge impact on how we view ourselves in comparison to others. If you find you follow nothing but perfect, genetically blessed, and/or photoshopped bodies, consider if these influencers and accounts are actually benefiting you in any way, or if they just make you feel worse about yourself. If the latter, unfollow them and subscribe to more realistic and diverse body types that range in age, race, gender, and size.

 

These practices might sound hokey and silly, and if you really struggle with your body image it can be tough to actually pay yourself a compliment. Keep in mind, however, that you may have been reiterating a negative dialogue about your body for years or decades, and it will take effort, action, and practice to change this dialogue into something more positive and accepting.