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In order to be happy and healthy, it's essential that you be comfortable in your own skin.
By Judy Molinaro — Written on May 31, 2017
With today’s crushing bombardment from social media, it’s easy to find fault with your body. Predominantly due to the entertainment and modeling industry, it’s common for both women and men to be dissatisfied with the way they look and have wellness-threatening body image issues.
Because so many people suffer from a distorted image of themselves, they are in a constant hate-state with their body. Stop criticizing yourself for your imperfections, life is too short to waste a single minute of your time loathing your body.
In order to be truly happy and healthy, it’s essential that you be completely comfortable in your own skin. Set your search for inner beauty in motion and make the most of these 4 tips to love your body for a more positive body image:
1. Count your body’s blessings instead of its blemishes.
Your body is the vehicle driving you to achieve your wildest dreams. Set your sights on being healthy and strong. Wellness should not be your destination, it should be your way of life. Steadily advancing in the direction of your desires by bringing together your mind, body, and spirit will be the foundation for living a healthy lifestyle 24/7.
Positive self-talk is empowering — knowing that what you focus on will become your reality. Imagine all the things you could bring to fruition if you channeled your time and energy into positive aspirations. If you realized how powerful your thoughts were, you would never want to think a negative thought again.
Stop comparing yourself to others and be your own best friend instead of your worst enemy. While it’s OK to admire someone else’s beauty, it’s more important that you don’t question your own.
Learn to love your body from the tip of your toes down to the depths of your soul.
2. Remember: Movement is life.
Find a form of exercise that you enjoy and makes you feel strong. You’re not going to get the butt you want by sitting on it. You can’t just wish for a strong healthy body, you’ve got to go out and work for it.
That said, quit fighting your body by doing things you don’t care for. You should be working out because you love your body, not because you hate it.
Develop an intuitive nature and find ways to stay active that promote fitness, cultivate friendships, and raise your spirits. Make exercise part of your routine because it builds a healthy body and makes you feel good. You only get one body, it is your most priceless possession, be sure to care for it.
Finally, stop beating yourself up every single step of the way — no body is perfect. It’s fundamental that you learn to love your body no matter what your size or shape. Don’t let your physique be an excuse to keep you from participating in activities you enjoy.
When life gives you curves, flaunt them!
3. There is no diet that will do what healthy eating will do.
You must love yourself enough to begin to live a healthy lifestyle. It’s time you feed your body like it belongs to someone you love so that it will love you back. Maintaining a well-balanced diet will not only change your body, it will change your mind, your attitude, and your mood.
And while you can’t control everything in your life, you can control what you feed your body. Your meals should be pleasurable, they should make you feel good in the moment you’re eating them and long afterward. You don’t necessarily need to eat less — you just need to eat right.
A healthy diet will be much easier to adhere to when you take the time to prepare your own food. If you want to be healthy, you need to eat real food. What do I mean by real food? Real food doesn’t have ingredients — real food is ingredients. If it ever needed sun, dirt, or water it is real food.
If you surround yourself with like-minded people who eat well, chances are, you will too. Without even realizing it, their behaviors, actions, and habits will teach you things about grocery shopping, eating out, and food preparation. Your health care begins in the kitchen.
4. Be great by first being grateful.
You must never let the things that you want in life lessen the awareness of the things that you already have. If you can’t be grateful for what you have, what makes you think you’ll be happy with more? Keep in mind, there was a time when you prayed to have the things in life that you have now.
Be thankful for the struggles you've overcome to get this far. Without them, you might not have ever stumbled across your strength. Roll with the punches, stay positive, live life with an open mind, and a kind heart. Falling madly and passionately in love with the life you have will be the secret to your happiness.
Every morning when you wake up and every night when you fall asleep, let your mind flood with thoughts gratitude and joy. Inner peace will come when you stop complaining about the problems you have and you start being grateful for the ones you don’t. What are you grateful for right now?
Love your body and live life to the fullest.
Social media has perpetuated monumental misconceptions of the life people think they should be living. All too often people are quick to compare their version of real life to someone else’s embellished online life.
Stop being your own harshest critic and start practicing a little self-love. Change your outlook and be proud of who you are. Perfection is subjective, don’t allow perfectionism to steal your joy and living your life to the fullest.
Your future is wide open. Change your perception by learning to love and appreciate your body as it is today. When you accept who you already are, you can become all you dream of being.
Judy Molinaro is a master yoga instructor and wellness coach. If you're feeling stuck with your wellness goals contact her at judy@judymolinaro.com or call her at 386-871-0582. Follow her on Facebook or check out her wellness guide Eat Like You Give A Damn.
This article was originally published at Fit You Wellness Solutions. Reprinted with permission from the author.