To lose confidence in one’s body is to lose confidence in oneself. ~ Simone de Beauvoir
Picture this:
While standing in a grocery store checkout line, glancing at all the magazines, suddenly it seems they are staring back at you. You see gorgeous models with perfect faces and bodies. As your self-consciousness heightens and now feeling ashamed of your body, you are certain other people are also comparing your body to the flawless cover girls.
Who, with all the photo shopping; in reality, don’t even exist. See example here.
In that moment, your body image plummeted and tanked.
Your body image perception; and more importantly, how you believe others see your body, affects your feelings about yourself. And get this — how you FEEL about your body cannot be separated from how you TREAT your body. For example, how you fuel it, move it, stress it, rest it, and care for it.
Does having a positive body image mean you love EVERYTHING about your body? No. It means you have a healthy self-identity. You appreciate positive changes you make; you enjoy life by living in the moment; you’re not waiting until you are a perfect weight, size, shape, etc…
When You Look in the Mirror — What Do You See?
Are you seeing the REAL you? Or do you see a distorted image?
I received the following note from one of my clients … THANKS JT!
I have been learning the importance of mirrors.
Since I lived as a heavier person most of my life, I learned early on to avoid mirrors.
Sure, I had full length mirrors in my home, however, when I looked into them, I concentrated on looking only at my face and hair and not at the full body image – my locked-in image was that of a full body, HEAVY person, and I didn’t want to be reminded.
As I have reached a healthier weight, I have found the need to UNLOCK the old full body image and replace it with the new. I need to bring back out those full length mirrors and REALLY take a TRUE look a full length view, not just for hair and makeup, but what my body has become.
It’s a learning process. I now have a full length mirror that is in my Bus/RV that I can stand back far enough away to TRULY see my NEW body – reprogramming that old body image to what is really there.
The Rear View Mirror
While driving a car, we depend on our rear view mirror to help make safe, purposeful decisions. That mirror needs to be clear — free of fog, film, dirt and cracked glass in order to reflect what’s behind us.
Think about it: Do we use the rear view mirror to move forward?
While we can utilize the mirror to steer us in a rearward direction, we must look away and concentrate on the road ahead in pursuance of and to reach our destination.
Your body image is like that rear view mirror reflection. It may be distorted, broken, or foggy affecting how your reality today.
To move forward, no longer concentrate on what is behind. Live for today and look ahead creating your future.
Where to start?
First … Believe your body CAN change – Acknowledge how far you have come and celebrate every accomplishment both small and big.
Second … Believe even small steps bring about BIG change – Little steps strung together add up to long-lasting effects.
Third … Believe — body image is not single sighted – How we relate to other people; whether we allow our thoughts to affect our moods; interact in social situations; and what we do for our total body health – mind, body, spirit.
When we desire to make a life alteration, knowing within ourselves we have the power to do so, the next step is to make a proactive plan to accomplish it. Then when we face the challenges ahead, sticking to our plan, resisting temptations, and not allowing yourself to fall into old patterns of thinking, eating, and living are all non-scale victories worth celebrating.
So many of us only consider the weight scale victories. Instead, acknowledging each aspect toward our goal and the growth we have seen in ourselves builds our personal strength and heightens our self-image. As a matter of fact, I like to celebrate non-scale victories most when dealing with the hCG Protocol knowing I am so much more than a number on the scale.
With each non-scale victory you celebrate, the change becomes longer lasting, more meaningful and permanent because you have proven to yourself that you can succeed.
