OH HOW I LOVE THEE!
As a human being each of us has thousands of body parts, how many of your body parts can you honestly say that you love?
one?
three?
2500?
None?
Most of the women I have worked with started with the answer, NONE!
How about you? It wasn’t that long ago that I was one of those women! Today, I can honestly say I love and honor my body and I have a couple of wobbly bits to address. What changed for me? Well, that’s worth listening to.
It all started back in 2009 when I decided I needed to do something about the way I related to my own body. I was a fashion advisor for women telling them they had to love their bodies and I hated mine! I felt like such a hypocrite and a fraud really, I mean here I was telling women that they had to love themselves and how they looked while I despised my own body.
I realized that I needed to find a way to do what I was telling them because if I couldn’t do it how could I expect them too? I can tell you the process I went through was simple and quite difficult at the same time and I hope by sharing it here that I can support other women in their quest to feel good about themselves. My journey began in front of a full-length mirror where I took a long honest look at myself and committed to changing my view, both figuratively and physically, without hardship.
Step 1 – Acknowledge all the areas of my body that I didn’t like (I can say the list was extensive and brutal) I didn’t know it at the time that this would become an integral part of this process. In the past, I had avoided acknowledging what I didn’t like in fear it would do more damage than good. I was so wrong!
Step 2 – Commit to changing parts of my body through lifestyle change. Options I considered were reducing my food intact per meal or at least one meal per day, cut down on sugar and wheat products, add walking at least 2-3 times to my weekly routine and acknowledge my success each time I did one or all of these.
Step 3 – Acknowledge at least one part of my body I did like and focus on that body part when I looked in the mirror. Each day when I woke up and before I went to bed I would stand in front of the mirror to acknowledge my favorite body part and add body parts to the list as I became aware of another one I could appreciate.
Step 4 – Acknowledge areas of my life, including my health, that I was grateful for while I looked at myself in the mirror.
Step 5 – To start and end my day, I would look into my eyes (in the mirror) and say “Good morning/night Lisa, I love you” (OMG, this was hard to do and mean it!)
Step 6 Repeat steps 2 through 5 twice a day
It took me a while to make this a consistent routine because I had days that I just couldn’t face the mirror, I was uncomfortable with seeing myself as I was at that moment and in the beginning, I didn’t believe it would make a difference. I was committed to trying so each time I did put myself back in front of the mirror, I would recommit to the process and finally, the routine stuck. Perseverance was the key to my success in the end and although it took about two years to get here, I have come to appreciate my body as it is right now and I can honestly say “I love you” with a sincerity I’ve never experienced before! Throughout the process, I’ve had many successes, failures, and discoveries that I believe others can also benefit from with support. If you are someone who struggles with loving yourself and the body you live in then I encourage you to take these steps for yourself. I am here for you when you are ready to transform your relationship with your body.
Regards,
Lisa
