09 Mar Does poor body image detract from your happiness?
It’s hard to feel good about yourself if you don’t feel good about your body!
And for too many of us, poor body image takes away from our happiness.
But what if we could enjoy more happiness and feel better? What if we could actually learn how to appreciate our bodies for what they are?
via The Greatist by Nia Shanks
I am no stranger to negative body image, which (as many of us know) has the capacity to spiral out of control. I’ve uttered all of the above phrases, and many more, to myself in the past. Heck, it wasn’t uncommon to think all of those things in a single day.
Once upon a time, when I first began my career as a personal trainer, I loved my body and didn’t obsess over tiny details like my calves or stomach, and I sure didn’t care about some number on the scale. But over time, as I engaged in this negative self-talk, my body image steadily took a nosedive.
It began innocently enough, with simply wanting to improve a body part here or there. I wanted to make my shoulders “pop” a little more, for example, so I included some extra shoulder work in my workouts. But then it progressed and I began to compare myself to other women—my height, weight, figure, and leanness. The negative self-talk increased in both frequency and criticality.
I just wasn’t good enough. Or so I thought.
My self-confidence quickly plummeted. I was constantly striving to repair my flaws, and I even developed disordered eating habits. All of those things only added fuel to the fire of negative self-talk that raged on a daily basis…
…keep reading the full & original article HERE