BODY CONFIDENCE!

Build your BODY CONFIDENCE!

On my recent trip to Boulder Colorado, my roommate and I had a long, late night chat on body confidence. I was complaining about being small. She wasn’t happy with her curves. You hear it every day… “THE OTHER SIDE OF THE GRASS IS GREENER”. HOW can we stop complaining, comparing, and learn to LOVE instead? It will take some work…. but there are lots of ways to strengthen your body confidence. We all struggle with body hangups that hurt our self image. These insecurities can prevent you from reaching your goals and living a life you love. Our long conversation really got me thinking…how might be able to give my friends and fitness community a body image “boost”? We could all use a little work on our body confidence and self acceptance… here are my TOP ten tips to help you feel fabulous about yourself.

1. Stand Tall and ROCK your posture! Whats one way to feel more confident throughout your day? Walk tall – stand up straight and PROUD of your body. Draw the shoulders back, tighten your abs and walk with confidence. The world is your runway…. OWN IT.

2. Forget perfect. It doesn’t exist. Strive to create the healthiest version of the body you have…and to be content with it.

3. Focus on what you’re good at. So many of us focus on our weaknesses instead of celebrating our strengths. Each day recognize yourself for a job well done, whether it be rocking a presentation at work, kicking butt in a Spin class, being there for a best friend or cooking a healthy dinner. We are good at so many things, take the time to FOCUS on it!

4. Silence the devil on your shoulder. Do you talk to yourself like you would a best friend? So many people have negative self talk and don’t even realize it! If you have a negative Nancy on your shoulder all day and every day, tell her to shut UP. Practice replacing negative thoughts with positive ones.

5. Stop the comparison trap. Comparison is natural and normal. After all, how would we know hot from cold? But, when it comes to comparing your size, weight, paycheck, car, house, etc., to someone else, it can get to be pretty detrimental to your happiness because you simply can’t be the best at everything. When you find yourself comparing your this or that to someone else’s this or that, stop and think about what you do have–not what you think someone else has. Instead, take a moment to BE GRATEFUL for what you have. Attitude of gratitude works magic 🙂

6. Be present. We all spend so much time focusing on what happened years ago or what will happen in a few months. Be here. Be now. Love what you have right now.

7. Act positive. So you don’t like your thighs. GET OVER IT. You have a whole body that you can love–from your eyes to your strong arms to your feet that keep you going mile after mile. When it comes to loving your body, learn to see the glass as half full and love your “flaws”.

8. Take three deep breaths. Whenever you’re having a bad body-image day, take a moment to PAUSE and take a few deep breaths. Nobody feels positive every single day. But it’s all too easy to let a negative day become a negative week or a negative month. If you’re having a bad day, try reminding yourself that you’ll likely feel differently tomorrow. As my mom says, “This too shall pass.” Take a few breaths, focus on how you feel and what you can do today to be healthy. Inhale the positive…. EXHALE the negative.

9. Do something active. There’s nothing like MOVEMENT to make you feel  110% fabulous. A workout (even a short one) will  get the happy endorphins going and help you feel better about yourself in no time.

10. Smile! Studies show that when you smile,  you actually trick your brain into feeling happier. So when in doubt, or when you feel uncomfortable with your body, smile. That frown turned upside down can do wonders and make you feel instantly better.

11. Respect your body by treating it well. Healthy foods, good sleep and regular exercise are gifts we can give to our bodies every day, no matter how we feel about them or what we wish for them. As we treat ourselves better, we start to feel better and it often quickly becomes a positive cycle: The better we treat our bodies, the better we feel about them. The better we feel about our bodies, the better we want to treat them.

How would you describe your body confidence? What are your tips for CELEBRATING the body you’ve got?

Fearless Fitness Challenge of the Week: Strengthen Your Body Confidence!!

This week I want you to focus on strengthening your BODY CONFIDENCE.  I challenge you to  turn off inner critical dialogue.  I challenge you to focus on YOUR strengths to gain more confidence, self-awareness, and self-acceptance.  I want you to enjoy, celebrate, explore, play, love, and appreciate your unique body and savor how good it feels to move your body every day. What are different ways you can give your body confidence a workout this week? This week – how will you love your body?

Need some help getting started? Check out the “20 Ways to Love Your Body” from National Eating Disorders Association (NEDA; a pdf file).

An awesome list to start you off…. I hope to see you in class this week STRUTTING YOUR STUFF!

Also included in this post…. My favorite NIKE ADS on body confidence. If you had a nike ad to celebrate your body what would it say? Im thinking mine starts “My body is small…. and PACKED WITH POWER.” 🙂

Thanks for being an amazing fitness family. Looking forward to another week of FUN and FITNESS with you!

Caroline