What it Means to Love Your Body...It's Maybe Not What You Think

Body image work is one of the foundational pieces of intuitive eating. Why do you need to work on body image for eating, you may ask? Well, when you dislike your body it's so much harder to practice an approach to eating that doesn't involve punishing your body for how it looks. That's what diets do, if you think about it. They say, you're not good enough as you are and your body needs to change in order to be accepted.But I like to propose a different approach to food. Because, even though you may believe from all the messages our culture gives us that in order to be healthy you have to have some amount of dissatisfaction with your body, I believe that a healthy lifestyle has to start with a healthy body image. I like to say it this way, you take care of what you care about. Let that sink in for a second. 

WHAT IS BODY IMAGE?

So what is body image? Your body image is, quite simply, the view or image you have of your body.Before you back away and think to yourself, "I could never have a good view of my body as I am right now"...yes you can! Let me go as far as to say that a healthy body image doesn't have to mean that you love every piece of your body. It starts by simply respecting your body and then finding aspects of your body that you can appreciate. So think of a healthy body image like this, if you struggle to love your body...body respect & body appreciation. 

LOVING YOUR BODY IS A CHOICE, NOT A FEELING

So when my husband and I were getting married, we were learning more about what it means to love each other. We spent some time talking about what love meant in a married relationship. And one thing we kept going back to together was the concept of love being a choice. I believe, in marriage, that sometimes love is a feeling...those times where I really enjoy and want to be around my husband (which is thankfully most of the time). But there are, inevitably, times where love is more of a choice. We may be working through something together, maybe we had a disagreement, and in those cases, it's a choice to love my spouse.Love, in our culture's eyes, is all about the feeling. We see this in shows, in the media, where someone falls "out of love" with another person. We're led to believe that love is a feeling that we should always have with something or someone we love. But what if I proposed love in the circumstance of your body as more of a choice than a feeling? What would change?Respect your body is a principle of intuitive eating. And I think this word "respect" is so good because, even when you don't feel love for your body, you can choose to respect your body...and that's a way to choose love for your body. 

WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE YOUR BODY

So what does it look like to choose to love your body?It means honoring the fact that you need to eat every single day. That just because you ate more than you wanted one day doesn't mean you don't deserve to eat the next.It means that if you wake up and feel bloated one day you don't pinch your stomach and talk badly about yourself because of it.It means that you move your body not because you feel guilty for having dessert...not as penance for what you ate...but because movement is a way to care for your body and your mind.It means wearing clothes that fit. But if one day you put on your high-waisted jean shorts and they feel snug you don't eat less or go out and run 5 miles. You just put on something more comfortable and say maybe you need a new pair of shorts or maybe they'll fit better another day.It means taking time to be still and acknowledge your feelings instead of busying yourself so much so you don't feel.It means not participating in body bashing...you know, when women get together and talk about needing to go on another diet to lose "x" pounds.It means letting yourself enjoy dessert without guilt, without shame.It means honoring your need for rest when you need rest.These are just a few of the different ways to love your body. So, notice, none of these were things that you had to "feel" love for your body for. They are things you can choose to do no matter the feelings.Sometimes we may believe that having a healthy body image means always loving our body. But a healthy body image is moreso what we do with negative body image thoughts when they come up.I'd love to hear from you! What does having a loving relationship with your body look like? What might you change as you begin to see loving your body more as a choice rather than a feeling?