Simple Mindset Shifts to Get Started on Your Body Peace Journey
Body peace. Body positivity. Intuitive eating. Self love. Self care.
They’re buzz words, yes, but they are so much more than buzz words. These terms are starting to really gain traction on social media, in the media, and finally, where it matters: in your heart and mind.
The world is catching on, my friends! It is an exciting and wonderful time to be in the land of health and wellness.
We have a lot of work to do for sure, changing the language not only that comes out of our mouths, but that goes on in our heads, but momentum is on our side!
What am I talking about?
More and more, culture is beginning to move in the direction of making health and wellness not about your weight or your size, but rather about true health, which encompasses mental health as much as, if not more than, how you care for your physical body.
If this is all new to you, that’s okay. We’ve been entrenched in diet culture now for decades, and so if you aren’t sure where to start, I totally get it. I’ve been on this journey myself for about eight years, and I still sometimes find it challenging, so I get it!
So for today, let’s just talk about some easy ways to begin to shift your thinking! Not even your activities, just your thinking!
You may be familiar with the idea of mindset, or the habits of the mind. How you think about things will influence how difficult or easy they are, how much you enjoy them or don’t, how empowered or intimidated you may feel.
And mindset is changeable. You get to choose the messages you send yourself!
So, if you were to simply start to embrace a more peaceful way of thinking about your body, you would be on the path towards body peace!
Here we go!
Mindset Shift Number One: Movement over exercise.
So simple, right?
So many of us have so much trouble with creating and sustaining a workout habit! Have you ever considered that it might be because you think of working out as torture? I know not everyone feels that way, but a lot of us have trouble getting moving, and a lot of that is because we dread exercise.
What if you were to simply swap out:
“I have to workout” (to be skinny, to lose weight, to fit into my jeans, insert diet culture norms here…)
with:
“I embrace movement” (because it makes me feel healthy and strong, because it helps me clear my head, because I know when I move, I feel better, or any other body peace-body positive-empowering mindset that feels authentic to you!)
Can you see how that simple shift can help you not only feel more motivated to do the thing you know you want to do, but also help you think about it in such a way that it makes you feel better about why you’re doing it?
That’s a powerful mindset shift! That’s one way to improve your self-care- and you didn’t even have to put on a sports bra!
Mindset Shift Number Two: Nourishment over dieting.
Body peace is about reconnecting with your body. It’s about moving away from the disconnected, rule-based ways of eating and moving that have not only not worked for long term health and wellness, but have caused us to actually typically gain more weight as we rebound back from restrictive, unnatural plans.
I personally consider “diet” a four-letter word. “I need to go on a diet” is the same thing as saying “I am going to start ignoring my body’s cues for hunger and not listening when my body tells me it wants certain foods, all so that I can be super cranky and miserable, in the name of losing weight.”
Who wants that?! I know I don’t!
Instead, what if we began to think of food and eating as: “I eat for energy. I eat protein for sustained energy, fat for healthy nails and hair and to help my body absorb the nutrients in my food, and carbs to fuel my movement.”
Or: “I love to eat because it gives my body the nourishment it needs to get through every day with energy and to also live a long, healthy life.”
Or even: “Food is fun. I love to eat for energy, and I love enjoying my favorite treats like ice cream and French fries!”
The truth is: there is room for all the foods in a healthy lifestyle, and when you choose to start tuning out the diet culture and instead tune in to you body’s cues, you will discover that you not only don’t need a diet, you will eat healthier when you are free of the diet mentality!
A lot of discovering body peace will mean un-learning what you think you know, and instead learning to trust your body, and your intellect.
You are smarter than you realize, and your body is absolutely brilliant. It knows what it needs, and all that you have to do is be willing to commit to a journey of kindness and forgiveness. Let go of the past and all you think you know about dieting and losing weight and striving to get a bikini body. Instead, choose a mindful, loving approach.
As you embark upon this journey, I recognize it may take time, and I want you to know: I’m here for you!
You can email me here with your questions, comments, or to find out about working together!
Until next time, keep taking great care of you.
xo,
Cori
