Your body is awesome.
It’s easy to lose sight of that. We all tend to get hung up on our imperfections, on the ways we feel like our bodies have let us down. But here’s the truth: Your body is an extraordinary machine, a remarkable and unique work of art. There is no other body like yours. It is beautiful, and not only that, it is functional: Your body does amazing things for you every day; so many that you probably could not even name them all.
So the question is what have you done for your body lately?
Since your body does so much for you, it is only reasonable to show it a little affection sometimes.
Pamper it. Take care of it. Ensure that your body has the love it needs to keep doing what it’s supposed to be doing.
And by showing a little self-love, you’ll also be affirming your own worthiness—which is invaluable to your eating disorder recovery.
So how can you care for your body? Try some of these self-love tips:
- Take care of your feet: Do you know how much your feet do for you? The average person walks somewhere between 8,000 and 10,000 steps every day. That’s a lot of steps! Your feet deserve a good rubbing every now and again—and maybe a pedicure, too!
- Ditch your scale: Let’s be honest: That scale doesn’t do you any favors. It doesn’t help you love your body more. It doesn’t measure your value or even your health. It just makes you worry and fret about meaningless numbers. Prove to yourself that your body is beautiful no matter what, in ways that can’t be quantified. Throw your scale in the trash.
- Pay attention to your skin: What have you done to care for your skin lately? Your skin gets weathered every single day, and sometimes you need to replenish it. Get some lotion to help keep your skin moisturized. Make it into a self-love ritual.
- Get some Vitamin D: Go outside and spend some time in the sunshine. Lay in the grass or get to the beach and splash in the waves. Being out in the sun can boost your mood and help you clear your mind.
- Empower yourself to be confident: One way to feel even more confident about your body is to adorn it in stylish clothes, or perhaps just to get a haircut. The point is to invest in a look that allows you to feel great about yourself.
- Be present in your body: Nothing will help you appreciate how amazing your body is like connecting to it! Go for a walk, do yoga or have a dance party! Regardless of how you choose to move remember to have fun and focus on building a healthy connection with your body!
- Keep a journal: Start a gratitude journal. Every day, write down some of the things that are going well for you—some of the things you are most thankful for. Make sure to add at least one note about your body every day.
- Stop comparing: Put away the glamour magazines. Stop Facebook stalking your old high school friends to see what they look like now. Accept you for you. Allow your body the dignity to exist as its own unique and beautiful thing, without feeling the need to stack it against others.
- Ask yourself how you want your kids to view their bodies: That is probably how you should start viewing your own! Lead by example; it’s what’s best for everyone.
- Do the things you love: Do not delay. Don’t procrastinate. Use your feet and your hands and your eyes and all your other body parts to engage in the activities you love the most—the ones that make you feel healthy and alive! There’s really no better way to remind yourself of just all the good things your body is capable of.
Loving yourself starts with loving your body—and that means appreciating it for what it is: Something beautiful in its imperfections, amazing in everything it can do.
