5 life hacks to stop BODY BASHING yourself

"I'm sooo fat", "I will never be lean", "Why cannot I just loose the weight and be healthy”

Sounds familiar?

Chances are that you have heard it from friends and probably said it to yourself. A study showed that 93 percent of woman engage in “fat talk” and one third of them on a regular basis.

Why do we beat ourselves up? Body dissatisfaction has many causes- all of them lead to a distorted perception of beauty which gets passed down generations if not stopped. Things like comments from peers or family, media influences, childhood trauma, unhealthy family situations, parents obsessed with the diet culture themselves and wrong peer associations are examples than can contribute to wrong relationships with the body. These play an integral role in forming your identity and determining if you choose a healthy lifestyle.

5 tips to stop the damaging inner dialogue:

1. Gratitude- Before you are going to sleep, take time to thank the Lord for the body you received. Think of at least one thing you are grateful for that your body can do.

2. Selfcare lead to appreciation- When you take care of yourself you consider yourself valuable and that will lead to appreciation. Selfcare looks different for each person.

3. Success list- Document your successes, no matter how small. When you feel like fat talking to yourself- read your list & remind yourself that you are fearfully & wonderfully made.

4. Take action- If you are dissatisfied with an area of your body/life instead of just criticizing yourself – act and do something about your dissatisfaction. This will give you the power to be grateful.

5. Stop unrealistic comparisons- When we focus on the health journey and not on the end goal, we stop comparing ourselves to unrealistic expectations. Appreciate your health/weight loss journey & how far you came.

6. Change your self-talk with positive affirmations- Create a positive affirmation about yourself that you can say every day & when those “fat talk” thoughts arise say your affirmation twice!

For more information contact elane@diabetichealthcoach.co.za