“I want a six-pack! When I was 20, I could see my abs and I had nice toned arms. I can’t believe I thought I was fat back then. I would give anything to look like that now! I just want to feel sexy…you know? I hate my legs, they always rub together when I walk. (*see’s picture of self) Oh yuck! Ewww, do I really look like that? Gross. I hate my stomach, it’s so big. I wish I had a smaller butt.”
Actual conversation with a client.
When I talk to someone who views themselves this way, I notice 3 things:
- There’s a lot of self loathing.
- This can’t help but spill over in other areas of their lives.
- They typically use extreme measures to rouse change.
I think a good litmus test of what you truly think about yourself is evident the moment you look into a mirror. Is there a mirror handy? Try it now. What is the story that you tell yourself when you look at your reflection in a mirror? Typically the response that I hear from some of my client’s, about the tapes that play in their head, is resoundingly similar to the opening statement.
Maybe you’re not really happy with what you look like. For a multitude of reasons (media influence, familial influence, comparing yourself to other women) you figure that you should be somewhere other than where you are. You become desperate to change and fit a societal norm, and because you don’t understand why you are at the place you are in, you choose methods that are drastic and quick and ridiculous, which only sets you on a path of restrict-binge-guilt-restrict.
The consequences of this negative pattern of self thought is that you:
- Lose belief in yourself. You don’t believe that change is possible and so it never happens.
- Lose love for yourself. Somehow your worth as a human gets instantly tied to your size and you invite shame in.
- Lose connection with others. You withdraw based on your perception. You quit engaging with life.
As I paint this scenario for you, it is so telling that our fitness and nutrition affects our wellness deeply, and vice versa. You may lose weight, get fit and get down to your ideal size but maybe you’ve done it by implementing an eating plan/diet that you can’t possibly stick with. Or you could have the fitness component down, but as fit as you are, you can’t seem to get enough sleep and it’s affecting your cravings for food. You find yourself snacking after work and into the evening just to stay awake. Or perhaps you’re struggling with anxious thoughts which is keeping you away from your regular routine, plus causing an unhealthy weight loss.
At Move Daily Fitness, we want to help you recognize the correlation between fitness, nutrition and wellness, and then give you strategies to ensure that you are taking care of all 3 of these areas in your life!
Today I want to give you a little insight into nutrition and how it is important that we consider WHY we are eating, and not just WHAT we are eating. To discover your WHY, take a look at the following info-graphic and walk yourself through the steps.
If you find yourself struggling with your nutrition, we’d love to help. But be warned, I’m not going to just tell you WHAT to eat. It truly doesn’t make a difference until you understand WHY you are eating.
If you would like more information on this topic click the link to enter your email address and I will send you my video on How the Why Trumps the What. In the video, we talk about strategies that you can implement today to help you understand why you turn to food, and what you can do about it.
