When you think of body confidence, how would you describe yourself in this department? Go ahead, take a moment, take some deep breaths, and really think about how you feel about your body. What comes up first: thoughts about what you like about your body or thoughts about what you dislike about your body? Whatever it is that comes up, what do you think the reason is behind this?
If you wear a bathing suit at a busy waterpark and don’t know anybody there except your kids, how do you feel? If you wear a bathing suit at the community pool where you know everyone there, how do you feel? Again, whatever comes up, what do you think the reason is behind this?
Okay, enough visualizations for today, I promise! The point of this is to get an understanding of how you feel about your body and how you talk to your body.
However kind or unkind you are with your self-talk regarding your body, it is important to become aware of the things that you say because it really, truly matters.
Body confidence is the third reason of tent in this series of posts entitled: top ten reasons why moms don’t exercise as much as we’d like.
One of my biggest pet peeves is this social standard that women should have a goal to get their pre-pregnancy body back. In my opinion, this is such an unreasonable goal. The miracles that occur when a woman conceives, carries, delivers and recovers from pregnancy are not to be taken so lightly that we think we can just bounce right back to where we were before pregnancy. Our bodies change the minute the sperm touches the egg, my friends! Because of that, I would like to encourage you to change your perspective a bit in regards to your expectations and treatment of your body.
Recently, I was journaling in my planner designed by Christy Wright. The prompt for the month had to do with appreciating your body. If we consider our body as our best friend, how would we talk to it? How do you talk to your body currently? How much love and appreciation do you give your best friend? How might you talk to your body like it’s your best friend who deserves to hear loving and appreciative thoughts, no matter how it looks and performs? I encourage you to do just this. Treat your body like it’s your best friend. After all, you are in it 24/7, 365!
Your body will respond accordingly to how you treat it with your thoughts, words and actions.
Even if you have goals that you’d like to attain in order to improve something about how your body looks, performs or feels, you can still treat it with respect. Once you do this more, you will notice positive changes, which will increase your confidence. With more confidence, you will be more likely to take more action. You won’t avoid situations like wearing a bathing suit in front of people. (Okay, that is a pretty extreme example, but I hope you know what I’m getting at.) You will allow yourself to do anything that is important and meaningful to you.
One of the things that I notice so much in my clients is that lack of confidence can be quite dangerous. One time I was working with a client who was in her late 50’s on a Bosu balance trainer. We were doing things in a safe manner, but she took a tumble off the balance trainer because she was moving very tentatively and tripped. She was a bit shook up and ended up getting a bruise-luckily nothing more. If you take a 10 year old and put them in the same situation, they would bounce right back up, laugh and do it again because they would think it’s fun. Kids have this confidence about them that probably is partially due lack of experience or lack of knowing about the dangers. The older we get, it seems that our body confidence declines because we look and perform much differently, especially if we are not being pro-active with exercising, for example.
Another thing that impacts our body confidence is that we are influenced by the external world with extremes. Marketing pressures us with both things that make us feel good in the moment but that are not helpful to our bodies….and with anti-aging, sexy body secrets.
It’s no wonder we feel confused, exhausted and lack confidence, right?
So my friends, how can we do better at appreciating our bodies and celebrating them like they are our best friends? How can we break the barrier of not exercising because we lack confidence? Some ideas may have come to mind for you, and that’s great! You know you better than anyone so come up with a plan for putting those ideas into action, one small step at a time.
As your coach, may I suggest that you continue to build more awareness of how you talk to your body? For example, bring to mind three common situations where you can check in with your body talk regularly. Some good examples include while you are bathing, looking in the mirror, getting dressed, and doing something that requires physical strength or endurance. If you find yourself using thoughts that are negative, try to put up a wall that keeps those negative thoughts from entering. Replace the negative thoughts with something positive that is actually true.
Here is an example that is what I use for myself. When I look at my belly from a certain angle with a certain degree or gravitational pull and bend in my torso, it can be tempting for me to think “Oh gross, my skin is so saggy!” Instead, I think to myself “My skin is much more loose than it was ten years ago, but this amazing belly of mine has stretched and carried four healthy babies. Considering that, I look pretty dang good! I feel so grateful to have experienced pregnancy because I know it is truly a miracle not to be taken for-granted.”
Now it is time to become aware of how your talk to your body currently and how you might begin to talk to it like it’s your best friend. Notice how it responds. While it’s important to have goals, we must remember to enjoy where we are at right now, because my friends, the present is all we are guaranteed. Let’s spend it with being grateful for the amazingness of our mom bodies and embrace a full and vibrant life!
Here Are Some Ways That Fit Mom Connection Is Here To Help You Grow Your Confidence Using the Vehicle of Exercise!
Virtual Exercise Class Membership. Hang out with me and other mothers live or onDemand to benefit from some fun exercise routines that are functional for the body of mothers. The first month is free so really there is no reason not to do it. There is something in it for all abilities, ages, stages, and interests.
30 Day Self-Care Challenge Want some support in making daily self-care a habit? This program will give you the daily motivation and tools to help you discover how life with self-care is not a luxury, but a necessity.
Work with me 1:1 You are a beautiful, unique individual, and I would be honored to help you tap into your strengths so that you can use exercise as a vehicle, along with a S.M.A.R.T. plan for turning your intentions into actions with the results you want and deserve. Whether it’s starting with a three month wellness coaching relationship or working with me for 1:1 Personal training, I am ready to chat about your needs and desires.
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