Healthy is the New Beautiful
Even if you’re in a place where you like your body, the endless photos on social media feeds celebrating body positivity can actually make you feel negative about yourself. At Kare Health and Wellness, our focus is on full acceptance, and if acceptance moves into love, that’s even better.
How to Accept, Like (And Even Love) Your Body More
It’s hard to be happy in life if every time you look in the mirror, you hate what you see. For years women have hated their hips, stomach, thighs, arms, and everything else in between. Kare is ready to see this end. Women are amazing. Women’s bodies are amazing. We are ready to see them celebrated.
Getting to a better place with your body doesn’t just happen. But with a little practice, it gets easier. Kare is all about treating our patients holistically with functional medicine, so we want you to treat yourself holistically as well. That means you can’t have a healthy diet and exercise routine but think negative thoughts about yourself – that isn’t wellness. We have five basic strategies that should be followed on a daily basis:
Practice Gratitude for Your Body
Take time every day to focus on what your body does for you. When you’re discouraged about how your arms look, remind yourself that you give great hugs and can lug a baby around for hours. As women, we sometimes lose track of what our bodies do for us. Take time each day to appreciate how your body carries you through life.
Release Negative Thoughts
After years of criticizing your body, negative thoughts are going to pop into your mind every now and then — even if you try to stop them. So when they do, don’t think of it as a failure. Instead, acknowledge what’s bothering you, then work to release the thought by practicing gratitude. Remind yourself that one extra inch here or there doesn’t make you less of a woman or less lovable. As long as you’re healthy, inches don’t mean a thing. When the negative thoughts make their way back, release them again and again.
Remember That Pictures of Models are Airbrushed
Supermodel Cindy Crawford once said, “Even I don’t wake up looking like Cindy Crawford.” Have you had three makeup artists apply your makeup today? Have you had a million-dollar stylist pick out your outfit? Have you had a personal chef cook you your favorite organic breakfast this morning? No? Then stop comparing yourself to women who have had all of those things. It’s a losing game.
Be Realistic About Yourself
We need to stop comparing ourselves to everyone else. The grass is always greener on the other side. The woman who is super skinny with long straight hair is envious of a woman with curves and natural curls — or vice versa. When it comes to your body, your “imperfections” are exactly what make you perfect and unique.
Prioritize Healthy Habits
While you should be realistic about your body, don’t use the fact that at times you carry a little extra weight or are in menopause as an excuse to completely ignore healthy habits. Eat a healthy Mediterranean diet in Springfield Missouri and exercise because it makes you feel good.
Choose health over a certain size or a certain look. For some women, a size 2 is healthy, for others it would be incredibly unhealthy. In the end, be in tune with yourself, what’s important for you, and what your body is telling you. Soon you’ll begin to accept your body, like your body, and even love your body.
