Body positivity is finally here, and yet so many of us are still resisting it.

So…CAN you be? 

I think so. I’m pretty satisfied with mine right now. I’m back to the weight I was at age 24, and my fitness level is quite decent for a woman my age.

Clothing doesn’t fit the same as it used to because I’ve carried two babies and yo-yoed my weight for an additional 25 years. 

Therefore, my body is shaped differently than it was then, and I’ve decided to be okay with that.

(And with the way women’s sizes run who knows what size I actually am, but that’s a blog for another time.)

I’m also able to continue working toward increasing strength and flexibility, because those are my current goals rather than six pack abs or whatever else may be deemed “fitness success.” 

Someone else’s fitness is not MY fitness.

But it’s taken A LOT of work to get here mentally. And lots of stumbling through mistakes and crushing disappointments along the way.

So let me ask you this…what do you expect from your body?

Have you ever thought about that?

Are you expecting your body to look like yours, or are you expecting it to look like a supermodel’s?

Do you expect it to barely get you through the day without dropping dead, or do you expect it to have enough energy to accomplish the things you want to do today?

Are you kind to it or are you judgy and verbally abusive to it?

Your answers to those questions determine the answer to my question in the title.

Maybe you can’t be HAPPY about your body. (Happiness isn’t a constant state of being anyway.) To be perfectly honest, I’m not thrilled about mine every single day. But I’m at peace with where I am and have forgiven myself for my tumultuous history of not taking care of it.

Finding peace with your body is done slowly over time with practice, patience, and persistence…just like everything else.

Here’s how.

Start by agreeing to drop judgment and shame about your body. This isn’t easy for those of us who have spent a lifetime not measuring up to the impossible standards we’ve been conditioned to adhere to, but it’s important to start practicing this right away.

Then (get out those journals!) make a list the things that you appreciate about it:

• My body automatically does so many amazing functions just to keep me alive

• My body enables me to do things that I enjoy doing, like _____  (hiking, traveling, doing cartwheels, whatever you can think of)

• My body has endured years of _____ (in my case bulimia, restrictive diets, and extreme weight fluctuations) and here it is, still functioning pretty well.

You get the idea.

I’ve written before about finding one thing that you like about yourself, looking in the mirror, and telling yourself that you appreciate that thing. (When I started doing this work years ago it was my green eyes.) So that’s the next thing that you can do.

And you can decide to stop comparing yourself to others, including your younger self. This takes practice.

It all takes practice.

Finally, you can close your eyes and take a few deep breaths. Four count inhale, hold for a beat, eight count exhale. In those breaths, imagine your body thanking you for the oxygen…for the break in the day. For the break in the judgment and shame.

And I have a program that can help you with this. Over 12 weeks you can learn how to make peace with your body (and so much more) so that you’ll shed your extra weight…both physically and mentally.

And the mental part is also how you get out of depression and into a more balanced day to day existence.

It’s a game changer.

Email me at dana@revolution-within.com and I’ll get you the details.

Love & hugs,

Dana