When You Love Yourself But You Want To See Change
Hello Lovelies!
I think I now have a yearly tradition of writing on this topic, and you can visit my previous posts on the subject here and here. My main philosophy has always been that if you want to see physical change in your body but you also want to achieve that in a manner that is body positive, start with making sure you are mentally healthy. Body positivity is about accepting and loving the body you have right now. And of course you can have that mindset but also want to get physically fit. Today I am going to expand this topic and discuss how I implement body positivity into my fitness post quarantine.
Before a few years ago I was not a big fan of working out or eating according to a diet because I felt that those practices were products of eating disorder culture. Now I workout and eat healthy in a way that works for me, without calorie counting, crazy rules, or guilt. Below I am going to talk about some of the things I do and how I show myself grace when I am not perfect.
During quarantine I got to workout more regularly and now I am in the gym twice a week with a hope of bringing that up to four times every week. I have also explore other forms of exercise like taking long walks! I will try to at least do a mile or so in the city every morning. Usually I will listen to music and think about my day – and this morning I even grabbed my umbrella and made it in the rain! So even if you aren’t meeting your goals for gym time, try finding other ways to move every day. Aside from walking other options include: going to the park, taking a fitness class, going for a swim, and bike riding!
Regarding diet, what has helped me most is taking healthy habits one change at a time. I started with going to bed early and not snacking right before. For me that looks like eating dinner/desert around 19:00 and sleeping by 21:30. This way I give my body enough time to digest so I sleep better. The second habit I quickly changed was my water schedule and making sure I met basic guidelines for not only how much water I consume but also when or how often I take time to grab some. This year I worked more so on cooking meals at home with fresh, healthier options, shopping locally for food, setting goals for how often I eat certain foods (or “foods that don’t really do much” as I like to call them), and just finding ways to have fun while eating healthy at home!
One thing that has really helped me this year is having Connor (with his awesome nutrition knowledge and willingness to meal prep) to go with me to the gym every so often and to cook at home when I am tired. I have always preferred living a healthy lifestyle without all the rules and numbers, so having someone like him around helps me stay on track without thinking too much about the details or the parts of diet and exercise that may be triggering for me.
If you are in a similar boat and want to be healthy but also want to be mindful of your relationship with food or exercise, I recommend finding a community or just surround yourself with good people who live how you want to, so that you can reach your goals in a way that is safe and mentally healthily.
Thank you for reading! I hope this look into my personal life can help you find your own balance with body positivity and exercise.
xx,
A