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 30 Ways to Love your Body

                       
  1. We are born in love with our bodies. Watch an infant, sucking their fingers, rolling around, not worrying about their "body fat."
  2. Imagine being as "in love" with your body as an infant.
  3. Think of your body as a tool. Create an inventory of all the things you can do with this  body.
  4. Become aware of what your body does each day, as the instrument of your life, not just as an ornament.
  5. Create a list of people you admire who have contributed to your life, your community, the world. Was their appearance important to their success and accomplishments?
  6. If their body and appearance were not important, why should yours be? Judge yourself as a whole person, not just as a body
  7. Think of your body as a source of pleasure. What are your favourite and most useful body parts?
  8. Do something that will let you enjoy your body: Stretch, dance, walk, sing, take a bubble bath, get a massage, have a pedicure.
  9. Act the way you would if you had the perfect body.
  10. Walk with your head held high, supported by pride and confidence in yourself as a person.
  11. Don't let your weight or shape keep you from doing things you enjoy.
  12. Wear comfortable styles that you really like and that feel good to your body.
  13. Count your blessings, not your blemishes.
  14. How much time do you spend each day criticizing your body or worrying about your appearance? Decide what you would rather do with those wasted hours. Do it.
  15. Did you know that your skin replaces itself once a month, your stomach lining every five days, liver every six weeks, your skeleton every three months. Your body is extraordinary -- begin to respect and appreciate it.
  16. Decide to become the expert about your body -- challenge the authority of the fashion magazines, the cosmetics industry, the Metropolitan Weight Tables, by letting your beauty and individuality shine.
  17. Be your body's ally and advocate, not the enemy.
  18. Every morning when you wake up, thank your body for resting and rejuvenating itself so you can enjoy the day.
  19. Every evening when you go to bed, tell your body how much you appreciate what it has allowed you to do throughout the day.
  20. Find a method of exercise that you enjoy and do it regularly. Don't exercise to lose weight or fight your body -- exercise to love your body.
  21. Think back to a time in your life when you liked and enjoyed your body. Tell yourself you can feel like that again, even in this body at any age.
  22. Look at family photo albums -- find the beauty, love, and values in those faces. Keep those in your heart.
  23. Describe ten positive things about yourself, without mentioning your appearance.
  24. Look in your wardrobe. Do you wear clothes to hide or camouflage your body or to follow this season's fashion trends? Honestly examine why you wear what you wear.
  25. Decide to wear clothes only if they give you feelings of power, strength, and comfort.
  26. Put a sign on each morning saying, "I'm beautiful inside and out."
  27. If you had only one year to live, how important would your body image and appearance be?
  28. Start saying to yourself: "Life is too short to waste my time hating my body this way."
  29. Decide to find the beauty in the world and in yourself.
  30. Last, but not least, remember this: "Beauty is only skin-deep."

 

 

 
     
     
  Author Margo Maine, Ph.D
  www.NationalEatingDisorders.org.