Love Your Body Challenge – Day 124
Posted In Body Image
(Psssst! If you’re “late” to the challenge and just getting started, that’s OK too! Just go at your own pace! Start with this blog post and scroll to the bottom, and make sure you have what you need to complete the challenge and fill out the 10 questions you need to fill out before you get started. Then you can take it day by day at your own pace!)
Recap
Yesterday was Day 11 of the Love Your Body Challenge, and the reason to love your body was,
“Because it deserves love.”
I talked about my friend’s 14 month old baby girl and my little niece, both of whom are sweet, precious little girls, and both of whom deserve all of the love and compassion in the world.
I posed the question:
“Can you imagine looking into the eyes of a precious little girl and telling her that she’s not good enough? Or that she’s not pretty enough? Or that she’s fat?
I would hope not.
So at what point does it become OK to say these things to ourselves? At what age do we stop telling girls that they are wonderful and pretty and perfect and smart and that they can do anything they set their minds to?”
Your reaction’s were very genuine. One reaction that really stood out to me was this:
“Sadly, I’ve degraded myself so much in front of my children that I frequently hear out of my 10 yr old that she is fat. I tell her over and over how perfect she is but because I’ve picked myself apart she has learned to do the same.
I’ve been trying to change my language from, “I’m so fat and out of shape,” to, “I’m working to be a better me so that can stick around to see my great great grandchildren.”
It’s tough when you’ve spent the majority of your life being told by others and yourself that you aren’t good enough. I am trying though for the sake of my daughters, though.”
That’s real stuff right there. That was very brave of Trish to write, and I have a feeling that she will continue to make positive changes and her daughters will benefit from them.
Here we are! Day 12!
Reason #12 To Love Your Body
12. Because your relationship is reciprocal.
One of the most powerful things about our body and our relationship with our body, is that it’s a reciprocal relationship, meaning that you get out of it, what you put into it. Not all relationships are like that. We’ve all had bosses we worked our tails off for, for no recognition and no reward. We’ve all been in relationships, either friendly or romantic, where we gave and gave and gave, and the other person never reciprocated.
The great thing about our bodies, is that for the most part — they are reciprocal. They will give us back what we give them.
Treat your body well with nutrition food, movement, sleep, and happy thoughts? You’ll feel great.
Poison your body with low-quality food, lack of exercise, lack of sleep, and negativity? You’ll feel like garbage.
As the saying goes: “Garbage in, garbage out.”
And this doesn’t just apply to your nutrition and your training. This applies to your thoughts and feeling as well. If you treat yourself well with love, kindness, and compassion for you body, it will reward you by feeling energetic, positive, and happy. You’ll be absolutely radiant from the inside out.
Mantra: “My relationship with my body is reciprocal, so I will nourish it with love, compassion, and positive thoughts.”
Repeat this (to yourself or out loud) 10 times right now, 10 times during your action step, and 10 times before bed.
Action step: Take 5 minutes to write down the ways that you’ve consciously noticed a reciprocal relationship with your body. Whether it’s giving a genuine compliment and instantly feeling better about yourself, pulling a certain food out of your diet and having more energy, getting in a good workout and getting an endorphin rush — write down all of the times you’ve noticed a direct input —> output relationship. Then highlight the positive inputs that led to positive outputs, and make a conscious effort to avoid the negative inputs that led to negative outputs.
That’s all for today. Have a great weekend and I’ll see you tomorrow!
Molly Galbraith is a Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist and Coach who has dabbled in both Figure and Powerlifting competitions. She is Co-Founder of Girls Gone Strong and J-M Strength.Her life's mission is to help women give themselves grace and compassion when it comes to their bodies so that they can discover and accept what their best body looks like.
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