Oh how you look different today. Hmm nothing has changed but I don’t like how you look today. The scale is the same but I’ve tried on every outfit in my closet and I don’t like how they fit.
Oh wow you look different today. Hmm nothing has changed but I like you better. The scale hasn’t moved but dam you look good in everything I put on today…
Has this ever happened to you? Well it happens to most of us and it has nothing to do with weight loss. At some of my lowest weights I had more bad days then good. What's happening here is all mindset. The power of our mind is one of the most powerful tools we can use to help heal on our journey to self love and acceptance. It is much easier to switch mindsets on short notice then to go on a crash diet. And it’s at this point I feel I may be losing some of you but please stay with me on this one.
Here are two examples to explain what I mean.
#1: Standing in front of the mirror, slouch over in your most unflattering position. Grab and squeeze all the most unflattering parts of yourself that you don't like and point them out to yourself. Tell yourself things like wow you’ve really let yourself go, you are sure not worthy to be do or have (blank) etc… in this grotesque body. Maybe take some time to poke at your hair and pores in order to pick out every flaw you don’t like. Now go try on some clothes and get ready for your day.
#2: Put your hand on your heart, take a deep breath in imagining a warm bright light entering and circulating your body, as this light comes in think loving thoughts. Slowly breathe out and imagen a dark cloud releasing as you exhale. The darkness is all of your negative beliefs about your body leaving. Repeat this at least 5 times but more if you have time and feel the need. Try to do this long enough to where you feel like your whole body is filled with love and the bright light surrounds you. Now get dressed and walk over to the mirror standing tall and proud purposefully looking for everything that you like about yourself.
Now you might say well come on #1 is a bit over the top but honestly the eternal dialogue we tell ourselves most days is nasty. Some of the things you tell yourself about your body you would never say to any other person.
And as human beings on this planet we are actually programmed to look for our faults. Well not exactly to the extreme that we are now. But for our ancient tribal ancestors it was very important to fit in and be part of the tribe because if we didn't have a tribe we probably wouldn’t survive on our own. But what has happened is our tribe has now evolved to the billions of people on TV and the internet. And worse yet they are photoshopped, and filtered to no end. Completely distorting what it is to look human. So now when we look in the mirror we can only compare to the images we see everyday.
My advice is to reduce time exposed to these images. And be aware and conscious when you do see them. Ask yourself how does seeing this actress make me feel. Another great thing to do is to find and follow people who are natural on their social media accounts.
It won’t be easy every day to make these choices but I can honestly say it is easier than restrictive dieting. And even if you lose every pound you set out to lose on said diet, if you don’t practice self love you will have just as many if not more bad days in front of the mirror. Because there is no way we can compete with the fake photoshopped images we are exposing ourselves to everyday.