When it comes to your relationship with your body, you’ve probably heard people tell you to love yourself more, and that self love will lead to treating yourself better, and increased health and happiness. But what does it mean to love yourself? What does it look like? And if you don’t feel it… how do you generate it?
In my opinion, if you haven’t yet established a loving relationship with your body, fake it until you make it. If you take actions that are self-loving, you’ll naturally develop more loving feelings towards yourself and your body. If you can’t start from the inside out, then start from the outside and go in.
In honor of the month of Love, here are ten actions you can take to generate more self love:
- Nourish your body with fresh, real, whole food.
- Read the ingredient lists for food products so you can choose carefully what to put into your body. Setting loving boundaries for yourself will make you feel like you have your own back.
- Take the time to listen to your body’s needs and then give them to yourself, whether it be to move or stretch your body, eat more or less food, or to rest.
- Stop eating before you get past full, so your stomach doesn’t hurt and you don’t burden your digestive system.
- Wear clothes that fit the body you have. Stop waiting to reach a certain weight before feeling good in your clothes. This might mean you need to buy a couple new outfits.
- Stop punishing or restricting your body when you feel it hasn’t ‘behaved.’
- Give your body the sleep it needs to function properly.
- Give your body enough nutrients, healthy fats, proteins, and vegetables, so it has the building blocks necessary to build cells, create hormones, and make the chemicals of emotion that allow you to handle stress and feel joy.
- Speak kindly to your body. Watch the negative, abusive self-talk. Have the same compassion for yourself that you would for a friend, a child or a pet.
- Hydrate yourself properly so you avoid headaches, dehydration, constipation, and a host of other issues.
*Bonus: Buy yourself flowers!
Even if it feels difficult or foreign to prioritize your body, or if you’re not sure your body deserves such loving attention, do it anyway. By practicing these actions, you’ll see that the kindness inherent in them will open your heart and generate a love that maybe you never knew was possible.
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