Summer Body-Love/Hate
It’s certainly been warming up in the great south east. Makes me think about humid days, cool dresses and wearing a bathing suit in public…
Does that thought fill your head with dread?
As a child I loved summer. The adolescent me however, was struck with fear about what it represented.
If you wanted to swim in the local pool or frolic on the beach, it meant baring your body beautiful and being on display – something I was definitely not comfortable with back then.
It was enough to make me stop eating or take up marathon running! At least, that’s what I thought as a slightly larger teenager who was made to feel “a little too big”.
In fact, in my late teenage years I did stop eating and take up long distance running. Not a great combination by any means.
Soon enough I suffered intense cravings and emotional binges that lead to eighteen years of binging and purging in the form of bulimia nervosa.
We’re always so worried what others will think of our perceived flaws. We judge ourselves so harshly on what we look like and if we measure up, and we end up circling in a state of stressful thoughts, always worrying about what others are thinking.
Man it’s hard to please everyone, let alone ourselves – especially when we often hold our bodies much higher on the “Body Perfect” pedestal than anyone else ever could.
[Tweet “Changing our bodies requires a change in the way we think about our bodies.”]
As is the same for anything else we’d like to change – it starts with what we think, or believe, about it.
As we move into the warmer months and the usual worry of what we’ll look like wearing less clothing, try hard to switch your focus onto the attributes and parts of your body that you value and appreciate most:
- like how strong your arms are to constantly pick up your kids or carry the shopping, or lug your oversized handbag or another load of washing,
- or your powerful legs that keep you upright and moving by engaging every muscle to walk you around, climb up and down, and strut your gorgeous self in those spectacular Tony Bianco heels (yep, that’s me, I missed wearing my heels the last few months through my knee recovery!).
Start to see and appreciate the aspects of your body that have a positive function in your healthy lifestyle.
Be proud of them.
Love them.
Show them off in whatever way you feel comfortable…
And pay no attention to anyone’s opinions about it but your own.
[Tweet “Remember, it’s not important what others think of you. It’s important what you think of yourself”]
Keep taking care of your beautiful body by being mindful of what you think, what you eat, how much you move, and what you drink!
Viki xo
About Viki
Viki Thondley is a Mind-Body Wellness Specialist and qualified Holistic Counsellor, Food, Stress & Lifestyle Coach, Meditation Therapist, and Eating Disorder Recovery Coach who inspires women to shift from dieting and restriction to whole-self nourishment, self-care and healing. Recovered from bulimia nervosa and the many years of hormonal imbalances, food prison and self-sabotaging behaviours’, Viki is an inspiring coach, speaker and event host who also provides personalised holistic programs, workshops and retreats to instil self-love, happiness, body confidence and real food freedom. She is author of “Achieving Your Wellness: Create a Life You Love” and “Healthy Chocolate Delights: Real Food Sweet Treats”.
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