Learning how to develop a positive body image isn’t a simple task. In fact, it’s downright complicated, because as humans, we are anything but simple creatures. There’s a mix of emotions that take over who we are on any given day, some of which are good, and others bad. It’s easy to get lost in emotionally draining self-doubt that we can’t seem to escape.
Looking in the mirror can sometimes cause me to feel down on myself. Seeing someone else achieve an amazing body transformation in only 3 months inspires me, but it can also make me feel insecure. It’s ironic because I’m in the best shape of my life.
Still, that doesn’t change the feeling deep down that I sometimes get. It’s a voice that tells me I could do better, or I should be further along in my journey. The tips I’ll share with you in this article have helped me continue on my own path to developing a healthy body image.
I’m not perfect, but I’m definitely secure enough now to be able to write this article. In fact, now that I think of it, my website is one of the tools I use to destroy negative self-talk that tries to seep in sometimes. My articles are an outlet for me to inspire others to make changes in themselves, and when I see that my tips have helped even a single person, it inspires me to keep writing.
So, let’s get to some tips that I personally have followed to help you learn how to develop a positive body image.
Stop Comparing Yourself To Other People
I’ve come to realize that comparing ourselves to others is probably the most toxic thing we can do. It’s also one of the hardest bad habits to break because of the 24/7 access we have to the internet. So, this requires an immense amount of self-discipline.
I truly believe this is one of the very first steps we must take in order to start feeling more positive about ourselves. Of course, it’s not easy, and I definitely slip from time to time. But, I’ve made a conscious decision to stop comparing my body to others, especially after realizing that whenever I do it, I travel down a dark rabbit hole.
The world we live in is bombarded by advertising, not only on television but also on social media, billboards, and so many other places. It’s almost impossible to ignore the fact that we’re imperfect and we don’t compare to the movie star body we just saw in an ad or on our friends’ news feed.
So, I’ve found it much better to just accept the fact that I am where I am, in my body and in my mind. The choices that I’ve personally made have gotten me here.
If you’re unhappy with the state your body is in, then it’s completely up to you to change that. Luckily, it’s not hard to get started. You just need to begin. The beauty of joining a powerful workout program or following a solid eating plan with proven results is that you’ll start to notice measurable progress month by month.
You’ll feel more confident looking in the mirror when you compare your current results to where you were a month ago. This kind of inspiration is amazing because you’re focused on your own personal journey, and not one that involves anyone else.
Making your own progress that is 100% your own is a great feeling. You start to reap the rewards of the work you’re putting into changing your body. Your new pants are proof of that. People asking what you’ve been up to will inspire you to keep going.
If you’re unhappy with your body and want to lose weight, or possibly even gain weight, I’ll share with you the program that changed my life and inspired me to write these articles and start helping others. I lost 15 pounds of pure fat and gained lean muscle in just a few months at a time when I had finally come to accept that I cannot change my skinny-fat body.
Begin A Journey To Change Your Body
I started this website after building up enough confidence in myself about my own physique. I decided that with my newfound knowledge, I had a responsibility to help others get into their ideal shape. I came to realize that if I can do it, anyone can. And I don’t mean that in the generic way you see advertised by annoying health & fitness companies.
I honestly thought I was stuck with a skinny-fat body for life, and pretty much gave up on the idea that I’d ever be able to lose excess fat and become defined with lean muscle compared to a great body straight out of a movie. That is until I actually did it in only 3 months.
Now, I didn’t get into movie star shape in 3 months, but I made such a huge change in my physique that I was absolutely baffled. It’s one of those things where my head still spins at the thought of what I was able to achieve after pretty much giving up on anything working for me.
I don’t believe there is such thing as a perfect body, but I do believe we can be happy and confident in our own skin. That’s what this program did for me.
Interestingly enough, the program I followed is called the Movie Star Bodyweight program. You can learn about it here. It’s without question, the one, and the only program I’ve followed in my adult life that gave me the kind of body confidence I should have had for years, but never did.
I have zero problems taking my shirt off now, but since I was a teenager, I was hesitant and completely insecure about it. It’s such a different feeling to actually be confident and proud of the work I’ve done. I attribute so much of this to following this program.
What’s crazy to me is that I’ve followed everything from Beachbody home workouts to Orange Theory and Kickboxing classes. I used to go the gym for years, and I’ve done home weight lifting programs. I’ve done bouts of jogging 6 days a week, and done so many different kinds of cardio workouts. Nothing I’ve done gave me the confidence in my body that I was looking for.
I now realize it’s cause there wasn’t a solid plan in place to follow and stick to. I was randomly doing exercises and generally “eating healthy”. That’s pretty much the same as walking blindly. Without a solid plan tailored towards your specific goals to get you measurable results, you won’t get very far.
I won’t get into the details of these programs here, as everything is explained in the links below. There is one specifically designed for women, and the other is predominantly geared towards men. In the end, though, in my opinion, the concept is the same, and either one could work for either gender.
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORKOUT & EATING PLAN FOR MEN
CLICK HERE TO LEARN ABOUT THE WORKOUT & EATING PLAN FOR WOMEN
Maintain A Healthy Mindset
The way I’ve worked on changing my mindset from being predominantly negative to having a much more positive outlook and perspective on my body and myself as a person overall has been with meditations and daily affirmations.
The key to making it work for myself has been by staying consistent. I couldn’t imagine feeling confident with myself had I not worked on my mind on a daily basis.
Now, I’m not always feeling confident, and I do become insecure in random situations. That’s going to happen with anyone. We’re only human. But I don’t let these things affect me the way they used to. I truly believe that working on my mindset daily has done wonders for me.
I will listen to Ted Talks, Tony Robbins, or daily affirmations when I become extremely down on myself. Aside from that, I do keep a daily meditation practice every single morning in which I simply breathe and sit quietly for 15 minutes.
I believe this has brought me an overall calmness that transcends to me also being much more accepting of my body and its imperfections.
Here are a few links I found online that may be helpful to you
- POSITIVE BODY IMAGE MEDITATION
Here’s a guided mediation on body image. It’s designed to help you calm the chatter in your mind and comparisons that we make with our bodies to others, especially in social media.
- POSITIVE BODY IMAGE TED TALK
Here’s a Ted Talk on body image to help you start seeing your body in a more positive light.
- POSITIVE BODY IMAGE AFFIRMATIONS
Here are affirmations for positive body image
- POSITIVE BODY IMAGE QUOTES
Here is a list of positive body image quotes
Surround Yourself With People Who Have Similar Goals
I feel that this is important in just about any area of our lives. If you want to improve your self-esteem about your body, then surround yourself with like-minded people.
They say that we become the average of the 5 people we spend our time with the most. So think for a moment about the people you surround yourself with most often. Are they bringing you positive energy or negative energy? Do you feel good about yourself or bad about yourself when you hang out with them?
These are important questions to ask yourself, and when you want to make major changes in your life, you need to take this seriously, because the wrong crowd will bring you down. If you were already down on yourself, they can keep you there.
I’ve learned this many times in my life, and I’ve had to find ways to meet new people. Luckily, social media makes it very easy to do. I’m specifically referring to FB groups, but you can find similar places on Quora or Reddit too.
Here’s a Positive Body Image Facebook Group that could be a great place for you to begin to find like-minded people and those who are looking to view their bodies in a more positive light.
Positive Body Image In Summary
I’ve had insecurities about my body in many ways since I was a teenager. I think a lot of it had to do with my dad calling me fat as a kid, and my mom being very judgmental about my looks in general, from my clothes, to my hair, and my body as well.
As an adult, I’ve had to figure out ways to deal with all of this. From man boobs and love handles that stopped me from ever taking my shirt off in front off in public, to having skinny legs and forearms that always caused me insecurities.
I’m happy to say that I’ve become confident in my body and I’ve developed a healthy body image. I largely attribute it to this program that changed my entire perspective on health, fitness, and what our bodies are capable of achieving.
I hope you found some of the tips in this article to be helpful on your own journey to develop a healthy body image. I know it’s not easy but with the right mindset, and a change in habits and lifestyle, you can absolutely do it too.
Thanks so much for reading. If you have any questions or comments at all, leave them below, and I’ll be more than happy to get back to you as soon as possible.
