Strangely enough, it's love.
WHAAA?!
Yes. It is.
Yes, you may be feeling the love from others who are encouraging you.
But are you loving yourself?
Truly?
I posted this on my blog at CarrannmorFitness.com earlier:
When was the last time you said “I Love You” to your body?
Was it this morning?
Yesterday?
Sixteen years ago?
Ever?
How often do you say “I love you” to those closest to you? Probably pretty often. We do it because it’s one of the strongest emotions we have. Those three little words have power. They tie us together.
And if you love someone, it’s pretty rare for you to go knocking them around, either physically or verbally.
So why is it acceptable for us to verbally beat ourselves up? Listen to some of the things running around in your thoughts. Have you thought any of these recently?
“I hate my stomach and how it pooches out like that.”
“My arms are so jiggly, it’s gross.”
“Ugh, look at that fat under my chin.”
“I’ve really got to stop eating so much junk and just eat salads.”
“I don’t want to exercise, it’s boring.”
“Man, I hate my butt.”
If you are unable to say “I love you” to your body, or yourself, I can hazard a guess as to why you’re overweight, why you turn to food or too much tv for comfort, and why you hate moving around.
If you had just been physically beat up, would you be exercising and having fun?
It’s time to turn your thought patterns around. If you catch yourself with any of those above thoughts (or similar ones), stop, take a deep breath, and say to yourself, “I love you.” You can continue on with more affirmations, or you can keep repeating it.
I used to have a very deep-seated body hatred. I would stare at myself in the mirror and continually put myself down. It resulted in me sabatoging myself when it came to enjoying healthy foods, avoiding my workouts, and kept me from being happy. I was unable to appreciate how far I’d even come! All I could see was how far I had to go, and that it was taking me “forever” to get there. It wasn’t until I had gained 15 pounds and discovered the idea of loving myself that things truly started to turn around for me. I had a lot of work to do, but it was amazing how saying “I love you” to the person in the mirror was a healing, positive journey. It turned all my other thoughts around instantly. Suddenly, I was enjoying vegetables. Suddenly, I had no problems exercising. Suddenly, things became easy.
I still find myself doing the put downs on rare occasions, but now, when I catch myself, I turn it around. I look into my own eyes, take a deep breath, and say “I love you. I love you. I love you.” I will also continue with other sentences, such as:
- I take absolute joy in eating high-quality foods that give me life and vitality.
- Body, let’s work together to get rid of the toxins that we’re storing and find our best potential.
- I love how my body can run, jump, and play.
- I am absolutely amazed with how far I’ve come, and I look forward to the rest of this journey.
When you start saying “I love you” to yourself, it may feel rather crazy at first. In fact, you may be tempted to throw yourself in the crazy house. However, notice the emotions that well up inside as you say it while looking into your own eyes. Notice the release of burdens, the waterfall of unshed tears, and the forgiveness that appears. Notice how things that were challenging before start to become easy.
Once that happens, the weight will fall off. The fat will magically disappear from your body. You’ll start to gravitate toward foods that give you energy and vitality, ones that make you feel alive. You’ll want to move around in any way possible.
You will appreciate so many more things in life, and you’ll be able to enjoy it in harmony with your body, and not in spite of it.
Written by Carrie Moritz, CPT
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