5 Things to Do on Bad Body Image Days
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No matter how much work we put into having a healthy relationship with our bodies, we're STILL going to have bad body image days.
It’s going to happen, no matter what!
But how we can continue to have a healthy relationship with our body is simple. We NEED to deal with our bad body image days in a healthy manner.
We don’t need to let it ruin our day. We don’t need to punish ourselves with workouts or deprive our bodies of food. We don’t need to speak negative things to ourselves. We don’t need to do any of that!
So, how do you deal with bad body image days in a healthy way?
Well, sister, I’m about to share 5 things you can do to feel better on bad body image days. Are you ready?!
If you loved this episode, I know you will also love…
Episode 190: 5 Steps to Reseting after Over-Indulging
I know bad body image days are typically triggered by an episode of overindulging, so this episode is a must.
TRANSCRIPT:
Hey there, beautiful human. You're listening to Embrace Your Real with me, Julie Ledbetter, a podcast where I empower you to just be you. With each episode, I dish you a dose of real talk and actionable advice for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned if you're ready to embrace your real. Let's get it, let's go.
Hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real Podcast. I'm so grateful that you are spending some time with me today. Really excited about today's episode. I believe it's a really important one because honestly, no matter how much work we put into having a healthy relationship with our body, we're still going to have those days that we just have negative body image. It's going to happen. We are human. But I think that it's really important that we not let it ruin our entire day. We don't need to punish ourselves with workouts, or deprive our body of food. We don't need to speak negative things to ourselves. We honestly don't need to do any of that. And so how do we deal with a bad body image day in a healthy way?
I'm going to be sharing five ways, but before I do, I have to share this super sweet review. It comes Joe Gee 233, she gives a five star review. And it says, "Humbly amazing. Julie and her hubby, Josh, are the most down to Earth and humbly honest people I know on social media. Julie is transparent with her struggles in life and talks about how she has overcome those to help people like me. I began following her on Instagram for her style and personality when it came to living a healthy life. She was different than the rest on Instagram. She was real, and her habits, which I'm currently making into my own habits, were so much more realistic for my life and future. I can't thank the Ledbetters enough for all that they have done for me, probably without even knowing."
Honestly, this review brought tears to my eyes. This is truly, truly, truly at the heart of what we do, so important to us, that people just find their own way in their healthy lifestyle, and they find ways that are real and realistic for their season of life. And so I'm so, so grateful to hear this. Thank you so much for leaving a review. If you haven't already left a review, or if you haven't left a review in a while, I am still doing my weekly workouts giveaway, so if you aren't familiar, my Movement with Julie app gives you five brand new workouts every single week.
And I'm going to be randomly selecting one person every single week who leaves a rating and review on Apple Podcasts to get a free month inside Movement with Julie, which is 20 workouts, two zero workouts, completely free. And whether you are an active subscriber and you're randomly selected, I'll be refunding you. Or if you're a brand new person, you've been lurking, you've been wanting to join, you will be given a code to get you a month off. So thank you in advance. It really does help us out in the podcast. Just grow with the message of embrace your real.
Okay, so let's dive into the five things that you can do right now to help you feel better on those bad body image days. But before I get into the five things and the very practical advice, I have to share this. The number one most important thing that has truly helped me get out of my body image funks is to pray and read God's truth. If you're been tuning in for a while, you guys know that faith is the number one most important thing in my life. And oftentimes, I think the reason that we're feeling down on ourself is because we're looking at ourselves in a distorted mirror. And sadly, the longer that we look into that distorted mirror and allow ourself to believe the lies that we're telling ourselves, we will begin to base our actions and decisions on the foundation of lies, that we will never truly discover our beauty, our internal beauty.
I am actually rereading the book Beauty Begins by Chris and Megan Shook, that's S-H-O-O-K. It's amazing. I'm going to go ahead and put it on my Amazon storefront, and I will link that in my Instagram bio. But in chapter two, which is called The Mirror Addiction, they talk about how important it is to stop looking in all the distorted mirrors, and instead look into the mirror of Christ's love. It reads, "When we look into the mirror of Christ's love, we discover our sacred reflections and we see mirrored back complete love, beauty, and acceptance. When we look in this mirror, we start to believe the truth that all girls and all women are equally beautiful. Even though our flesh might tell us that this is not true, Christ's eyes tell us that it is. We are all equally beautiful in his eyes, no one girl more stunning or more amazing than the other. Yes, we all look different. And yes, we all have very different sizes, but that's because God chose for us to be different."
Roman's 12:6, the message translation says, "Let's just go ahead and be what we were made to be without enviously or pridefully comparing ourselves with each other or trying to be something other than we are." And Psalm 45:11 says, "Let the king be enthralled by your beauty. Honor him, for he is your Lord." Remember that the king of kings is truly enthralled, which the literal definition of enthralled means to be captivated or delighted by a particular thing. He's enthralled with your beauty. The more that we look into this mirror or truth, we can remind ourselves about what God says about us. And we will see our sacred reflections more clearly.
So I wanted to share that up front just because, you guys, faith is such an important aspect of my life. And I truly believe without it, I would be lost. And I've said this before, but I'll continue to say it, that in the world of quick fixes and self help books that we live in, it's so easy to think that X, Y, and Z is going to solve something. And then we go ahead and try it, and yet, it's not actually fulfilling what we thought it would. It might fulfill something for a day or two, or even a week, but then ultimately, we go back to feeling this void in our heart. And you guys, if you don't have faith in your life, I'm telling you that Jesus is the only way to fill that void. And so I just want to encourage you to really dive into that. If you have questions about it, feel free to direct message me. I am always open and would love, love, love to talk more about it. But I just wanted to preface that because I am going to be sharing some very practical advice that will help.
But ultimately, the void that you might be feeling is because you are not fully trusting God and you're not seeing yourself the way that God sees you. And he created us, our innermost being, and he loves us just the way that we are. But if we don't see that and if we don't accept that he loves us, we're going to constantly be looking for other things. So wanted to share that first, let's get into the more practical advice when it comes to the days that I'm struggling or feeling down with my body image.
Number one, I choose to outwardly celebrate one thing about my body. So on those days that you don't feel your best, I know it can be hard, but there have been so many studies that have shown and have been linked to gratitude and how it can truly change and rewire your brain. I actually did a whole podcast episode on gratitude and why I'm such a firm believer in the science behind gratitude. And that's in episode 192. I'll go ahead and link it in the show notes. But this outwardly celebrating one thing about your body could be as simple as expressing gratitude that you have air in your lungs today, just looking on a very basic level, and just saying out loud, or writing it in your journal, "Thank you that I have air in my lungs. That means that my purpose, my life is not over, and I'm going to choose to celebrate that," that you are even alive and breathing.
And even if you don't feel your best, saying out loud that you're going to choose to live today and be grateful for all that your body does for you. It could be even more specific than this. It could be like expressing gratitude for your legs and your arms and all that they do for you. They allow you to go places. Your arms allow you to pick up your babies, or those dumbbells during your workout. Simple acts and simple things expressed of gratitude can truly change your perspective. And when you turn your frustration or discontentment to celebration, it can truly change your outlook almost instantaneously. And I just go back to saying, "Thank you, God, for my body. And even though my human flesh right now doesn't feel my best, I'm going to choose to look beyond my flesh and trust you ultimately, that you call me beautiful and that I am truly beautiful."
Number two, move your body. If you guys have been tuning into this podcast for a while, you guys knew, probably knew I was going to say it. My motto, my mission, my go to mantra every day is honor your body with movement. And no, I don't want you to move your body because you feel fat or because you'll feel better burning more calories. No, no, no, that is not the mindset that will serve you. I want you to move your body because it makes you feel good. It literally moves emotions through you. I know for me, I could be in a total funk before a workout, but afterwards, I could feel 180 degrees different. Movement can truly transform a bad body image day into you just again, celebrating your body for everything that it does and is for you.
Numerous studies have actually shown that physical activity has been proven to be an effective treatment for depression, anxiety, insomnia, ADHD, and a wide range of other psychological issues. You guys, truly exercise is medicine. And in many cases, aerobic activity, strength training, yoga, stretching, walking, jogging can be so much more effective than pharmaceutical treatment. So I'm telling you, get out there and just move your body. It doesn't have to be a killer workout. It can just be a simple walking. It can be a simple 10, 15 minute stretch. But you will likely feel so much better.
Number three, please, please, please remember how you feel is likely not what people see. Again, what you feel is not what people see. If you wake up feeling like you gained 15 pounds because you're so bloated, please trust that no one sees that but you because you didn't actually gain 15 pounds. You might just feel like you gained 15 pounds. It's likely not even visible. Your appearance likely does not drastically change on a day to day basis. You just see the small minor things and the mirror, and you think that they are big, massive changes. So please just remember this on the days that you're having not so great body image days. Remember that everyone else just sees you, the same you that they see every day.
Number four, you have to tell yourself that how you're feeling right now is irrelevant. When you start to get down about how fat or gross you look today, please just tell yourself it's irrelevant because you can still do all the things that you were going to do, regardless of your bad body image day. You can still go crush that presentation at work. You can still go have that killer workout. You can still go out to dinner with your girlfriends. You can still do everything. So how you're feeling is truly irrelevant. Your significant other will still love you. You will still be great at your job. You are still beautiful and hold all the same amazing qualities regardless of how you feel. Literally everything is still the same. So again, please remember that it is irrelevant. And at the end of the day, remember that the more focus we put on our temporary bodies, the less time we actually have to develop our true eternal character, which is ultimately what matters most because it's the only thing that lasts forever.
And just remember that this is an Earthly suit. Yes, we have it right now in this life. But when you die, what actually carries on? It's your eternal character. It's your soul. And so I just want to remind you to stop putting so much focus on these temporary bodies and instead shift your focus on those days that you really are struggling with your body image and remind yourself that true eternal character is what matters most.
And number five, remember that this too shall pass. How you feel about your body today, or in your body, is not likely how you'll feel forever. Tomorrow, you'll probably feel different, and the day after that, and the day after that. So just focus on getting through today. Do the things that I mentioned above. Yes, you might not feel your best in your body, but have hope and pray that tomorrow will be better, and just find comfort in that.
So there you have it, those are the five very practical things to do on bad body image days. Let me do a quick recap. Number one, outwardly celebrate one thing about your body, so really bringing it back to the attitude of gratitude and celebrating all the amazing things that your body does for you. Number two, move your body. Number three, remember how you feel is likely not what people see. Number four, tell yourself that this is irrelevant. You are in an Earthly suit. At the end of the day, it's your eternal character that matters most. And number five, remember that this too shall pass.
If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 190, Five Steps to Resetting After Overindulging. And I know oftentimes, bad body image days can come and are triggered from an episode of overindulging, so be sure to tune into that episode. And then the other episode that I mentioned earlier was episode 192, and that is The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice. So I will link both of those in the show notes below. Again, remember Psalm 45:11 says, "Let the king by enthralled by your beauty. Honor him, for he is your Lord."
I hope that this episode encouraged you. I hope that it gave you some truth. If you have a sister, a girlfriend, or someone in your community that you feel like would really benefit from this episode, I just ask that you share it out. You can actually just screenshot this right now, what you're seeing on your phone, and you can post it up to your story. I would love to hear your thoughts on it, so be sure to direct message me. And I love connecting with you guys, whether it's on Julie A. Ledbetter or Embrace Your Real account, which if you are not already following Embrace Your Real Instagram account, be sure to do so on that account. We share some of the golden nuggets from each episode in a quote form so that you can remember them and save them, and share them as well. Thank you again for tuning in. I love you so much, and I will talk to you in the next episode.
All right, sister. That's all I got for you today. But I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so. Julie A. Ledbetter, yes, it's with an A in the middle, for that daily post workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks, and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world. And I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface, so go out there and embrace your real because you're worth it.