7 Ways to Feel More Confident in Your Body This Summer

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Summer is great for so many reasons, but I know many of you aren’t able to enjoy it to the fullest because you are too concentrated about what your body looks like. You allow your body insecurities to hold you back from enjoying your summer. So let’s chat through some ways you can help reduce these insecurities and start to feel more confident in your body.

What I discuss:

Practice Daily Gratitude
Prioritize sleep and relaxation
Focus on nourishing your body
Change your habits
Remember that you have the right to wear whatever you want
Ask yourself if you would judge your friends?
Remind yourself that you are not your body

Links mentioned in this episode:

Workout app: sale.movementwithjulie.com

If you want more from me, be sure to check out…

Instagram: @embraceyourreal | @movementwithjulie

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

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Transcript:

Hey. Hey, beautiful human. Can I steal 5 minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace Your Role With Me, Julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body, and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned. If you're ready to embrace a real. Let's get it. Let's go. Hello. Hello and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your podcast. Now Summer is great for so many reasons. I am a firm believer in summer. I think summer is hands down the best season, not just because my work is in the summer, but because summer memories like they're the best. Right? But I also know that so many people and this was me, guys, for a decade of my life, I was not able to enjoy summer to the fullest simply because I was so concentrated on what my body look like. And I was allowing my body insecurities to hold me back from truly enjoying all that summer has to offer. So in today's episode, I want to chat through some ways to help you reduce these insecurities and start to help you feel more confident in your body. But before I do, I wanted to share this review. It comes from Holly. Nike says she gave a five star review and said, for a full decade of my life now I have struggled with my body image and feeling as though I'm never enough in society standards. Julie's podcast and Instagram page has helped me tremendously by reminding me to be thankful for this body that God has given me and to honor it with nourishment and movement.

For the first time in a long time, I'm feeling like I'm starting to experience peace in this area of my life to God be the glory. And thank you, Julie, for using this platform He has given you to spread it. Such a wonderful message, girl. I'm giving you all the emoji hand yeses and amen emojis. I could not echo this enough and I am so grateful to hear this. I mean, yes, God has given you the body to honor, honor your body with nourishment and a movement that is like a foundational piece of my messaging as well as just the way that I live my life. It is so, so important and I am just so grateful that you're finally finding peace in that area of your life. Seriously, to God be the glory. So incredibly grateful. If you haven't left your reading interview on podcasts, it helps so much. You guys like to be able to reach new people as well as people who stumble upon the podcast. When they look at a podcast page, typically they look at their reviews. And so if there has been a specific episode that you know, has stuck out to you, we would love to hear it. It also allows me and the team behind this podcast to be able to know, like what the episodes, how they're helping you and in what way this podcast in general is helping you. So if you could switch over to any Apple device and type in, embrace your go to the podcast app, that would bless us more than you know. I appreciate every single one of you guys in advance for doing it. Let's dove into the seven ways to feel more confident in your body this summer.

Number one Daily gratitude practice for your body. Now, this kind of might sound weird if you've never done it, but it's so powerful actually. Talk tons about gratitude in depth in episode 192 of the podcast, it's called The Science Behind the Gratitude Practice. It's not as cliché as you think. I really dove into the scientific benefits of gratitude, as well as just kind of my personal experience with gratitude and why I'm a firm believer in it. But if you have never actually practice gratitude for your body, I want to encourage you to start. It is a powerful thing and it's simply just identifying different parts of your body and extending gratitude. Now you could just be extending gratitude in general. For me, I personally am a Christian. I believe in God and I believe that I was uniquely formed and created by Him. And so I express my gratitude to God daily for different parts of my body. God, I am so grateful that I have these arms to be able to hug those who I love, to be able to carry the groceries, to be able to get a killer workout in God. I am so thankful for this breath in my lungs that breathes every single minute and second of my life that I don't even, you know, recognize throughout the day that I have blood pumping, that I have so many different pieces in my body working that I don't even recognize because it's just, you know, my body is working for me and I just kind of go through like from top to bottom on my body, all the things that I'm grateful for. And I know that this kind of sounds weird and it might feel really hard to start with if you've never done something like this.

It's actually a part of my morning routine. When I go into my journaling and my prayer, I just establish gratitude and most of the time it's actually on pen to paper. I found that when I established gratitude pen to paper, something psychological happens rather than just kind of speaking it or thinking it in my mind. And so I just want to encourage you to start this and you will start to find there are so many things that you are actually grateful for that you might not have thought of before, and it might feel hard when you first start. But I want to challenge you to try to establish gratitude for five different areas of your body. This could be, you know, all different types. I'm so grateful that I have the eyes to see the things. That I do on a daily basis. I'm so grateful that I have these legs that carry me from day to day. I'm so incredibly grateful for these arms. I'm so thankful for this strong core, you know, and all of these things. Like, it might be hard for you to say it at first, but I'm telling you, there's always something to be grateful for. And when you establish that gratitude for your body, you start to see your body in an entirely different light. So I want to challenge you to do that. And if you haven't heard that podcast episode on Gratitude, I will link it in the show notes. But Episode 192 The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice. It's not as cliché as you think. Trust me when I say this podcast will definitely encourage you to start practicing gratitude in all different areas of your life. Number two, prioritize sleep and relaxation. Now, when we're tired or stressed or anxious and we're so fricking exhausted, it's easy to take it out on our body like it heightens our insecurities.

In fact, studies have shown that good sleep is directly associated with more optimism and higher self-esteem. So if you're feeling at an all time low with how you feel about your body, maybe you just need to give yourself more R&R. I'm not saying give yourself a day and all of a sudden you're going to be more confident, but you work it into your life to avoid getting to the point of exhaustion. A lot of people don't associate lack of sleep and rest with poor body confidence, but there is a huge connection and it can be really powerful. What a good night's sleep regularly can do for you. Number three Focus on nourishing your body. Now, it's so simple to feel worse in our bodies when we know we haven't been nourishing it. And I get this all the time. Like, how do I know if I'm nourishing my body? You guys, you know. You know the foods that are micronutrients that are going to bless your body. And I'm not saying to get into this restrictive mindset. I'm saying to look at foods and say, how can I bless my body as well as how can I enjoy the food? Of course, but how can I bless my body with these micronutrients? Right. When we don't nourish our bodies, we lack energy. We feel way down. And both of these things can make us feel not so great about our bodies. But when we nourish our bodies, we actually feel energized. And when we feel energized, we're going to feel so much better in our bodies. I know for me on the days and weeks that I'm just not properly nourishing my body. I just don't personally feel my best. I always feel my best when I'm hydrating my body.

I'm sleeping enough and I'm reaching, at least at the bare minimum, my protein goal on a daily basis. And that just allows me to feel my best and honestly, when I feel my best through nutrition, nutrition, truly as medicine. You guys, I honestly don't think about my body because I'm feeling good in and I'm feeling confident in my body. So focusing on nourishing your body is a huge one. Number four, change your habits. Now, what most people don't realize is that our thoughts and feelings are just habits, right? Like the way that we speak to ourselves about our bodies and the way that self-talk makes us feel is stemmed from a habit. But the cool thing is that habits can actually be changed. It takes about 21 days to change a habit. That's it. Like 21 days of intentionally not speaking poorly about yourself can truly help lead you to breaking the habit of speaking poorly to yourself. It will, yes, of course. Take work for 21 days. Old habits, no matter how unhealthy they are for us, always feel more comfortable than the new, healthier habits that we're trying to adopt. So as strange as it may sound, your criticism and negative self-talk is more comfortable than the new positive self-talk. But over time, your new thoughts and feelings will become more natural, and after weeks it will become your new default. Of course, you're still going to have days where you struggle, but it's going to feel odd to talk poorly about yourself when you have created a new habit of speaking positively to yourself on a regular basis. Number five Remember that you are in complete control over what you get to wear, like those thoughts in your head that that are telling you that you're too fat to wear those shorts or that dress or the bathing suit or whatever it is.

Those are truly coming from the demons in your head. I believe that they are coming straight from the pit of hell and that they should not even be in your mind. They're allowing you to make you feel bad about yourself. You can wear whatever the heck makes you feel happy, whatever the heck makes you feel comfortable. The only reason why you wouldn't be able to pull something off is because you've decided that you can't pull it off. You can literally wear whatever you want. Your negative thoughts about you is the only thing stopping you. I've talked about this before, but I personally have thicker thighs. I always have. Like I. I joke with my mom. I got it from my mama like I did. I have just a strong, thick thighs. And for years, you guys, I wore leggings in 90 degree. Hundred degree weather because I was so insecure about my thighs, which is crazy looking back now because between me practicing gratitude for my legs and also just getting in the habit of developing more positive self-talk and then honestly, by the grace of God, like, I have to say that first and foremost, because I wouldn't be where I am without God's grace and the way that He has pulled me out from the negative self-talk and the toxic eating and body image disorder that I had. But being able to wear jean shorts whenever the heck I want is the most freeing feeling in the world. I'm telling you, when it comes to wearing clothes, it is not the body type that makes the outfit amazing or the bathing suit amazing or the dress amazing. It is how the person is wearing it. Their confidence is what makes people look great in what they're wearing, not their clothes.

Remember that, and I want you to be actively keen to that. Next time you see something on someone. I want you to kind of look at their demeanor when they're wearing it. Like you might initially be drawn by, Oh, that's a cute dress or, Oh, dang, she looks really good in that. But then I want you to take a second and actually look a little bit deeper and say, what is their demeanor? And I guarantee ten times out of ten you will see that they are wearing it with confidence. They are beaming confidence. And that is ultimately what your eyes are drawn to. Not even so much the clothing itself. Number six, ask yourself if you would judge your friends now. If you were at a barbecue with your friends and they showed up in shorts, would you judge their legs if you went to the beach with your friend and wore bikini, would you judge their body? I'm hoping that the answer is no. Most likely you would not be judging them, number one, because instead of judging, you might feel envious that you don't have the confidence to wear. And they do, which is something that we're working on. Right. Number two, you are more focused on judging your own body than someone else's body. Again, something that we're working on when it comes to changing that negative self-talk into really being intentional with the thoughts that we have. Or number three, you don't care with their legs or their body. Looks like you care about who they are as a friend and a person, and you care most importantly about the memories that you're currently making with them. The same goes for you. No one is going to judge you for what you wear this summer, and if they do, who the heck cares? They should not be in your life, right? If someone is going to judge you for what you're wearing and saying like, Oh, you're really going to wear those shorts, or Oh, you're really going to wear that bathing suit.

They should not be in your life. Right. Please be wise with the people that you spend your time with. I want people that are in your life to spend time for you, to make memories because they love you, to support you, to encourage you to hype the heck out of you. Right. You all, you know, having those friends that hype you up, man, there is nothing like a good, solid sister that says you look so freaking good. I just want I want to encourage you the next time that you see one of your best friends, your sister, someone in your life. I want you to say you look so freaking good today. I want you to know you look so amazing in whatever it is that they're wearing. The other day, I was in King Soopers, and this is actually really crazy and a perfect example of how someone else's words can really change the whole trajectory of your day. And it was honestly for the better that thankfully this time. But I was waiting in line and I was just it was one of those days where I think I was on my period. I was just feeling so bloated as heck, no makeup on, which is fine. I've gotten to the point where I can go out in public with no makeup and feel okay. But, you know, I just wasn't feeling my best like I was at King Soopers. I was grabbing something really fast anyways. I was standing in line and just kind of thinking like, Man, I just don't feel great right now. This girl came out of nowhere, I'm telling you, like she I don't even know. I did not even see her there in the aisle. She, like, came out of nowhere and she came straight up to me and she said, You are drop dead gorgeous.

I just want you to know that. And I just looked at her and I was like, Thank you so much. That meant the absolute world to me. And it just it brought so much joy to me. And it's just, man, such a reminder of how the talk in our mind can be so negative when other people are looking at you and they see something totally different than what you're experiencing in your mind. So anyways, all that to say, I want you to hype up your girlfriends, your sisters, those in your life who you love. Hype the heck out of them and watch their confidence or watch them light up. When you say it, there is nothing like that. And lastly, number seven, remind yourself that you are not your body. Don't forget it. You are not your body. I've talked about this so many times, but I think it's something we all need to hear consistently. You are so much more than your body. Your. He truly has nothing to do with your personality, your character, your values, your work ethic, your sense of humor, your genuine care for others, your unconditional love. So please stop wasting your precious time and your precious energy. Thinking about how you look through other people's eyes. They see so much more than just a body. They see all of the things I listed above, and those things matter more to them than what your body would ever look like. I want you to make a list of all the things the people who mean the most to you. Then ask yourself if they would love you more if your body looked differently. If these are the right people in your life and you're being 100% honest with yourself, you know for a fact that this shape of your body wouldn't change how they feel one bit.

So there you have it. There is my real talk for seven tips for helping you feel more confident in your body this summer. Let me quickly recap them. For those of you who are list takers like myself, I love a good list to help remind me of what I just learned. Number one, practice gratitude daily for your body. Number two, prioritize sleep and relaxation. Number three, focus on nourishing your body. Number four, change your habits. Number five, remember that you have the right to wear whatever the heck you want. Number six, ask yourself if you would judge your friends. And lastly, number seven, remind yourself that you are so much more than your body. If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 23. Five Steps to Building Unshakable Confidence. I will link that in the show notes below. And then also, don't forget to tune in to that gratitude episode. Episode 192 The Science Behind a Gratitude Practice and why it's Not As Cliché As You Think. I will link that in the show notes below as well. I hope that this episode served you. I hope that this is some real talk for you to just remind you again that you're so much more than your body. And summer is a time to be enjoyed. It is a time to feel comfortable and confident in your skin. And it's not going to be overnight. This is not going to be an overnight process. But the beautiful thing about this life is that we get to evolve, we get to grow, we get to change our habits, we get to change our thought patterns. And that is exactly what I want you to do so that you can start to step into your most confident self this summer.

I love you so much, sister. I hope that this served you. If you have someone in your life that you feel like would benefit from this episode, I just ask that you copy the link, send it to them in a text message, or you could simply screenshot this and post it up on your Instagram story. Be sure to tag me Julia Ledbetter and embrace your account you love, connect me the guys. That is all that I have for today's episode and I'll talk to you in the next one. Love you. 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 lot better. Yes. It's women in the middle for that daily poser about 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 the real because you're worth it.

Julie LedbetterJuly 14, 2022Comment