7 Ways to Improve Your Body Image
LISTEN: APPLE PODCASTS | SPOTIFY | STITCHER
I know 99.99% of you struggle to have a positive body image. Most times when you look in the mirror you think things like you're too fat, you need to lose weight, or your body isn’t good enough. And when you’re out in public and having a conversation with someone at work, out on a date, meeting friends or family you haven’t seen in forever, or whatever it may be, you think people are ONLY thinking about all the “imperfections” you think you have. You can’t fully be present in your life because no matter what you are doing, your thoughts of, “I’m so _____ you fill in the blank of whatever your insecurity is” takes over.
Does this sound about right? Well, this is NO way to live, sister. That’s why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I share 7 ways for you to improve your body image so you can finally walk out into the world overflowing with confidence. Are you ready?!
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, hello, and welcome back to another episode of the Embrace Your Real podcast. Today, we're talking all about body image. This is a long overdue topic because so many of us women struggle with body image. For me, you guys, a decade plus my life, it was truly one of the biggest struggles in my life. Every time I looked in the mirror, I thought that I was fat or that I needed to lose weight or just having these deep insecure thoughts that my body wasn't good enough. It really did overflow into every aspect of my life. Whether I was out in public, I was having a conversation with somebody. I was out on a date or meeting friends and family that I hadn't seen in a while. It gets to the point where it infiltrates every single aspect of your thoughts that you can't be fully present. So no matter what you're doing, you're constantly thinking that my body is X, Y, and Z. You fill in the blank of whatever insecurity it is.
This is truly no way to live. So that's why in this episode of Embrace Your Real, I'm going to share with you seven ways for you to improve your body image. Trust me, it just takes time and that's why in this episode, I'm going to give you some things to really work on so that you can practice them and you can be consistent with them. And over time, your body image will begin to change. It's an incredible feeling to be able to step out into this world and feel fully confident and fully present.
But before I do, I have to share this super sweet review. It comes from MamaAmaCad. She says, "Real, honest, genuine and humble." I love this review. I know that I typically read a lot of reviews that are a lot longer, but I have so much respect for every single one of you guys who just leave a review. Whether it is a long review, a short review, it really does help us out with the growth of this podcast.
So if the Embrace Your Real Podcast has had any sort of positive impact in your life, I can't stress enough how much it would mean to me if you'd take a few seconds out of your day to leave a super simple review. I would love to know how this podcast has maybe resonated with you, or just a few words of how you would describe this podcast. So be sure to scooch over to Apple Podcast, it is free on every single operative Apple device. Whether you have an iPhone, an iPad, a Mac book, you can type in podcast, then type in Embrace Your Real. Be sure you subscribe and also leave a review.
So let's dive into the seven ways to improve your body image. Number one, place higher value in other aspects of yourself. You are more than just your body. Your body is the most superficial layer of who you are. You have layers and layers of yourself underneath that, and that is truly what matters. So yeah, maybe you don't have six pack abs, but you are a loyal friend. You are a loving partner, a mother, you're a supportive coworker. You are giving human being. I want you to list out all of these aspects about yourself and focus on truly maximizing them. After all, do you really want to be celebrated and valued for just what your body looks like or would you rather be celebrated and valued for what kind of person you are? I know for me, I would much rather have people tell me that they love me for the positive energy and motivation or love and light that I give to them way more than them just loving me for the way that my body looks.
I actually don't want anyone to love me for the way that my body looks because I know that I go so how much deeper than my body. My body doesn't tell you one thing about myself, who I truly am, the layers and layers of myself. Think about what you really want to be celebrated for and focus on maximizing those as qualities.
Number two, buy clothes that fit your body type. This is something that I have stressed over the last few weeks on Instagram, on my podcast, but it's so important that you start wearing clothes that number one, are comfortable and two, make you feel good in your body. I don't want you to just wear baggy clothes to cover up your body. What I mean by this is buying clothes that work to fit your body, buying styles that are flattering for your body type. Buy the size that actually fits and don't force yourself into a specific size just because maybe that's what you were four years ago or 10 years ago, or even a year ago. I don't want you to try and fit your body into a style if it doesn't feel comfortable, even if it's the trendiest thing right now.
So start focusing on clothing that actually fits and flatters your body. It's an incredible opportunity when you stop telling yourself that you have to fit into X, Y, and Z, and start allowing yourself to try new things. I know for me as I enter into my 30s, last year I turned 30, this year I turned 31, and I really asked myself, what kind of style do I want? And it has allowed me the opportunity to shop for clothes that I normally previously didn't wear. And it has really allowed me to gain better and deeper appreciation for my body simply because I'm finding clothes that I feel comfortable in that fit and flatter my body. And I know that this will do the same for you as well.
Number three, stop stepping on the scale. I am not going to go too much in depth about this one because it's extremely straightforward, but please stop doing it if it is causing anxiety, if it is causing feelings of doubt or insecurity, whatever it is, I do not want you to step on that scale if it is not serving you. What are you trying to accomplish by stepping on it daily? For the majority of women, all it's going to do is make you feel more obsessed with your outward appearance. If there's one thing that I would encourage you to check on daily, it should be your energy levels and happiness, not the weight that you lost or gained.
Number four, focus on how you make others feel instead of what others think of you. Like I said earlier, when we're interacting with others, whether it be at work, on a date, with friends and family, wherever it may be, we have a tendency to think that people are only thinking about blank about our body, X, Y, Z. You fill in that insecurity. And we're not able to fully be present in our interactions because no matter what, those insecure thoughts are taking over. Our insecurities in our body are driven by what we think others think of us. We're afraid that they're going to judge us for the way that our body looks. We're afraid that they're going to love us less because of the way that our body looks. And we are afraid that we are going to be valued or taken less seriously because of what they think of our body. Here's the thing. No one actually cares what your body looks like.
They care about how you make them feel. Let's say you leave an interaction and make the other person feel so heard or loved or supported or you made them laugh, or you gave them the last compliment. They're going to leave that interaction feeling amazing because of you. They're going to love and value you because how you made them feel. They aren't going to leave that interaction thinking about the X amount of weight that you need to lose or gain or whatever it is, again, going back to the insecurities that you have about your body.
Number five, ask yourself what you think of other people's bodies. Do you actually care what other people's body looks like? Do you care if they have cellulite? Do you care if they have a few stomach rolls? Do you care if they're carrying an extra blank pounds? Do you care at all what someone else's body truly looks like? The answer is likely no. You're still wanting to love your best friend even if she has cellulite. Newsflash, 99% of us have cellulite in some way, shape or form in our body. You're still going to value your coworker even if she wears a size large, extra large or extra small, small, whatever it is, you're still going to appreciate people in your life even if they don't have that quote, "perfect body", whatever that even means. The perfect body varies from person to person.
And if someone does have a quote, "perfect body", you're not going to love or value or appreciate them any more than you would otherwise. The same goes for you as well. How your body looks isn't going to change the way that people view you as a person. Remember that the right people in your life will love you for you. And if they don't love you for you, well, then they aren't the right people that you should have in your life. You definitely should not waste your time and energy on people who are only valuing you for your body.
Number six, shift your focus. I talked about this in last week's episode, but we focus way too much on losing weight and what our body looks like. How much weight we think we have to lose or gain. But guess what? There are so many more things in life that are worthy of our time and attention. And here's the thing. The more we focus on what our body looks like, the harder changing our body actually becomes. But the more we focus on other aspects of our life, the easier it becomes. Once you shift your focus, you're more likely to realize that the way that you think your body needs to look isn't actually the way that it needs to look. You'll also learn that the way your body looks in fact does not need to dictate your happiness and in fact, your life will be so much greater if you stop focusing on that being your sole purpose in life. Instead, focus on the things that you love.
Having more fun, being more present with your friends and family, being more open to new opportunities, activities, and adventures, and showing up as your best self. Focus on all of these things and you'll realize that the way that your body looks doesn't really even matter that much at all.
Number seven, stop trying to love the way that your body looks. Okay, I know what you're thinking. "What Julie? You want me to stop trying to love my body?" Let me explain. I understand that for you right now it might feel impossible to love the way that your body looks. I get it. I've been there. So maybe your first step towards having better body image isn't trying to love your body, but instead appreciating your body. Focus on what your body does for you, all of the amazing things that it does for you, regardless of how you might feel about the way that your body looks. Because when you stop trying to love the way that it looks, you release a lot of pressure from yourself because when you try to love the way that it looks, you're still focusing on the appearance of your body.
We need to stop letting the appearance be our sole focus. So once you stop trying to love the way that it looks and instead shift your focus away from the appearance of your body and give yourself the space to focus on respecting and appreciating your body for all that it is and all that it does. The easiest way for you to shift your focus is to focus on what your body does for you. Think about the simple things that it allows you to do every single day, the basic utility of movement, the breath, the way that it is literally pumping blood so that you can live your life and think about how you are healthy and capable of doing things in your life rather than the outward appearance.
I have one more bonus one for you. Bonus eight. I want you to focus on doing things that make you feel good instead of spending so much time fixating on things that you think make your body look good. I don't know about you, but oftentimes all it takes is doing something that makes me feel good for my worries, doubts or insecurities to start to dissipate. The goal in life is to feel our best, not look our best. So instead of placing so much energy on only doing the things that we think we need to do to look our best, why not focus our energy on doing things that make ourselves feel the best? Get outside in nature, commit to immersing yourself in a new hobby like painting or scrapbooking or woodworking or whatever it is for you. But in short, the more energy that you spend into these things, the less time or energy you will even have to think about other things that can lead you into dissatisfaction with the way that your body looks. So there you have it. Those are seven simple ways to improve your body image.
Let me quickly recap them. Number one, place higher value in other aspects of your life. Remember, I want you to list out the qualities that you really want to be celebrated for outside of your looks. Number two, buy clothes that fit your body type. Number three, stop stepping on the scale. Number four, focus on how you make others feel instead of what others think of you. Number five, ask yourself what you think of other people's bodies. Number six, shift your focus. Number seven, stop trying to love the way that your body looks. And bonus number eight, focus on doing things that make you feel good.
If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 122, real talk on how much you weigh. I believe as a society, especially women in general, we have become so obsessed over how much we weigh. We could be feeling so awesome about ourselves until we step on a scale and see that we've gained five pounds and it instantly changes our mindset on how we view ourselves and our body and this really needs to stop. So in this episode, I want to chat with you about this silly little number so that it can stop controlling you. So be sure to head over to episode 122 or click the show notes. I will have it linked there as well.
Thank you so much for tuning in. I hope that this episode served you in some way, shape or form. I would love to know which one of these seven ways really resonated with you that you want to spend more time focusing on. So be sure to screenshot this, post it up on your story. Tag me, Julie Ledbetter. Tag Embrace Your Real account. I love connecting with you guys. And if you have a friend, a sister, a coworker, someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this specific episode, I just ask that you share it out with them. You can copy the link, send it to them in a text message. Again, you can post it up on your story and encourage your crew, your circle of influence to tune in. Thank you again for spreading the message of Embrace Your Real. You are beautiful, you are powerful, and you are capable. And I will talk to you guys 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're not already following me on the Gram, be sure to do so, @juliealedbetter. 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.