Where Your Body Image Issues Stem From Part 3
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Where does your poor body image kind of stem from?
When did you begin to develop this negative view about your body and why?
At what age did you start to view kind of your body negatively or differently?
Did something happen at that time that triggered you to change the view that you have about your body?
If we want to change the way we feel about our bodies, the first step we should do is to determine where it all began. We need to know the root cause, because those roots are causing more and more weeds to grow, per se, and if we pull the roots, we can stop more weeds from growing.
This is the third and last part of the series of Where Your Body Image Issues Stem From by the Embrace Your Real podcast. I’ll dive into where your body image issues could have potentially stemmed from and why you're holding on to it today.
What I discuss:
11. How we look at other people.
12. Not accepting the natural build of our body.
13. Forgetting what our bodies are meant to do.
Links Mentioned in the Episode:
Episode 304: Where Your Body Image Issues Stem From Part 1
Episode 306: Where Your Body Image Issues Stem From Part 2
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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 Real 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.
Welcome to part three.
We are in the final part of our series where your body image issues stemmed from. So like I mentioned in part one, in part two, if we really want to change the way that we feel about our bodies. A huge stepping stone is determining where it all began. Like, we need to know the root cause because without knowing where those roots came from, more and more weeds per se will grow if we don't pull those roots out and we want to know and get down to the root so that we don't have to deal with that issue for the rest of our life.
So I'm going to ask you the same questions that I asked you in part one and part two to kind of frame this. Where did your poor body image stem from? When did you begin to develop this negative view about your body and why? At what age did you start to view your body different? Did something happen at that time to trigger you to change the view that you have about your body and whatever it is? Why? Or are you still clinging on to those things today? So I hope that this episode will help answer those questions. If you haven't listened to part one or part two, that is totally okay.
You don't have to listen in any particular order.
But I do recommend going back and giving them a lesson.
I will link them in the show notes that you can easily go listen to those. But I want to give you a quick recap of what we discussed in those episodes.
So in part one, we talked about how our body image issues can stem from a parent or guardian body image, family comments. People that you've dated in the past, the lack of control that you have or had in your life at one point, not having a passion or purpose in your life.
And in part two, we discussed our body image issues potentially stemming from sports or activities that we were involved in Instagram, TikTok, movies, social media, comparison to an old version of ourself aging or pregnancy or postpartum.
But before we dive into part three and really just talking more about this and finding out more places where our body image issues could have stemmed from, I wanted to share this reveal comes from Van from Vegas. She gave a five star review and said Great podcasts. I love this podcast. Julie offers such a great attitude and tips to help me level up my life. I love her positive approach to life and I look forward to listening each week. I am so grateful for you. Thank you so much for tuning in and I'm just thankful that this podcast is helping you. It's giving you some tips so that you can level up in your life. That is my one. Hope and prayer for this podcast is that we can either educate you, empower you, or encourage you in some way, shape or form to look at life maybe in a different light or just from a new perspective.
So with that being said, if you haven't already left a rating and review, that would mean the absolute world to me. If you could scootch over to Apple Podcasts and type in, embrace your real first, make sure to subscribe so that you never miss an episode and that you automatically get downloaded episodes when they release on Mondays and Thursdays. You can hit that plus sign in the top right corner, completely free. And like I said, it just allows all the new episodes to be completely downloaded on your phone without you having to do anything. So that way, if you are maybe going on a road trip or you're somewhere where you don't have even phone service, they can be downloaded on your phone so that you can listen to all the episodes at your convenience. And lastly, if you could scroll down on that page and leave a rating interview, that would really mean the world to me. All you got to do is, like I mentioned, scroll all the way down and you'll see a reading interview section.
And I would love to know if there's a specific episode or maybe series. Maybe this series has helped you or a different series that we've done has helped you just kind of, you know, embrace your real and encourage you and empower you. And this not only helps me and our team know how these episodes are helping you, but it also helps other individuals who might come on to the podcast page and kind of read the reviews to see if this podcast is for them. So thank you in advance for doing that. I sincerely appreciate you taking time out of your day to do that.
Let's dive into part three of where your body image issues stem from. Number 11, how we look at other people. So if you look at someone, maybe the first thing that you notice is their weight, their muscle tone, their body composition, and then maybe you judge them based on that. If that's the case, then that's going to likely destroy your own body image. And this is something that is habitual. It might not be something that you have even recognized that you do. But I think that when we put it at the forefront of our mind, it's something that we can look at. So the next time that we see people, the next time that we see our friends or family or even strangers, we can evaluate our thoughts and say, Are we looking at someone just based on their. Outside appearance, Right? The more that you focus on what other people's bodies look like, the more you'll focus on what your body looks like and the more value you'll place in your appearance and really what's on the outside versus the inside. If you judge and value others based on their outward appearance, you know the shape of their body. No wonder you're going to judge and value yourself based on the same principle. So really, the next time you catch yourself noticing, like if someone gained weight or lost weight or noticing that someone has bigger hips than you or, you know, smaller hips than you or bigger arms or whatever it is, instead, in that moment, I want you to try to change your perspective. I want you to try to notice their smile or ask yourself what is their energy feel like, their personality? How did they make you feel? Do they make you laugh? How much fun did you have talking with them? You know, the knowledge that they had to share, the actual value that they had to give you and really try to look deeper in your relationships. And it's also going to allow you to see beauty in a whole new way. And like I mentioned, we might not even want to be doing this. This could just be a habitual thing that we've just always done, and we didn't even notice it. But I think that taking time right now to recognize that this could be something potential potentially that is hindering our ability to look at ourselves and place, you know, so much value on our outward appearance. And so I want you to ask yourself if this is something that you're doing. And if so, that's okay. You know, give yourself grace in that, but also say, okay, I want to try to really dig deeper and I want to really look at and notice other things that are not attached to an outside appearance, but more what's going on in the inside.
Number 12, not accepting the natural build of our body, not accepting the natural build of our body can really lead to poor body image because it can cause us to focus on unrealistic and unhealthy ideals of beauty and fitness, rather than really embracing and celebrating our unique bodies. Our bodies come in all shapes and sizes, and each one of us is unique and special. And when we don't really accept the natural build of our bodies, we might be focusing on changing or altering our bodies to fit an ideal that, quite frankly, is unrealistic or very unhealthy for us. We all have different build. Some of us have broader shoulders, wider hip bones, longer legs. This is our bone in body structure that we cannot change. So how are you supposed to have smaller hips if you can't make your bones smaller? Right? It's like someone with short legs working out to get longer legs. It just doesn't really make any sense. Like someone that's, you know, five to saying, well, if I work out, then maybe I can be five, nine, or maybe I can be six foot. It's impossible. And for some of us, based on our nature, the build of our body, it's going to be impossible to attain a certain body composition or it's going to be completely unnatural for you to attain. And you'll only continue to have that body if you continue to engage in unnatural things for your body. This is so my story. For a decade of my life, I forced my five nine frame to be a00. You guys, my body naturally is a46 like naturally, sometimes even an eight, depending on the brand. And I for years could not accept that. I was like, No, I need to be a00 or a zero at the very beginning. And it was like this. I was doing these unhealthy, unnatural, completely unsustainable things to achieve that body. And yes, I did achieve that body and I had that body for many, many years. And it caused hormonal damage. It caused mental damage. It caused so many things in my life to be out of whack because I was not accepting the natural build of my body. When we are looking at our body, we need to look at what is natural for our body. It is natural. Personally, for me to have larger muscular legs, it's it's really unnatural for me to have like super lean legs. That's just that's not how my body is built. That's not how my body was created. And it took years. But I have come to a point now where I absolutely love my thick thighs. I love and I've learned to accept the natural build of my legs instead of trying to force them to be something that they aren't. So we need to realize that we all hold, you know, fat in different areas and we all lose fat first in different areas. Maybe for some, you know, they carry more fat around their hips or others carry more fat in their butt or in their arms, whatever it is for you. That's okay. We need to exert. What is natural for us. And realize that whatever it is for us, it's going to be different for another person. And we have to know that that's going to be naturally different than the person next to us. So we need to stop trying to force ourselves into this unnatural body. One of my favorite sayings, and I honestly, I keep telling myself this I think 2023 is the year that I'm going to get this in my office because it is just kind of I hate the word mantra, but it's just a motto that I go by. And it has really reframed the way that I look at kind of my health and fitness journey. So it goes like this nourish your body with what it needs and honor your body with movement consistently. And when you do that, your body is going to be exactly what it's meant to be. Let me say that again Nourish your body with what it needs and honor your body with movement consistently. And when you do, your body is going to be exactly what it's meant to be. And I think that that motto just reminds me of the two main duties that I have in honoring my body. Number one, moving my body consistently. That's not always a workout. Yes, that is a workout for me personally, 4 to 5 times a week. That's crushing a dumbbell workout and that's pushing myself because I love it. Of course, there's going to be weeks where it's not crushing a workout. It's doing bare minimum, but I am at least moving my body. The second aspect of honoring my body is nourishing my body with what it needs. Remembering that food is fuel. Food is not something to be looked down upon. Food is not something to be scared of. Food should be empowering. Enjoying all of the food that we love in moderation. And when I do those things, when I'm honoring my body with movement consistently and when I'm nourishing me and body with movement, and when I'm nourishing my body with what it needs consistently, my body is naturally going to be what it's supposed to be in that season of life. And coming to terms with that is one of the most beautiful things that you can do.
And lastly, number 13, forgetting what our bodies are meant to do, forgetting what our bodies are meant to do, can really lead to poor body image because it can cause us to focus on those unrealistic and unhealthy ideals of beauty and what bodies are supposed to look like. Let's be real. Our bodies are designed for more to be active, to adapt to different activities and environments. And when we forget this, we focus on this superficial and narrow minded beauty standards that are most often physically impossible for us to maintain, let alone achieve in the first place. When we forget what our bodies are meant to do, we may focus on the superficial aspects of appearance, such as weight, muscle tone, body shape, rather than the health and function of our bodies. And this can lead us to have a preoccupation with being smaller or having a certain body shape rather than being healthy and strong. Plus, this can lead us to having a distorted body image where we perceive ourselves as being larger or smaller than we actually are. And you know what that leads to? Many times it leads us to engage in unhealthy behaviors such as restrictive eating, excess, you know, exercise, using supplements or other methods to try to change our bodies. But in turn, these behaviors then lead us to facing long term physical and mental health problems. So all of this to say it is so important to remember that our bodies are designed to be strong and healthy and capable of performing a wide range of activities by focusing on health and function rather than superficial ideals of beauty and fitness. We will be able to develop a more positive and realistic body image. So by really embracing our bodies for what they do, it will lead us to embracing our bodies for what they are and the way that they are.
Okay, so let me recap the three things that I talked about in today's last and final series of where your body image issues stem from. Number 11, how we look at other people. So really retraining, that habitual act that we have of looking at someone and just judging them off of their appearance instead of taking it a level deeper and really trying to force ourselves and challenge ourselves to look at those people in a new light on a deeper level. Number 12 Not accepting the natural build of our body. And number 13, forgetting what our bodies are meant to do. I hope that you will tune in to part one and part two if you haven't already.
Again, both of those are linked in the show notes below. If you have a friend, a coworker or someone in your life that you feel like would really benefit from this, I just ask that you share it out with them. I hope that this three part series allows you to do some self reflecting and really ask yourself if one or some of these things that I talk. Devout are the root of a poor body image that you have had for maybe a year or maybe a decade or maybe a few decades. I believe that if we truly want to grow in this area and we really want to move forward into leaning to appreciate and celebrate the gift that our body is, we have to know where the negative issue and the negative body image came from to begin with. So again, thank you for journeying along this series. I hope that it was transformative. I hope that it was educational. I hope that it gave you some encouragement. And yes, we dug deep. And yes, I asked you hard questions, but I believe that that's where growth comes from. And I believe in you. And I believe that 2023 is the year that you can break the cycle and is the year that you can really start to move forward after whipping out the weeds and the root cause of why you might be having this negative body image.
So again, if you have a girlfriend or a friend or coworker, I just ask that you share this out with them. You can also screenshot this and post it up on your story. I would love to personally hear your aha moment so you can always DM me on my personal Instagram. Julia Ledbetter I'm also always on moment with Julie Instagram. If you're not already following my DM only page, be sure to do that. And also I do have an embrace real Instagram so you can get all different facets of my life. I have my personal, I have my movement, and then I also have the podcast page where you'll find snippets of, you know, things talked about on the podcast so that you can share that out or you can remember specific things that I said in specific episodes. So be sure to give all of those a follow. I would love to hear from you. I would love to hear what came from this three part series. Again, if you haven't tuned into part one or part two, those links are in the show notes below. That is all that I have for today, and that is all that I have for this series. Thank you for tuning in. I love you so much. I mean it. And I'll talk to you in a minute.
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 within 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 and 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.