I hate to admit this, but for years I held a lot of bias against different types of bodies. I thought the best way was to be in shape or be working towards being in shape.
At the time I didn’t truly respect my body, even when taking care of myself I was truly just judging my body and everyone else’s (although I was kinder when thinking about other people).
Diet culture is the reason so many of us (myself included) have struggled with respecting our bodies.
I remember so many pop culture references from tv shows to movies to magazine covers that taught me it is better to be thin. And all those phrases like “a moment on the lips, forever on the lips” and “nothing tastes as good as skinny feels”.
All of those influences are why I struggled and so many people struggle with their body image.
Body acceptance vs body respect
While body acceptance and body respect are similar, there are slight differences and one may resonate more with you than the other.
Body acceptance is fully accepting your body as it is with love and respect. While I love body acceptance, it’s not for everyone when they are starting their body image healing journey.
Body respect is treating your body as you would a loved one, with kindness and working to fully meet their needs.
For many people, after they’ve struggled with body image, practicing respecting their body is easier than trying to love and be positive about themselves. And practicing respecting your body can help work towards body acceptance and increase self love.
Tips for learning to respect your body more
Write out what an ideal body image would look for you
Journaling is one of my favorite ways to get clear on what I want. I like to use journaling and writing things out as a way to create a roadmap to where I want to go.
So one of my tips is to write out what your ideal body image looks like.
If you need a prompt. Try to answer the question: If anything was possible, what would you want your relationship with your body to be?
Use respectful language when thinking and talking about your body
This one can be so challenging, I know even years into practicing respecting my body. Those unconscious impulse thoughts still pop up when I’m not thinking in a very kind way about myself.
And when we indulge in the unkind thoughts that tell us we aren’t good enough, then we aren’t building a respectful relationship with ourselves.
It’s useful to acknowledge those old thoughts are important, but it’s not useful to stay in those thoughts and ways of talking about yourself.
That’s why my next tip is to practice using respectful language when talking and thinking about yourself as much as possible.
One way to do that is with either body neutral affirmations or positive affirmations.
Take actions that show respect for your body
One of the best ways to show respect for your body is to take care of yourself. Here are a few ideas of a few actions you could do when respecting your body.
- Allow rest when needed
- Add in gentle movement – gentle is really the mental approach
- Listen to your body’s hunger and fullness cues
- Practice gentle nutrition
- Self care
- Stretching and mobility
Intuitive eating
One of my personal favorites for showing body respect is intuitive eating. I think it’s one of the best ways to take care of your body and show respect for yourself. Intuitive eating is truly a self-care way of eating because it focuses on meeting your body’s needs without judgment.
Read more about why I love intuitive eating with this post about my experience before and after intuitive eating.