I walked past the mirror and looked at my flabby body up and down for the fiftieth time today. All I saw was a bloated face with a ridiculous second chin. I saw the hanging gut, the thighs with too much jiggle, and a sagging butt. I didn’t see any beauty in my body at all and I absolutely hated it.
Fast forward six months. I walked past the mirror and looked at my bangin body up and down for the fiftieth time that day. I saw my gorgeous curves that included hips that jutted out to each side. I saw my big, strong, beautiful thighs. I saw arms that were so strong and beautiful.
That’s a massive difference in six months. So what happened? Here’s a hint: I didn’t lose a single pound. The difference that took place in that six months was the fact that I learned to see my body for everything it is, for everything it can do, instead of everything I think it’s not or can’t do.
My body composition hadn’t changed, so what did? I started moving on a regular basis.
Our bodies were made to move. I’m not talking about weight loss or whatever size you are – I honestly couldn’t care any less about those things. The fact of the matter is that our bodies were not made to sit around all day. Unfortunately, we tend to sit around all day and that does absolutely nothing for our health, obviously. But most importantly right now, it does nothing for your confidence.
When you begin to move, you feel better about yourself. Why? Because you’re releasing endorphins and other feel good chemicals that fill your brain up with happiness.
I’m going to share with you my top 3 ways to get moving today so you can start to see your body as the amazing vessel it is.
Go on a walk
Yes, walk. I know we all hear this a lot, but it’s so underrated.
This is such an easy way to get the ball rolling when it comes to movement. It doesn’t need to be crazy or super long. Start with a 10 or 15 minute walk every day. On a physical level, this does SO much more you. It’s going to help your body feel absolutely amazing.
I don’t believe for a minute that people can love their bodies when they’ve been sitting all day without getting any physical activity. You’re stiff, you’re tired, you’re achy. No one wants to live life like that. I know because I’ve been there and I immediately notice when I go back there.
Here’s my favorite part of walks when it comes to body confidence. The first day, you’ll set a goal for, say, 15 minutes. You hit that goal and it feels good. You do that for a few days and then decide to do 20 minutes, maybe even 30 minutes. You do that, you followed through and hit that goal. And it feels AMAZING. So maybe you add on more time. Or you walk at a higher intensity.
When you begin to see that your body is capable of more than you gave it credit for, you can’t help but love it. Achieving goals plays a MASSIVE role in confidence, and especially so with body confidence.
Dance, boo!
I freaking LOVE this one. As a Zumba instructor, I know I’m bias. But come on – there’s no way to NOT feel sexy when you’re dancing to a fun song.
Even if you don’t think you’re good at dancing, do it anyway. Shut the blinds if you have to. Just turn on the music and MOVE.
Not only will this help you reach your movement goal for the day, but it helps with becoming aware of your body. When you dance, you become more aware of how your body moves. The way your hips sway, the way your booty pops out, the way your shoulders just find the groove.
When you let your body just move to the music, you become connected with your sensuality in a way that shows you just how sexy and gorgeous your body is. When you get brave, get out and go dancing with friends. My best friend and I love going out to dance. It’s a solid 3 hours on the dance floor and just having fun. It’s wonderful.
Lifting and/or other forms of workout programs
This is my absolute favorite way to move. The gym is where I first began my body love journey. I absolutely LOVE lifting weights. Now, I know that not everyone enjoys picking heavy things up and putting them back down again, but man, I get such a rush from it.
Every time you’re able to lift more weight, crank out more reps, or do something you haven’t been able to do before, it’s addicting. I live for those moments.
Even if lifting isn’t your jam, any type of exercise program is great for this. Pushing your body is the best way to show what it can do. When you can truly see what your body is capable of, you can’t help but love it.
Moving is one of the quickest ways to fall head over heels in love with your body. It doesn’t need to be anything super specific. You just need to move. Whether you choose to go on a walk, dance it up, or get into lifting, you’re taking a big step towards loving your body.
Your body is so strong, so capable. The only way you can truly see that capability is through movement. One of the most important things to remember is that we don’t move to punish our bodies.
We don’t move to ‘make up’ for something we ate. We don’t move because we hate the way it looks. We move because we love our bodies and it deserves to be treated that way. Our bodies were made to move. By moving it, we’re saying thank you for all of the ways it shows up for us.
Your body is amazing. It’s wonderful. It’s beautiful. It’s so freaking strong.
It deserves to be treated as such.
Now that you’ve got the movement part of your body confidence journey started, listen to this episode of the Confidence from the Ground Up podcast! It’ll teach you exactly how to love your body – and of course I hype you up, too. Click here to listen!
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