3 Tips On Self-Love: How To Absolutely Rock It!
Hey, Wellness Rookies! It’s Chelsea from nutritionwithchelsea.com. I am beyond excited to connect with all of you today! I absolutely love the message and info Cass shares with her squad and I'm truly thrilled to be a part of it. I’m hoping my post will give you that boost you need today or any day when you find you’re missing that sparkle and self-love you know is in there. Enjoy!
Let’s face it, in today’s world it’s really hard to love ourselves! Instagram, magazines, TV, movies, models, Facebook, YouTube, billboards, and even friends and family cause us to play the comparison game and we never quite feel good enough. The “accepted standard of beauty” is constantly in our face. What should I look like, what are other people thinking about my body, are they judging me, do people like me, am I good enough?? These thoughts are running around in our minds constantly and self-love often takes a backseat.
Despite all the personal growth I’ve done and coaching others through this too, I still experience insecurity and self-judgment. Yep, I’m human! But I’ve grown leaps and bounds from where I started, and now know the way to get back on track with love for myself and what’s happening, when the negative chatter appears. I can check myself real quick, and I want you to be able to also.
The journey towards self-love is a daily process of making tiny shifts to your thoughts, lifestyle and atmosphere. So, below are three tips towards getting there. Let’s do this!
Follow people that make you feel good about yourself, not worse
Several years ago, I was the girl who bought every fitness and beauty magazine. I was envious of the models and celebrities that filled the covers and content and aspired to be just like them. I tore out pages and hung them on my fridge. I followed Instagram accounts of people with great bodies, eating exquisite plates of fresh fruit and veggies, working out, loving life, seemingly not a care in the world. I spent hours on Facebook unable to turn away from friends I had from college that were on amazing trips, working their dream job, and getting married to the loves of their lives. I played the comparison game to all of this and because of that I never felt good enough. Why was I doing this to myself? Why was I comparing my everyday life full of ups and downs to their highlight reel? And how much of this is really sincere anyway? We often share what we WANT other people to see, right? And the girls in the magazines- their careers depend on looking that way, and they are most likely photo-shopped as well.
So a few years ago, I made a shift! I stopped buying the magazines, I stopped following certain Instagram accounts, and I took what I was seeing from friends on Facebook with a grain of salt. I began following some AMAZING people on social media, whose views and beliefs were in line with mine, promoted a balanced relationship with food, body image positivity, and shared the vulnerable and realistic presence I stand for on my social media as well. I started becoming excited to get on my social media and often felt uber inspired. I felt like these people were my friends because we were so alike and it felt like an awesome and supportive community.
So, what can you do?
“The more you create an atmosphere around you that falls in line with what you believe in, the more you’ll feel supported to choose and engage in self-love.”
Look through your social media, what you watch and read, and make sure you feel good about yourself when you look at those images. Do they make you feel bad about your body, or serve as a positive representation of health and wellness? Are the things they’re eating realistic and doable for you? Or are their eating and fitness regimes seemingly unnatural, rigid, and unattainable? Would you want to be friends with them? Do they inspire you and align with your goals? Start taking note. The more you create an atmosphere around you that falls in line with what you believe in, the more you’ll feel supported to choose and engage in self-love.
Start listening to your body and remember we’re all individuals
We’re constantly hearing about the “best” way to do something- how to eat, workout, sleep, eliminate stress, and the list goes on and on. We’re hearing this from outside sources and very rarely do we listen to our own bodies. Our bodies are actually really smart and great indicators of when things feel good and when they don’t. But you have to pay attention. This can be challenging especially with all of the outside knowledge that comes in through different medias. It can be very hard to figure out what’s right and understand that just because something works for someone else, doesn’t mean it will for you. We are all very different; we have different lifestyles, food preferences, activity levels, relationships with our bodies, values, beliefs, etc.
The first step is to take ownership of your own goals. Become clear on what you want. Visualize the way you would like to get there. Do you want to get there quickly- are you someone who enjoys being on a plan with rules and guidelines, or are you someone who likes moderation, small shifts, and taking it one step at a time? What things have worked for you before and what things haven’t? Do you need to vocalize your goals to orders in order to gain accountability, or is making a promise to yourself enough?
Then start listening to your body. Our lifestyles nowadays are so go, go, go it’s uncommon we actually take the time to settle in and reflect on what’s working for us and what’s not. For example we hear all the time that we “should” eat 6 small meals a day- so a lot of people do, even though it’s annoying or they’re eating when they’re not hungry. What if three meals feels amazing and satisfying and works best for you and your lifestyle-are you still going to stick with what you think you “should” do? No! We’re all different, and there is no “one size fits all” way of eating. You have to figure out what feels best for YOU.
Are you aware certain foods may be making you feel fatigued, have headaches, digestive distress, low energy, or joint pain? It’s so important to start taking note of the connection between the symptoms you’re experiencing and your diet. It’s as simple as starting to watch what foods make you feel well and what don’t.
Try incorporating these things to become more in-tune with your body:
• Keep a food journal for 3 days- write down what you’re eating and anything you notice about what you feel before, during and after each meal. Keep in mind digestive distress is not the only symptom you could be feeling if your are sensitive to a certain food. Take note of things like headaches, joint pain, depression, anxiety, fatigue, brain fog, excessive cravings, difficulty sleeping, and more. Digestive distress includes irregular bowel movements, gas, bloating, and heartburn.
• Get into a rest and digest, parasympathetic state before you eat. Take several deep breaths in and out, chew well, and eat slowly in an undistracted atmosphere.
• Take more time for yourself where you can become more tuned into your body. Spend some time alone after a busy day, take a walk, listen to music, stretch, take a bath, meditate, play a game, read a book, listen to a podcast, cook a nice healthy meal.
Just remember this is a process and will take time and lots of experimentation. But the more you listen to your body, the more you are become confidant about your own needs and wants and have the ability to honor that, and practice self-love.
Talk to yourself like you would a best friend
Have you ever caught yourself saying some really mean things to the person in the mirror? I definitely have. If you’ve been speaking to yourself a certain way for a long time it’s hard to realize you are doing it and even more challenging to stop. We develop these patterns that are hard to break. But those negative comments and opinions about our bodies, lifestyle, what we eat- they certainly add up and are most likely preventing you from getting to a place where you can let self-love in.
There are so many images out there telling us we’re not good enough. That we need to be skinnier, or prettier, or say yes to everything and never say no. It can feel like an uphill battle to ignore all of that and stand up for you.
Just becoming aware of this is a big step forward. You’ll start catching yourself. Maybe you’ll be able to stop the thoughts, or maybe you’ll just notice them and keep going with your day. Eventually I’d encourage you to start to make a shift and speak to yourself like you would a best friend. Most of the time the things we say to ourselves- the negative self-talk we engage in, we would never dream of saying out loud especially to a best friend! We need to start treating ourselves like that friend. We have feelings too! And words hurt. The more you can start becoming aware, and make the choice to speak to yourself more kindly, the more you’re creating a positive atmosphere where your confidence, self-love, and self-respect can shine.
-Chelsea
Chelsea is a Certified Transformational Nutrition Coach living in Los Angeles. She offers one-on-one coaching to LA locals and virtually to those located anywhere! Chelsea specializes in helping clients find freedom from dieting, restrictive eating and food obsession so they can live a life full of energy, glow, and vitality! Read more about her at nutritionwithchelsea.com or follow her on Instagram @nutritionwithchelsea.
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want to chat with Chels? nutritionwithchelsea@gmail.com