Thought Tweak: LOVE Your Body Thin

(Image credit: http://onewithheart.com/2015/04/ditch-the-diet/)

So much of today's "get healthy" culture is based around ideas of restricting, punishing, or depriving. Pushing yourself to the point of pain/discomfort in an exercise, restricting what you're allowed to eat, and depriving yourself of fun things that you really want to do like go out drinking with your friends. For today's Thought Tweak of the Week, I want you to think of getting healthy from a different angle.

Thought Tweak of the Week:

Instead of hating your body skinny, LOVE your body to its ideal size.

Think of it this way: You have two people in your life; one is your best friend that you love, and the other is this horrible coworker that you despise.

When your coworker needs something from you, you'll likely make up excuses in order to avoid helping them. On a special occasion, you won't want to treat them, and if they're sick, you definitely are not going to want to do anything to help take care of them.

On the other hand, if your best friend needs something, you'll likely move around your schedule in order to make the time for them and fit them in. You'll want to go above and beyond to treat them and make sure they are happy, and if they aren't feeling well, you're going to bring them homemade chicken soup and help watch their kids so they can get the rest they need to feel better.

If we are treating our bodies like these hated, dreaded coworkers, then of course we're going to have an awful struggle trying to achieve our health-related and weight loss goals. And when the steps to get your current body to its end goal are rooted in these negative, confining concepts, we are much less motivated to bring these pessimistic actions into our everyday life. When we instead do things out of love and devotion for our bodies, it naturally makes it that much simpler to put those actions into place. The bonus is that since you are acting in a positive, caring way, you bring these glowing endorphins into your life that you automatically want to keep experiencing, which is a natural motivator to keep yourself on the right track.

So, if you've been using the traditional restrictive, punishing mentality to try and force yourself into a healthier life and body, try out this thought tweak for just one week, and see if it makes a difference: I know it will.

Now I'd love to hear from you: If you've tried to lose weight or make healthy lifestyle changes in the past, what has been your angle for reaching those goals- love or hate? Were you successful? Share with us in the comments below!

With Smiles,

Kim