Society’s body ideals fuels body vigilance which fuels body worries which fuels body-dissatisfaction which fuels unachievable body goals which fuels excessive/unpleasant exercise which fuels a dysfunctional relationship with exercise which happens alongside restrictive eating which fuels a dysfunctional relationship with food which leads to unachieved goals which fuels body-dissatisfaction which fuels unachievable body goals ……and on we go in the cycle

There are three things I’d like you to consider before your next workout.

• Why am I exercising? Is it for my health, to change my body, to feel good?

• Why am I doing this specific exercise? Is it fun for me? Do I enjoy it? Do I like how my body feels doing it?

• How do I feel about my body? How does it feel to be in this body and why? How does that make me feel? Feeling this way, how does it impact my day-to-day treatment of my body?

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The relationship between our feelings towards our body and how we decide to eat and why are extremely closely linked. When you’re in a negative spiral about your body, you punish it. You punish it by not meeting its basic needs to being fed (doing calorie-restrictive dieting) and you refuse to give yourself satisfaction with food (avoiding foods you enjoy). There are other, non-food related ways you punish your body. You don’t buy well-fitting clothes in the hopes of soon being a different size. You don’t go on that vacation because you need to first lose the weight. You avoid having your photos taken. You avoid doing activities that involve seeing your body/being seen like going to the beach, going swimming, wearing less layers of clothing in warmer weather and deciding to struggle and feel hot, etc.

But when that cycle is broken and you approach your body and movement with respect, gratitude and positivity, the way you approach food will also change. You’ll listen to your body on the days it tells you it’s more hungry because you moved your body and feed yourself until you feel adequately fed. You wont be upset for your body’s logical requirement for more food as you have had increased activity. You won’t criticise yourself for your desire for certain foods based on their nutritional value and eat it only to punish yourself mentally or physically after. You’ll learn how to listen to your body’s response to food around exercise. You’ll be able to notice how what you eat before and after food impacts how full you feel, how long you feel full for and how it impacts your body’s recovery.

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Having a neutral relationship with your body goes hand-in-hand with your relationship with food. You can’t hate yourself into a smaller body and suddenly know how to be happy and like your body. The promise we see on social media and other places of slim, socially accepted, able-bodied people being happy, being loved and having it all is such false advertisement. Being neutral to your body is a skill. It’s a learnt behaviour and you don’t learn it by actively hating yourself.

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If you’re struggling with your relationship with your body, food and you don’t know how to balance the two, book a Free 15 Minute Discovery Call with me to start your journey to food freedom and body neutrality.