How do you learn to love your body through all of this?

bellaiabello

For me: I stopped reading magazines. Also, I think the whole Love-your-body-thing is getting too hyped up.
You don't need to love your body., your body is not a person.
Your body doesn't need self-confidence.
You don't need to light candles, look your body deep into the eyes and whisper softly "I love you, body"

If it helps, for me my body is a bit like my (good) bike. I make sure,I oil my bike and I make sure, I feed my body decent food. Not because I love either of them, but because I know I will use them tomorrow and want them to work well. Neither thing is up for discussion.
This probably sounds like I hate my body, but for me it is simply not something I have emotions about.

WannabeStressFree

Good post.
I relate as well because I struggle with this a lot. I keep telling myself to keep pushing and hope that things get better.
I also hated my thighs or this or that, but I realized it's counter productive.
I'm trying to accept my body and improve it, it's healthy and I'm grateful.
I'm trying to keep that trend going, to appreciate what I do have as opposed to the negative.

I say to keep pushing and I bet one day you'll realize things are just so much better than before. good luck!

BranMuffin86

I struggle with this same thing everyday. It's hard being the "chunky" friend amongst all these size 8s and under. But I realized that this is the body I have now and I need to take care of it. So instead of having the mentality that "I need to loss weight" I just keeping thinking to myself I'm become healthier. It makes it a lot easier to be happy with myself as I am now. Fluffy! I hope that by keeping this mentality that when I do start looking fit I will be happy still. I'm not working toward the small waist and being able to wear whatever I want. I'm working for the normal blood pressure, lowering my risk of diabetes (both run HEAVY in my family).

I hope this helps. Shake off the negative. You have to look and concentrate on what you love about yourself. Good luck!

Shuuma

My self-confident, powerful self is hidden right now beneath too many unhealthy choices. Every workout, every good food decision, and every glass of water chips away at that shell.

lbetancourt

i have found that practicing yoga helps with self-acceptance & awareness. the practice allows me to be comfortable with my body that i have. a body that should be loved & respected. i don't focus on the gut that i want to work on, instead, I focus on my breath. focus inward. with each breath I attempt a pose that empowers me. although my poses are far from perfect, i feel quite graceful & beautiful. perfection is not relevant in yoga.

magpie_17

Shift your focus. I love my body not because of how it looks but because of what it does. I'm more or less happy with where I'm at; I'd like to lose ~5 lbs, but not pushing hard. I am happy with and love my body because of what it is capable of - and it's capable of more every week.

At some point every day, try to think of at least one thing you're grateful that your body can do/does/did. Can you run faster/longer now than you used to? Can you lift more weight than you used to? Are you less out of breath after [insert exercise]? Direct gratitude towards your body, and tell yourself you're taking better care of it because you value having a healthy body. Eventually, you'll start to appreciate your body more - not just in the things it can do, but how it looks, as you start to notice your strong calf muscles, the soreness in your obliques after a workout, etc.

Jestinia

I'll never again fully love or accept the way I look naked. Won't happen. But hot damn, I look great in a pair of bluejeans!

For everything else there's lingerie and 'romantic' lighting. Candlelight. Everyone looks great in candlelight!

LuLuChick78