Gratitude for My Body

I have been hosting a personal development book club where we are reading The Magic by Rhonda Byrne. The basic concept of the book is that gratitude can change every area of your life. It's the secret to success.

I have noticed an improvement in my outlook on life and even in my relationship with my husband. I take the time to think about, and write down, things I'm grateful for every morning. When you stop to think about it, there are so many things to be grateful for.

One of the chapters is about practicing gratitude for health. In that chapter, Byrne writes about how each body part plays a very important role and we should be grateful for each one.

If you've read my blog for any amount of time, you would know that I have very poor body image. I've been known to say that I hate my body and feel trapped inside of it. I focus so much on the fat that I forget to be grateful.

Yes, my midsection is large--but I carried a child for 9 months, it houses many vital organs, and works just as well as any skinny person's midsection.

My legs are larger than I would like, and I've always hated my wide calves. But, I can walk, run, and get around so easily. I am so grateful for my legs.

My arms are flabby and I'm embarrassed about stretch marks that I've had since I was a teenager (or sooner!). But my arms allow me to carry my little girl, to embrace my husband, and serve such an important purpose. I am incredibly grateful for my arms.

Maybe self-love is so much more than just accepting my body as it is, but it is actually being grateful for my body as well. Every single moment is a gift.

Why spend those moments worrying about something so insignificant as undesirable fat when I could be grateful for all of the positive aspects of my body and truly enjoy and embrace life.

On another note, being grateful for my body should also mean that I take good care of it. When we truly appreciate something, we do our best to keep it in good shape. Taking care of the body means eating foods that are good for the body, exercising, and so much more.

Gratitude can lead the way!

What Motivates Me?

I found my motivation again at the conference I attended in Chicago. The following week, I did incredibly well with my eating and I worked out every day. I felt so good and I was so inspired to keep going.

By the end of the following week, I was starting to let my good habits slip. I continued to work out, but my eating was not on point and I have been struggling to get back to where I was a little over a week ago.

There are never days where every single choice is the wrong one, but there are days where I make more bad choices than good ones and vice versa. However, the bad choices (no matter how few) always seem to overshadow any of the good choices that I've made throughout the day. 

This negative thinking spirals out of control and instead of focusing on who I want to become I begin to focus on who I don't want to be. 

What we focus on, we become. It's all about our thoughts and mindset.

I asked my therapist how I can break the cycle of doing well for a little while and then going off track again. This has obviously eluded me for a very long time. I truly did not know how to break the cycle or I would have a long time ago.

What she told me made perfect sense.

Think about what motivated you in the first place. Where were you? What were you doing? How did you become inspired and optimistic again?

So that's what I'm going to do today--list out what motivated and inspired me this last time I got back on track.

Inspirational Speakers

I've talked a little bit about listening to Susan Sly and how her words inspired me and gave me hope about my weight loss journey. If something like this motivated me to get back on track, then I should continue listening to inspirational speakers. There are plenty on YouTube and there are also a lot of great Podcasts out there.

Share your favorite inspirational speakers and/or podcasts in the comments.

Like-Minded People

I really enjoyed being around other people with the same interests that I have. I would love to connect with others in the same boat that I am and be able to inspire each other on. The people I was around believe in living life to the fullest with gratitude and positivity. That's inspiring to be around!

Self-Reflection

I did a lot of reflecting on myself and my habits. I tried to figure out "why" I made choices that I did. When I do this, I begin to identify my patterns and can come up with solutions.

Focus on the Goal

I also thought a lot about the possibilities of who I could become. As I mentioned before, this focus made me think more positively. To imagine the life that I want and being the woman that I know I can be is inspiring. It's depressing to think about where I am right now and where I've always been. I definitely need to focus on the more positive side of things.

Choice Focused rather than Scale Focused

I felt really good during that first week after the conference. I didn't have my scale, but my positive actions made me feel good about myself. My clothes started to fit looser. I could feel my sore muscles from working out and that gave me a sense of accomplishment. And then I got home and stepped on the scale...instantly feeling discouraged and depressed. Sometimes the scale needs to be set aside.

What are you doing when you feel the most motivated? What motivates you?