My Top 5 Ways to Fall In LOVE With Your Body

The Month of Love is officially here. <3 Typically, we associate this month with showering our significant other, friends, and even our kids with love and affection (and loads of sentimental gifts). But what about ourselves? Why is it that we tend to forget about the importance of showering ourselves with affection and love? Too often?especially as mothers and wives? our own needs get put on the back-burner in an effort to continue taking care of our families and others. We forget to take care of the most important person in this world…OURSELVES! Now let’s not mistake this for narcissism and think I’m telling you to obsess about yourself, but the raw fact of the matter is that if you don’t show love for yourself, you can’t passionately and completely show love for others. If we’re not continuously sprinkling love on ourselves here and there, we risk falling completely out of love with ourselves. This can lead us down a path of self-destruction: Bad habits, poor nutrition, negative thoughts, and overall unhappiness.

Over the years, I’ve opened up about my own personal struggles with body image, confidence, and eating disorders. It has taken me years of education and experience to finally find the beauty that exists within myself. Today, I’m sharing with you all of my shortcuts I’ve found along the way. Behold… my top 5 ways to fall in love with your body (in a healthy form, of course)! Some are simple, some may seem silly, but I assure you?they all work.

Some of my favorite Love Yourself Items (Find My Shirt Here):

Love Tip #1: Exercise Every Dang Day. Yes, exercising will help with your fitness goals, but it is so much more than that! Taking 10 minutes every single day to get up and get moving?whether it’s a lap around the block or chasing your kiddos at the park?is proven to decrease stress, improve body image, and boost your self-esteem. And exercise releases endorphins, those lovely little things that almost instantly induce feelings of pleasure and euphoria! Wanna’ feel pleased with yourself? Get up and get moving!

Love Tip #2: Drink More Water. If you’re a long time blog follower of mine, you’re probably rolling your eyes right now. I know, I know, I preach this one A LOT, but I wouldn’t shove it down your throats if it wasn’t so extremely important. Besides all of the obvious benefits, drinking more water can have some huge boosts to your confidence! You know those days you wake up bloated and feeling like a blimp in sweatpants? Ya, water will beat that. When you don’t drink enough water, your body goes into survival mode and retains water to prevent dehydration, and that’s where that beautiful little bloat comes from. Drink enough water, and your belly will fight off the bloat to make you feel slimmer and sexier.

Love Tip #3: Talk to Yourself. No, don’t go into crazy-person-constant-mumbling mode. I’m talking daily words of affirmation done first thing in the morning to start your day off right. It’s scientifically proven?the more you say something, the more you believe it. Tell yourself you love your body with all of its bumps, lumps, and imperfections, and guess what? YOU WILL! Try making it a part of your morning routine?maybe sneak it in before or after brushing your teeth. A few lines of love said to yourself in the mirror daily will improve your body image and self-love over time.?

Love Tip #4: Treat Yo’ self. Let’s face it?we all need a little treat now and then. Whether it’s a hot bubble bath at the end of the night, an occasional new pair of workout pants, or a solo date to the movies, we need something to unwind, decompress, and just feel human again. The?times in my life I found myself hating myself and my body the most were during periods of chaos when I wasn’t meeting my most basic needs, and I surely wasn’t taking time out to reconnect with myself. Treating yourself in some small way, daily or even weekly, will improve your self-confidence and body image. Think of it this way: You have to date yourself to fall in love with yourself!

Love Tip #5: Buy a Skinny Mirror. Okay, this may seem a little silly, but hear me out! Have you ever been to the mall and found yourself in some dimly lit dressing room with an awful mirror that instantly added 20 lbs to your figure? What did that do to your day? Instant mood ruiner! But on the other hand, have you ever caught yourself in the mirror, when the lighting was just right, and it seemed like the mirror took OFF 20 lbs? Instant boost of confidence! It doesn’t matter that you actually aren’t 20 lbs lighter because of looking in this magic mirror, but I can guarantee that once you look in the mirror and feel good, it’ll change your outlook, motivation, and self-confidence for the rest of the day if not the week! Feeling like you look good is half the battle, so go on and buy a skinny mirror, get the lighting just right, and gaze away ?at your “new” self. Eventually those positive thoughts will breed positive actions, which will eventually lead to good habits, which?you guessed it!?will lead to actually losing those extra 20 lbs!

This Valentine’s Day, take the time to fall in love with your body because, after all, it deserves it. What ways have you found to give yourself an extra boost of confidence? Share your successes below!

Xoxo,

Heidi

Related reading:

How I Manage My (Im)Perfectly Balanced Life
I Am (not) a Pinterest Mom
I Am (still) Perfect?
Be Kind to Yourself || Words of Affirmation
#MomLife: 11 Life Hacks for Getting Fit
Love Who You Are

11 Responses

  1. Hey Heidi.

    I have been struggling with loving myself for a long time. I always read your blogs but just don’t usually comment. I recently had twins boys last year and have an 8 yr old daughter. I realized the way I perceive myself or talk about myself is something I don’t ever want my daughter to feel towards herself. Thank you to you and your wonderful husband for the work you both do to help people like me who need a kick start in their life. Even though we all can’t be chosen it’s uplifting to know change can be made. All the very best to you and your family.

  2. I love this! As a social worker and a mom 2 little girls with a husband that travels weekly I have let myself fall behind in each aspect of life and self care. This is a wonderful reminder to lead by example my heart would break if I saw my little girls treat themselves or rather mistreat themselves the way I have/do… life happens and it’s how we respond that creates success or falls… as a previous top collegiate athlete in women’s lacrosse I know I am strong and it’s time to put myself first not just for one day but every day! These tips are easy and I Am looking forward to implamenting them every day and bust through my excuses. my goal is not to get my ” old body back” but to build a new lifestyle forever! It’s hard to admit struggle and often feelings of defeat,but honesty, in my opinion is the only true way towards success… my current situation/status is by my choices and moving forward to my future is in my hands! These tips are printed and now posted throughout my house! Thank you Team Powel

  3. I would love to be on your show I need to lose 100 pounds maybe more so I can be healthy again I’m totally unhealthy and I’m having a hard time because I have a lot of stress worrying about my son is stationed in Japan and worrying about my daughter who is living here at home I worry a lot because i lost a family member I love lactually 3 of them and my brother died of a massive Heart attack at 36 and mom at 56 of her heart and my fianc? month before our wedding day tragically and I let myself go out of stress and depression from it and then I made it worse when I get hurt I had to have lower back surgery and I gained over 100 poundsi’m hoping during the summer when my daughters off of school I guess three months I can go to Boot Camp and get some help. JoAnn K

    1. Hi Joann: Thank you for sharing a bit of your story with us! You can learn about Chris and Heidi’s carb cycling program – the same program they use on the show – in this post: https://heidipowell.net/9060. And Chris and Heidi’s amazing new Transform app will be released on the 27th, and you can learn more about it here: http://thetransformapp.com. We always recommend that you discuss any nutrition and exercise with your healthcare team first and then follow any modifications they may recommend. You can totally do this! 🙂

  4. Hi Heidi, I’m currently working on closing my disstasis recti and slowly seeing results. When I do close it, am I able to do crunches again??? I want my six pack back!!! I need to do crunches lol how did you get your abs while having diastasis recti??

    1. Hi Sandy: Yay! That’s awesome! I’d chat with your doc about this since the answer to your question can be different for each woman. And Heidi did ab work following her doctor’s recommendations: https://heidipowell.net/11122. Hope this helps! 🙂

  5. Hi Heidi,
    I have been carb cycling for a while now and it has been amazing. Unfortunately I have recently fallen ill with ulcerative colitis. I am afraid that I may not be able to carb cycle. Can this be done and if so what can I do?
    Thanks

    1. Hi Angel: I’m so sorry to hear about your diagnosis! 🙁 I’d discuss carb cycling with your healthcare team and then follow their recommendations. We wish you the best! 🙂

  6. I had to laugh at the mirror tip because we have a mirror at work that I look FABULOUS in – always! Seriously, I get a smile on my face and feel better instantly after looking into it. I joke that if the mirror ever goes missing they’ll probably find it in my home. ?

  7. I’ve got a skinny mirror but makes me feel worse as I know I don’t look like that!! Surely you should embrace every lump & bump like you said earlier, seems a bit contradictory?

    1. Hi Lesley: Great question! As Heidi says in the post, it can serve as a motivator and perspective changer for the day. Give it a try, and if it doesn’t work for you, then stick to the other 4 tips! 🙂

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