How to increase your body confidence without losing a pound

6 ways to gain body confidence without losing a pound

Everywhere we turn these days we're hit with a fire hose of what we need to do to lose weight, tone up or wear to make us look thinner, sexier, younger.
 
It’s no small wonder the majority of women (the latest statistics claim more than 90%!) and more and more men, feel so unsatisfied with the way they look that it holds them back from getting out there and living the life they truly want.
 
It’s madness. Yet it happens. Everywhere.
 
If you're over allowing the latest Insta post distort the way you think of yourself, and instead you’re ready to claim back your body confidence and appreciate what your body can do for you, no matter its shape or size, then this is for you.

Read on to learn 6 ways to increase your body confidence without losing a pound:

1) Decide that liking and appreciating your body is 100% your responsibility

It's not up to our partner, best friend, the perky girl in marketing, and certainly not the media to tell us how we should look or feel in our own skin.

While compliments are always lovely, body confidence comes from within, and it's something that comes down to a decision YOU make.

Are you willing to be more confident about your body?

Here's a little pro-tip: Body confident people have simply become good at tuning out their inner critic and dialing up the volume on the inner cheerleader that exists in all of us!

2) How to get over your body image issues. Ask yourself: is it even true?

Whatever your body hang-up is, is it even true? That thing you claim to not like about yourself, such as your freckles, your hair color, the size of your butt, or your height. Whatever you claim to not love about yourself, is it even true?

Based on who and what expectation?

Remember, everything we think of as a negative about ourselves, there is somewhere in the world where that thing is a favoured quality.

But more than that, if your body allows you to live a life where you show up, feel good, have fun and do the things you came here to do, are you really too this or too that, or is that just a weird belief that's NOT serving you, at all.

If so, let that thing go – 'cause baby, we here for a good time, not a long time!

3) Dial-up your inner cheerleader: acknowledge and celebrate all that your body does for you  

Think about everything your body has ever done for you and all it continues to do for you – without you having to think about it. The children you've had, the distances you've traveled, the sports you've played, the illnesses it got you through. All the amazing things your body has allowed you to do, by merely showing up, without ever being asked.
 
Pretty incredible, when you think about it like that, right?!
 
There's also a gorgeous sparkle that comes through people who regularly appreciate and love things about themselves.
 
If you've ever found it challenging to find just one thing about your body that you love, start with something little, such as the curve of your ears, your pinkie toes, the shape of your fingernails, the twinkle in your eye, or mischievous grin.
 
Then send love to that area and let that love expand and grow to encompass all of you. If you practice sending love to that area, particularly when looking at yourself in the mirror right after you get out of the shower, you'll begin to experience a sense of body confidence that only self-love brings.

4) Dial down your inner-critic: how you talk about your body matters

Arianna Huffington is often quoted as saying, "Even our own worst enemies don't talk about us the way we talk to ourselves."
 
Hmmm. Ain't that the truth.
 
But here's something else many of us also don't realize – we each have the power to turn on our inner-coach and choose our words wisely. Because the words we use have tremendous power.
 
There's an old saying that says the words that follow "I am" will eventually follow YOU.
 
Body-confident and successful people in general, choose their words wisely because they know words have power.
 
Statements like "I love…", "I do….", "I can…" have a very different effect on our energy and impact, compared to words like "I should…", "I try…", "I wish..".
 
When you use stronger, more intentional language, it not only impacts your mood, and your confidence, but also the way other people perceive, describe, and think about you.
 
The great news is that our thoughts and words are one of the very few things in this world that we have complete control over.
 
So try this exercise: refrain for 1 week from using any negative language to describe your physical self. Yep, that includes your face, hair, skin, weight, legs, feet!
 
And if someone offers you a compliment about your appearance, enthusiastically say Thank YOU! Without qualifying that with a "Yeah, but my _____ is too big/small.”
 
Or if someone starts the negative train game about their own body, please don't chime in!
 
Try this for a week and see what happens – always use your words with intention, and in your favour!

5) Create a positive body image by telling yourself you are enough 

It sounds simple and straightforward, but few people truly know they are 100% enough, just as they are.
 
And sadly, not believing you are enough can quickly lead to psychological problems such as depression, anxiety, and stress.
 
When we fail to recognize we are enough, it's difficult to love and accept yourself completely. This also makes it harder to love and accept others just as they are.
 
But with intention and the decision to believe you ARE enough, you can change this.
 
Here's a simple self-esteem boosting technique to help you do this:
 
Write yourself notes stating 'I am enough' and place them where you can see them during the day.
 
Place one in your agenda, on your mirror, and make one your screen-saver.

Put them anywhere you'll be reminded about this important message multiple times a day.
 
Then feel into the magic of what happens.

 6) Don't wait: choose to enjoy your body and your life now  

As a coach, I see lots of people delay going after their dreams until they reach a magical number on the scale.
 
Please. Stop. Waiting. On. The. Weight.
 
Because here's what I've observed, when people stop obsessing over their weight and the way they look and instead start obsessing over living a life that lights them up and turns them on, the weight they wanted to lose starts falling away.
 
Often with minimal effort.
 
Because when you're obsessing over your best life, you don't have time to be filling your face with second helpings of cheesecake. You don't have time to lay around hitting the snooze button. Or criticising your every this or that, and sending yourself into a downward spiral.
 
Remember, inner and outer confidence is a decision. You will never earn it. It will come when YOU decide to have it.
 
Body confidence isn't innate; it's a choice. Give yourself permission, and you can have all the confidence you want, too.
 
Then decide to choose it day after day after day. Because the more you do it, the easier it gets.