How To Love Your Body

Many people live their lives not loving their bodies. The reasons for this are abundant. Mass media has done a fantastic job of distorting our image of physical beauty so much that we have become obsessed trying to mold our bodies to fit unrealistic ideals. Add to that, all sorts of conflicting information about what constitutes a healthy diet and effective exercise. Also, we are human so we always have certain insecurities about ourselves by constantly comparing ourselves to others.

The truth is, you must love your body. You are your body, so if you don't love it, then you don't love yourself and that is not the best way to live. It doesn't matter if no one else loves your body; that's not anyone else's responsibility - it's yours.

Step 1: Check In With Reality

Being able to dunk would be pretty cool though

Would it ever make sense for me to envy and strive to have LeBron James's body? How about Brad Pitt's? Would it even make sense for me to have Bruce Lee's body? Of course not. Their bodies are and were theirs and my body is mine. It's so obvious but easy to overlook. Genetically, we are all completely different (except for identical twins) which is a huge factor in how we look. Groundbreaking, I know. But it's good to check in with reality to ground us with more realistic expectations for ourselves.

Another check-in with reality reveals that the bodies we often idolize are not achieved for health reasons. To have your bodyfat percentage in the low single digits is nearly impossible without going through extreme, hazardous methods. For example, professional fitness models (both men and women) frequently starve and dehydrate themselves, workout like crazy, and take cabinets full of bizarre supplements like steroids, human growth hormone, and insulin which end up costing them a lot of money as well - not really the role models for health and fitness. (Life is full of ironies.)

Step 2: Take Care of Your Body

These are great the way they are.
Don't cover them with chocolate!

If you love your body, you will take care of your body. But also, if you take care of your body, you will love your body. You do this by striving for the healthiest version of your body and having the discipline to follow through. I could write a whole book on how to do this, but the mindset is to treat your body as being incredibly precious because it is. When you put organic strawberries into your grocery cart, you're caring for your body; when you put doughnuts in, you aren't. When you go for a walk in the sun, you're caring for your body; when you stay indoors all day slouching in front of a computer, you aren't. When you go to bed by 10pm, you're caring for your body; when you go to bed at 3am, you aren't.

If you want a simple approach to living a healthy lifestyle, which is beyond the scope of this brief article, check out The Primal Blueprint by Mark Sisson. Another great book is How To Eat, Move, and Be Healthy by Paul Chek. You can start from there and find what works best for you. Paul Chek is more advanced, but provides more information.

Step 3: Love Other People's Bodies

Granted, some bodies are harder to love than others.

I don't mean this necessarily in a reproductive way. Try to see the beauty in every body. It is more about non-judgment. Ultimately, this will benefit you more than anyone else because you will cultivate a mindset where you can more easily avoid body-shaming, especially your own self. Soon, you'll realize that judging other people's bodies just doesn't make any sense. Their bodies are the way they are. Is it my business to give some sort of rating or evaluation on them? Naturally, we all do this some degree. An obvious example is when we're looking for prospective mates. But I think we can soften our criticisms and reduce any negative vibes we give others. If you want love, you must give love first. If you love others, then you will love yourself and others will love you back. You must be willing to give what you want.

Step 4: Be Thankful for Your Body

Go hug yourself!

Your body is one of life's greatest gifts, but only if you accept it. Be thankful you have it. You can thank God, the Universe, string theory, or whatever. But having a sense of gratitude for the body you have is central to loving your body and yourself. Be thankful for the arms that you have. If you don't have arms, be thankful for your legs. If you don't have legs, be thankful you have arms. If you don't have arms or legs, then be thankful for your heart. If you don't have a heart, then you're dead so you don't care what anyone else thinks about your body. But keep your heart for as long as you can. You won't be alive for that long anyway (I'm not betting on the singularity happening anytime soon), so enjoy life and make sure to love your body wholeheartedly.