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Shape Your Body, Shape Your Life: Use Body Intelligence To Guide How You Really Want to Look and Feel

Embracing body intelligence can transform not only how we perceive ourselves but also how we approach wellness in our lives. Here’s how to harness this powerful concept to shape both your body and your life.

Start by Defining How You Want to Feel in Your Body

Before diving into the specifics of how you want to look, take a moment to consider how you want to feel in your body. Is it vibrant and energized? Calm and centered? Strong and capable? By focusing on the feelings associated with your ideal state, you can set a clear intention that guides your choices.

Shifting from being solely appearance-focused to taking an inventory of your feelings can revolutionize how you engage with your body. Instead of obsessing over the scale or clothing size, ask yourself how your body feels during different activities. Do you feel serene after stretching/resistance activities? Does weightlifting provide a level of stress relief? Does a walk in nature sound awful? Does going to the gym intimidate you? Do you feel best at cooking when preparing healthy foods with your partner? Prioritize these joyful experiences and start distancing yourself from the activities that do not reinforce this connection to living your wellness.

What Is the Reflection of Your Ideal Body State?

Take a moment to envision your ideal body state. Ask yourself:

• What do I currently love about my body? Take time to evoke gratitude and celebrate the admiration you have for these areas of your body. Consider writing down or recording affirmative dialogue about this reflection and use it as a reminder whenever you need or choose to turn to it. Consider the amount of confidence that these attributes bring to not just your attractiveness but your overall state of being.

• Be Ok Asking Yourself: What Parts Of My Body Do I Struggle With? It’s perfectly normal to have areas of dissatisfaction. Acknowledge these feelings without judgment. Recognize that discomfort can become problematic only when it leads to debilitating perceptions of self-worth. Practice self-compassion as you assess yourself. Approach this self-talk with the same kindness you would offer a friend. Replace harsh self-criticism with understanding and acceptance. This shift in mindset can significantly improve your relationship with your body.

Seek Supportive Environments

Surround yourself with supportive environments that foster positivity and growth. Engage with communities that encourage body diversity and the self-love part of living in wellness. With the gift of connecting virtually, in-person groups, and old-fashioned texts, there are more options than ever to find your community.

Express Your Goals With A Growth Mindset

Write down your goals, whether they relate to fitness, nutrition, or mental well-being. Whether you choose to share these or not is up to you. The important point here is to have specifics to aim for and return to and reevaluate if necessary. Keep in mind that the more specific your goals are, the easier it may be for them to be measurable by you. Which really should be all that counts. 

For example, I can think of a scenario with a patient that still warms my heart when thinking about it.  It was a case of her interest in losing weight after she gave up smoking. She was well aware of her increased eating with the smoking cessation and wanted to give her full attention to staying physically healthy after successfully combating her tobacco addiction. After a weight loss plan, I typically require a 12-week check-in and follow-up up and at that time she told me: 

“I haven't lost a lot of weight but have noticed a loss in inches. I stopped beating myself up over it once I realized how much more mobile I have become with the fitness program. I was able to get down and up from the floor when I needed to be next to my dog who was dying. I haven't been able to do that in years and it was really helpful for me while dealing with that. I plan to continue the program because I can see where else I am improving.”

Goals for your body with a growth mindset paired with increasing intelligence on how you want your body to look and feel with your lifestyle will naturally curate individualized plan you can measure and reflect on.

Celebrate Progress—Small and Large!

Recognize that progress comes in many forms. Sometimes you only need to celebrate a wellness achievement as a victory without assigning it a size or small or large. You do not have to wait to see a significant change or final result before giving yourself a high five. In fact, I would encourage you to start by getting as excited about your wellness goal list as you would be if you’ve achieved each one already.

Since there is a portion of your brain that cannot tell the difference between a big win, a small win, or whether that win happened in 3D or remained a daydream that evokes excitement in you, this can be a way to skip the line for faster results. This is known as the reticular activating system. You can use this to your advantage to keep those celebratory feelings on a loop and watch the results follow. 

How Do You See Accountability In Your Wellness Goals

I like to discuss accountability in wellness through a foundational understanding of how much power we have under typical circumstances and resources. If we can choose our nutrient sources, quantities of nourishment we enjoy, the environment we spend most of our time in, the influence we take from our social networks, relationships we engage in, and physical activity we say yes to or avoid are many of the ways that we own our wellness. 

• Consider any of the following to promote a self-dialogue about wellness accountability:

• Do you keep your promises to yourself as you identify goals and lifestyle changes you want to achieve? 

• How does it feel to show up for yourself in a way that serves your micro and macro goals? 

• If there are circumstances or days that you do not show up or execute a wellness plan as desired how do you respond?

• Do you offer yourself a solution to improve how you show up the next time? Do you assign blame outside of yourself? 

• Do you reflect with permission to have an unexpected day off or misalignment with your wellness goal while knowing that you do not have to stay in any feelings of disappointment

What Do You Need to Support the Ideal Version of You?

To fully embody your ideal self, consider the support you need in various aspects of your life:

Nutrition: Is your intake full of mostly nourishing meals and beverages? Or are you tasking your body to operate as a processed food filter without reflecting on how your intake may not be serving you?

Social Support: The love and stress you experience can affect your health. Practice mindful social engagement and decide how your social life supports your wellness goals.

Self-Care Practices: Engage in activities that replenish your spirit, whether it's daily activities, seasonal, or scheduled maintenance, and make sure that how you care for yourself proactively outweighs any reactive moments.

Financial Security: Understand how financial stress can impact your well-being; create a plan that alleviates this burden. If hiring professional help makes you more confident in your financial decisions versus being uncertain about what you may be missing, consider the return on the investment of your peace of mind by delegating this part of your well-being.

Faith Practices: Whether it’s spirituality or personal beliefs, decide if this is a part of your life that you need to feel and live well. This decision should be free from indoctrination or harassment if you choose a path that may not be socially or culturally popular. 

Physical Engagement: Find activities that you enjoy by how they make you feel, what they allow your body to do, and how you can restore and replenish them to have proper ongoing engagement. Let go of defining physical fitness by narrow standards.

Set Yourself Up For Wellness Success

Since body intelligence is not about perfection; keep your progress intentional and the connection to self-elevated. By embracing this aspect of body intelligence, you can create a roadmap, destination, and itinerary of how you want to continue to grow and evolve in your body. 

This journey is about self-discovery, maturation, and cultivating a life that resonates with your deepest desires. 

HerHealth Insights

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