ACCEPTING YOURSELF Blog

Do you like yourself?

Are you happy with how you are?

Quite often I get clients asking when they should be happy with themselves. Will it be when they reach a certain weight, size or level of fitness?
It seems that so many of us think that once we reach that magical number on the scale we will instantly be happy! Of course reaching your goals and feeling fit and healthy will make you feel better but it is not the answer and solution to finding happiness. The reason I’m writing about this is not to discourage anyone from making changes which are ultimately going to make them feel so much better, but to realise that you need to start liking yourself now and through your whole journey, regardless of your shape or weight.

Even when you might not be happy with your weight, size or fitness it’s important to still make an effort to appreciate what your body can do and if embarking on changes be proud of yourself for taking the first steps. It’s so important to enjoy your body at every stage, even when it might not be perfect, otherwise even when you do reach that magical size or number on the scale you still won’t be completely happy. It’s also important to try not to compare yourself to others and instead focus on what is right for you. The size and weight that you feel comfortable at shouldn’t be based on what others say but where you feel really happy with yourself.

The reason I’m writing this is that I’ve realised that being pregnant has in some ways taken some of my control away about how I maintain my body. Right now I’m pregnant and I’m feeling uncomfortable, chunky and really not that happy with my body. Does this make me upset? NO WAY! It is hard and I’m struggling a bit but I’m loving the fact that my body has the ability to make a baby which is pretty amazing. For sure I look a bit fat, feel chunky and on some days I don’t feel too flash but this is all part of the journey! I could stress out that some women don’t change much whereas I’ll most probably end up looking like the side of a house, he, he. My little sister, for example, just had a baby and was lucky to put on 10kg and just looked like she had a basketball popped under her top. She loved every minute of being pregnant and has bounced back to normal in no time! If I were to compare myself to my sister I’d already be upset as at 15 weeks pregnant I’m sure I look larger than she did at 6 months. I realise that EVERYONE is different and the key is to be happy with YOU. Right now I’m pretty happy with myself as I’m still exercising and getting out an about and this makes ME happy.

Start appreciating your body now, you might not love it yet but appreciate that it can get you moving, out and about and even exercising. I know when I trained for a marathon I got a bit frustrated that I was slow. I had to constantly remind myself when doing my long runs that even though I might have been slow, I was lucky that I could even run as some people just aren’t that lucky.

So starting today start, embrace who you are now, like yourself through every stage of your journey as it will make you feel even happier when you do reach your goals!

My goal right now is to have a healthy baby, so I’m learning to embrace my body and the changes it’s going through right now. For sure I might not feel or look the best I ever have but I know that this is just a stage of my life and there is no point not being happy until I reach some magical size or weight again, there’s plenty of time for that later.

I hope everyone is well and I’ll give you a full preggy update on Monday!

Enjoy your weekend!

Cheers, Hilds