Some thoughts and discussions from me.
5 Ways to Love Your Body RightThisVerySecond
I know I discuss fat loss on the blog a lot. It’s one of the top questions I get from readers, and 80% of my clients have (or initially had) fat loss as one of their primary goals. However. It’s not the be all end all. Sure, it’s great for health, and can be a confidence-booster. It’s a fine goal in and of itself. But what I want to stress today is to love your body rightnow as it is. One, two, seven sizes from where you want it to be. It crushes me when I’m working out with a client, and she turns to me and grabs the side of her tummy and says, “this is what needs to be gone before I’ll be ok in a swim suit!” – or something of the like. No. You’ll be ok in a swimsuit rightnow. You’ll also be ok in a swimsuit after losing several inches around the waist. 
My point is that even though you might be on a fat loss or weight loss journey, don’t think of your happiness about your body or self-image as an end goal. I talk a lot about appreciating what your body can do how to have a positive body image. Find that in-the-gym goal and all, right? Well appreciate the way it looks right now, too. Because you can appreciate it, and be moving toward changing it at the same time.
Yes, you can. Sure, it’s easier said than done, but with a little persistence, positive action, and a mantra or two, you can have a new perception of yourself and find ways to love your body rightthisverysecond.
1. Have FUN with your workouts. If you begrudgingly go to the gym every day to do your workout, you’re doing it wrong. Stop whatever you’re doing, and change it up so you do look forward to it. There are plenty ways to train for your goals. Find or create a training program designed for your goals, personality, and schedule. Find that, and run with it…to the gym…happily 
Look like her when you’re done with your workout! Minus the purple dumbbells (or not)
2. Get rid of food guilt. 
Every now and then a client will come in, usually after a holiday weekend or a special event, and after I ask them how it was, they’ll respond something to the likes of: It was fun, but I was bad…I had bad food…chocolate cake… False. Untrue. Immediately – without even thinking – I remind them that they weren’t “bad” and they didn’t eat “bad food.” They were at a party/event and ate chocolate cake. It’s as simple as that. I usually ask them if they enjoyed the chocolate cake, and when their response is “yes,” I’ll respond: “good for you.” If you’re consistent with a solid nutrition plan 85-90% of the time, have your chocolate cake, and enjoy it, too. Then move on with your life.
3. Stop comparing your body to other women’s bodies. On that note, stop comparing your everything to other women. As I go into more detail in this post, your body is your body. Your frame is your frame. So is your DNA, your mood, and your life. And most importantly, your health is your health.
4. Be proud of what how far you’ve come! Celebrate what you’ve accomplished – no matter how big or little you perceive it to be. Whether you’ve already lost a certain amount of weight, or you just now decided to start focusing on strength for the first time in your life, CELEBRATE it! Chances are, if striving for fat loss is making you miserable, have disordered thinking, and exhausted, it’s not a very positive journey in your life. And I’m willing to bet that the physique you’re after won’t automatically grant happiness, either. Celebrate victories – big and small. Life is nothing but the emotions and thoughts that we attach to it. In my opinion, we might as well have a fun and positive journey along the way.
5. Focus on a “doing” goal. I hope I don’t sound like a broken record here, but find that “doing” goal. It doesn’t even have to be an in-the-gym goal. Striving to perform 5 or 10 chin ups is a fantastic goal, but so is being able to hike up a mountain, run a mile without stopping, or something non-physical, like pausing and thinking before you react. 
Neither scale, body fat %, nor measurements define who you are. All those things do are relay silly numbers back you. Numbers that don’t tell you anything except how what they’re meant to display. Only you (and your thoughts) define who you are and how you feel about yourself. And if you already have a positive body image? OWN it! Do you ever have situations when body image is less than awesome? How do you help turn that around? For more workouts, inspiration, tips, and conversation, you can find me here! Twitter: @TrainerPaige Instagram: @TrainerPaige Facebook: Your Trainer Paige Bloglovin’: Your Trainer Paige Pinterest: TrainerPaige
#’s 3 and 4 are the biggest ones for me 🙂
Meg @ A Dash of Meg recently posted…Recovery Week Challenge
YES YES YES YES YES!!!
This is an amazing post! We as women can really be too hard on ourselves.
Mindy @ Road Runner Girl recently posted…We Stand With Boston Virtual 5K!
What great tips! Thank you so much!
I wish I could share this post with the entire world! Awesome post … probably one of the best posts I’ve seen in awhile. 🙂
Ashley @ My Food N Fitness Diaries recently posted…A Great Breakfast Makes for a Great Day {Day in the Life}
Wow, thanks Ashley!!
I love the “be proud of how far you’ve come.” I know a lot of the times we are hard on ourselves and completely forget everything we’ve accomplished. Even if we haven’t reached our goal, we have done a lot along the way and it’s important to keep that in mind! Great tips 🙂
AMENNN!! Love this!<3
#3 and #5! If you can focus on accomplishing something rather than looking a certain way, chances are your “looking a certain way” goals will follow anyway. Just be happy!
Calee recently posted…Sweet Tunes: Twofer Tuesday
PREACH IT. PREACH IT. PREACH IT.
I have those days sometimes, but I just remember how far I have come and it makes things all better. 🙂
Natalie @ lovenataliemarie recently posted…Thinking Out Loud; 4/24
Wonderful post Paige! I definitely have days where I struggle with body image and actually have been having a lot of them lately. I’ve had to put on some extra weight to fix my menstrual cycle and ovulation in hopes of getting pregnant. Even though it’s for a good cause, I still struggle with it sometimes. Such a good reminder that it’s not what’s really important in life!
Giselle@myhealthyhappyhome recently posted…Fitness Survey
LOVE this post. Great message. Live NOW. Love NOW.
Elle recently posted…Friday Faves and Raves
Oh wow. I really, really, REALLY needed this. Perfect timing. Great post. Thank you!
Great post! I really needed to read this 🙂 So motivating.
Diane @ Life of Di. recently posted…Oh Glorious Day: Easter 2014.
This is my first time stopping by your blog!
I love this! It’s a good reminder for me to focus on how far I’ve come rather than focus on where I want to be or wish I were stronger/faster. It’s a journey and every step counts, right!? 🙂
Karen @karenlovestorun
Karen @karenlovestorun recently posted…Friday Five: Spring Break
I absolutely love this post! How inspiring ans positive. It really is such a shame that so many girls and women put life on hold due to a bit of extra (or imagined extra) fat here and there. There are so many amazing things that women are capable of including giving birth, yet we are so hard on ourselves that we miss out on a swim or cute dress because we are too busy punishing ourselves and our bodies! I am definitely guilty of that. I have bad body image days at that time of the month, every month! To combat it I try to eat really well, plenty of water too. Not to punish but because I want to show myself I am worth feeling great. I also remind myself how amazing our bodies are, and our minds too. Sounds weird but I try to get in touch with my feminine side to remember how awesome women really are. It takes the focus off me for a while.
samantha recently posted…Body Image Band-aide
This is exactly what I needed! I have struggled with yoyo dieting and getting motivated one day and then eating “bad food” and just spiraling down hill from there. I have just recently decided that I don’t have to feel bad about eating something that isn’t healthy, but just do better next time. Thank you! I would also like to say, I came across your blog accidentally but I am so glad I did! I am reading every post I possibly can and looking forward to following you!
Just found your page today and this article was the first I read! I didn’t even realize I needed to hear/read those things, but I definitely did. Thank you for the post! Can’t wait to read more.
Thanks for reading! 🙂