23 Ways To Call A Truce With Your Body

1. Wear a rubber band or a hair tie around your wrist for one day. Every time you have a negative thought about your body, snap the band. Over the course of the day this will help you realize how often you put yourself down. Maybe you haven’t been as good to your body as you could have been, sure, but does it help to remind yourself of this hundreds of times per day?

2. Stop weighing yourself every day. Stop it. Do it weekly if you want to keep track but doing it every day will only make you crazy.

3. Make a list of things you love about your body. Display it on the inside of your closet so you remember those things regularly.

4. Do physical activities you enjoy for the simple reason that you enjoy doing them. Focus on how strong your body must be to be able to complete them. Appreciate it for doing what you need it to do.

5. Get a massage. If you can’t afford one, get a cheapie haircut — anything where someone else will touch you and make you feel good. The power of human touch on our bodies is greatly underrated.

6. Remember this great Salma Hayek quote, “People often say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and I say that the most liberating thing about beauty is realizing you are the beholder.” If that doesn’t strike a chord with you, read through these and find one that does.

7. Stop counting calories and start eating more vegetables.

8. Instead of talking negatively to yourself, think about what you would say to your best friend if she told you she was feeling the way you were. Talk to yourself the way you would talk to another loved one. Give yourself the advice you would give them.

9. Make a list of what you admire about the people in your life that have been really important to you. How many of those things were physical characteristics? Remember that.

10. Realize that everything you do, even if it’s not the best, is in attempt to care for yourself. You don’t always do the best, but you do the best you can. If you use eating or not eating as a way to comfort yourself or escape — try to think specifically about what you are combatting and then list other ways you could achieve the same outcome.

11. Go for a long walk outside and enjoy nature. Don’t bring your phone (or just don’t look at it). Enjoy having the time to yourself and having a body that can take you on a long walk, even if you walk slowly at times.

12. Take a quiet minute and listen to your own heartbeat. When you do this you remember that you are just a human animal not an object to be critiqued.

13. Listen to music that makes you feel confident and happy:

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14. On your social media, unfollow, mute, or hide any voices that make you feel bad about yourself, even if that person’s intentions are good. Don’t be afraid to be selfish and do what’s best for you and your mental health.

15. When you look in the mirror, force yourself to compliment yourself (out loud if you can). Just find one thing you genuinely like about the way you look at that moment.

16. Make a list of things you are thankful your body CAN do.

17. Try to do something physically challenging like a 5k and track your progress. Watching your body grow stronger and becoming more capable is a great way to increase confidence. Plus, this makes it about what your body can do, not what it looks like.

18. When people give you compliments (about anything) write them down in a notebook. When you are having a bad body-confidence day flip through it and remember all the things people admire about you.

19. Yoga is a great way to meditate and relax at some time during the day, and it can really help you love the way your body works. It’s intimidating to start, but this short home workout is super approachable. Try it a few times and see how you feel:

[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v7AYKMP6rOE&w=560&h=315]

20. Read the words of female celebrities everyone agrees are nearly perfect looking — even they see problems with how we treat our bodies.

21. Instead of focusing on what you need to take out of your life (extra calories, imperfect body areas) make a list of a few things you’re going to add in this week: extra servings of veggies, making sure you eat breakfast, getting enough sleep, doing something each day that makes you laugh, doing something each day that relaxes you, etc. Take note of how you feel after a few days or weeks of trying this.

22. Stop judging other people for their bodies. When we are super harsh and judgmental with others, we can’t help but be the same way with ourselves. Focusing on loving people and having empathy for them. It will rub off on the way you view yourself.

23. Try radically choosing to love yourself. Refuse to entertain unhappy thoughts about your body. Vocalize the positive ones. Affirm yourself. Remember you can always go back to hating yourself if it doesn’t work out.