“I am convinced that nothing would ever look good on me; nothing complements these layers of jiggling fat and this humongous figure. I am convinced that no color would ever suit me: Light colors highlight my fat and dark colors don’t compliment my figure.
All my life I had this one vision: Walking around the streets of Rome while wearing a champagne satin dress that makes me look like a Greek Goddess. Sadly, it will never look good on me and I would rather die than people see me in it.
I hate my body; the reflection of it makes me sick but I don’t believe that I have what it takes to make it look good. I hate my body but have no motivation to change.”
So what would you do if you hate your body but you have no motivation?
1- Realize Unhealthy Expectations And Standards
Body dysmorphia and distorted body image is the phenomenon of these recent times. It’s hard not to doubt your figure when you have supermodels who look good pregnant.
It’s normal to hate how you look when you have Hollywood stars changing their shape by the snap of a finger. It’s easy to lose motivation when you don’t see fast results like the one you see on TV and on smartphones.
Sadly, today’s world has changed its standards of beauty to unrealistic expectations that the majority of us can’t measure up to. This has made it relatively easy for us to feel bad about how we look and made us lose motivation because “we can never look this good”.
Before you decide to follow crazy diets or even go under the knife, consider these unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards that the media has created.
2- Learn To Love Your Body
Your body was the only thing that was with you throughout the thick and thin…literally. It loves you unconditionally!
Think of all the times you pushed it beyond its limit, yet it’s still here with you. Think of all the times you worked hard when your body needed the rest.
Think of all the times you were full but you kept eating. Think of all the times you made it starve because you wanted to lose those extra pounds overnight.
Think of all the times you had a cold but your body managed to heal. How about when you had a new piercing and your body had to adjust?
Think of the ups and downs it had to go through whenever you lost or gained weight! Think of all the times it needed sleep, yet you kept it unwillingly awake!
And what about the time you drank your weight in alcohol but your liver managed to detox? You feed it with junk food and put tanning lotion and all kinds of poison on your skin!
We tend to abuse our bodies and neglect their needs! It gives you energy and it heals you! It still loves you, but you’re unable to give it some love back?
3- Start Small, Grow Big
Start by making small changes like resisting the temptation of the drive-through to get a Starbucks drink. We tend to underestimate the amount of sugar that exists in frappes. If you think that you only had a cup of coffee, you need to think again!
You can also start by eating a healthy breakfast; it will suppress your appetite in huge amounts for the rest of the day. Moreover, it’s easier to lose weight if you start off the day by eating something healthy.
After you’ve mastered the art of regularly having breakfast, you can upgrade yourself to the next level. How about actually joining a gym? Start by going two times per week and you can go from there.
If you start small, you will not feel like this sudden change hit you and you’re unable to keep your momentum.
4- Don’t Underestimate Your Beauty Sleep
Staying up late will only increase your chances of binging on junk food; it will also increase your chances of eating that last crumb of that bag of chips.
Not only that, but the lack of sleep increases the cortisol hormone, which makes us eat more and store fat!
If you’re still not convinced, the lack of sleep will make your eyes look sunken and you will make your dark circles even worse.
In contrast, getting 7 to 9 hours of sleep each night will make your body heal, hair grow, and skin glow!
And don’t tell me that you sleep 10 hours each night but you still feel unrested! Your sleeping hour actually matters! It’s not good for your body to sleep at 3 AM and wake up in the afternoon. Our bodies are internally programmed to sleep when it’s night and wake up when it’s day!
5- Lose The Trigger
Watch yourself and write down every time you overeat. If you think that you tend to eat unhealthy food because you don’t have the time to make something in the morning, then you need to start waking up earlier.
If you feel like you’re tempted to buy that dozen of donuts on your way to work, then change your route.
If you feel like hanging out with your friends only makes you eat and drink more, then try to cut back your time with them and only hang out when they don’t have “food plans”.
If you feel like you end up binge eating when you’re watching Netflix, then you need to consider unsubscribing.
If you feel like that bag of Doritos in your pantry is calling your name, then stop buying snacks and storing them at your place. It would be much easier to resist the temptation of snack binging if you don’t have them under your nose!