You are good enough now!

Poor body image. How we can attach too much of our happiness on how our body looks.

Disclaimer: this blog post isn’t for everybody and I don’t claim to be completely accurate with some of the opinions and thoughts that I will be giving. This is an attempt to help some of you understand why you may never feel satisfied with the body that you’re in and how to start to love how you look now – rather than some result you want in the future!

YOU ARE GOOD ENOUGH!

The topic of this blog post came to me after a query from a follower on my socials.

In fact, in the last 12 months in particular I have had a series of enquiries relating to body image… in particular how this can affect our sense of well-being, identity and how the pursuit of the ‘body beautiful’ can be a trigger point for people who suffer with varying levels of body dysmorphia.

I think it’s important to state that a lean, muscular, toned body – does not necessarily mean healthy!

Nor is it a marker for physical fitness.

Let’s eliminate that preconception from the start. Somebody could be extremely healthy, have excellent cardiovascular health… but present with the body type that is typically associated with the term ‘obese’

From an objective level all it means is that person has eaten more calories than they have burnt off. It has absolutely no correlation with their physical health or fitness.

But of course, that wouldn’t always be the case. Especially if the said person isn’t very active.

So…

Where to start?

We all approach the gym to look and feel better then we do now…

In fact, if we’re honest it’s mainly the aesthetic change that’s driving us in the first place.

Health is an added bonus!

The only issue with this is that it’s simply one aspect of the result that we are seeking… and often this particular aspect takes much longer to develop than we would like.

But, because we value the physical change above all else we negate the other more valuable changes to our emotional, psychological and functional development.

Not that I’m trying to bash the fitness industry… because ultimately I’m a part of it as well…

However, the emphasis this industry places on a lean body has damaged our perception of what is important. It also taps into our base desires.

And I'm talking about sex!

Most, if not all of us want to slim down and tone up in order to feel attractive, validated and more appealing to others.

And there’s nothing wrong with that…

It’s just the fact that we could end up taking it a little bit too far. We may even get this validation that we desire -  but at a cost.

An example could be when somebody strives to get a six pack… they achieve this goal and realise that it’s unsustainable and that they miss food. That it’s too much sacrifice with their social life and they may realise they’ve become a little bit dull.

They miss out on important bonding activities that socialising brings. All to look a certain way!

If how we look is wrapped in a need for connection then this can also get a little bit confusing. Hopefully we realise that the way we look shouldn’t be currency for how we are valued in the world.

If we work out to be accepted and therefore ‘connected’. Why?

And this also extends to how we connect and accept ourselves. The part of us that doesn’t like how we look is always trying to fix the problem…

And once we start to see changes to our body we may feel the need to push through but that part of us that didn’t like how we looked originally is never satisfied.

This is the dysmorphic part by the way…

Instead of just focusing on how we look it would be important to reflect on what drives us to achieve a physical goal in the first place.

Own that and accept it…

Realise that the health and fitness isn’t just about maintaining a toned figure, it’s also about longevity. So the answer isn’t to do a complete 180 and stop going to the gym…

It’s to change our values on why we’re doing it in the first place.

Maybe the health benefits should be the ultimate priority and the physical change is the added bonus.

You are good enough now!