Self-Love and Weight Loss: Loving the Pounds Away

The concept of self-love is uncomfortable for many people because they shudder to think about vain, egotistical people they’ve known. True self-love is nothing like vanity or egotism—in fact, quite the opposite. True self-love is subtle and humble, never obtrusive.

Why is self-love important in the process of losing weight?

Because if you don’t truly love yourself, you’ll struggle to do what’s best for you, including taking good care of your body and losing weight.  When you really love yourself, you actually want to take care of yourself. You want to eat right and exercise.  You want to get plenty of rest. You respect yourself and expect others to do the same.

If you don’t yet have such a strong sense of self-love, here’s how to develop it:

Self-Love Step #1 - Accept Yourself

Even though you are in the process of improving your body through weight loss and exercise, it’s important to accept yourself as you are right now.  The worst thing you can do is complain about your body, or put yourself down in any way!  Focus each day on being completely accepting of yourself, body, mind, and spirit.  You can even speak to yourself kindly if it helps.  Say things like this:  “I completely love and accept myself now.  I love myself even though I’m not perfect.  I don’t have to be perfect to be lovable.”

See: Self-Love Empowers You

Self-Love Step #2 - Be Gentle with Yourself

Do you often feel hostile and angry toward your body?  Do you feel like it’s your enemy?  Turn that around by making a conscious choice to treat your body gently.  Don’t get angry at your extra pounds, don’t say mean things to yourself, and don’t expect yourself to change everything instantly.  If you stop treating yourself like a misbehaving child, you’ll come to realize just how much better you feel with that one small change alone.

Self-Love Step #3 - Feel the Love

Going through the motions and saying the words isn’t enough - you have to FEEL the love for yourself.  As you say “I love myself,” really focus on feeling a sense of love for yourself.  It may take a little practice if you’ve never done that before, but the difference in your results will be profound.

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