Tips for improving your body image and self esteem (that actually work)

by Sophie Allen

Not feeling yourself today bestie?

That's okay! We all go through periods of lower self-esteem and body image. Overcoming this can be hard, especially when most of the advice out there is to simply 'love your body'. However, radical self-love can be hard, especially when we aren't feeling so good!

This is why I prefer body neutrality and self-acceptance, instead body positive and self-love. You don't have to LOVE yourself all the time, but you can ACCEPT yourself. Another good thing to be mindful of, is our ability to do this comes in waves. We don’t suddenly unlock a deep, unwavering self-love that can’t be rocked… we will more likely have moments of greater self-love and appreciation, mixed in with moments we struggle to find 1 positive thing to think about ourselves. It’s ok if you can’t achieve that every day - we are complex beings, but awareness is the first step to making any kind of improvement, and here you are becoming all aware and cute!

Without further ado - here are my top tips for improving your body image on those low days.

  1. Body neutrality - this is the process of detaching any meaning, both negative or positive, to how your body looks. It involves appreciating what your body does for you biologically, but remaining neutral to how it looks. 
  2. Choose performance based goals rather than aesthetic ones. Instead of chasing a certain 'look' or goal weight, start focusing on what your body can do instead! Set strength and performance based goals such as squatting x amount, running a certain distance, improving your mobility, or getting fitter, and take the focus away from just how your body looks. 
  3. Practice gratitude. Write a list of why you are grateful for your body, and what it does for you every day that you appreciate. This can be things like allowing you to walk, run, drive, type, smell or taste. The list can be as long as you like, but you can look at it whenever you feel negative about your body. 
  4. Unfollow or mute social media accounts that trigger you/make you insecure. Go through your following list and don't be scared to hit that unfollow button! Be selective, and fill your feed with positive vibes only!

Remember, your body is the least interesting thing about you. You are SO much more than just a body gf!

Soph xx

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