Reframing Body Image: Aligning Weight with Your Values

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Transcript

Hello, happy Monday! I actually didn't even plan on this episode being an episode that I was going to record, but if you listened to last week's episode I talked a little bit about how, I mean, personally for me, my body weight fluctuates. It's up and down a few pounds throughout the year. And I do trust that my body will get back to a weight that is, I mean, maybe it will never, maybe my new weight is the weight that I'm at now. But I've kind of released the judgment I have around those extra few pounds and I shared how I was able to do that in the last episode.

So if you haven't had a chance to listen, go ahead and listen to that. But in that episode I mentioned that in all honesty, these extra few pounds that I currently have on my body right now honestly allow me to live a life more in line with my personal values than if I were to be stressed out about just keeping a steady body weight all the time. And I mentioned that in the last episode, and I was like, wow, that deserves a little bit more time to dive into that a little bit more.

So, I wanted to chat a little bit more about how to view body weight through like a values-based lens and I was thinking like, whenever I'm tempted to stare at myself and just scrutinize every body part I don't like, or judge myself based on the number on the scale - which I don't even weigh myself that often so the fact that I let a, like, once-every-few-months scale check-in affect my mental health is really just, it's a reality check for me.

And I have to ask myself, is this even helpful? Is this aligned with my values? This judgment or this wanting to be a lower body weight? Is this judgment of myself helping me build connection with the people I love? Is it giving me peace of mind? Is it improving my health or my well-being? Is it making me happier? Is it allowing me to have new experiences?

No, it's probably preventing us from going out and doing the things we love if it's affecting our confidence. It's probably making us more miserable because we're in our heads all the time, thinking about these extra few pounds instead of allowing our minds to daydream and focus on the things that we actually love and enjoy.

So you can think about that the next time you're tempted to judge your extra few pounds or a body part that you don't like. Just think, is this time that I'm spending doing this, is this energy that I'm spending doing this, is this in line with what I want to be doing with my life, who I want to be? Is it in line with my values?

And then on the flip side of that, I kind of touched on this in the last episode, maybe those extra few pounds are actually a result of you living a life more in line with your values. And if that's the case, then that's incredible! What a huge shift that could be for you just to appreciate where your body currently is and to release any judgment that comes with a few extra pounds that are a result of you living a life you love.

So I just wanted to close this out with a little reminder that your identity and your worth lies in your values and how you're upholding those. It does not lie in your body weight. So keep this in mind as you move forward throughout the week and honestly, just throughout your life.

Hopefully this will be a helpful little anchor to come back to when you're tempted to judge your body or your body weight. And it'll allow you to have a little bit more grace and a different perspective.

Have a great week!