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Importance of Self-Love in Being Healthy

Self-Love

Why is Self-love Important to be Healthy?
Self-love or self-esteem refers to a person's beliefs about their own worth and value. It also has to do with the feelings people experience that follow from their sense of worthiness or unworthiness.

Self-love is important in general because it heavily influences a person’s choices and decisions. Those with high self-esteem are motivated to take care of themselves and to persistently strive towards the fulfillment of personal goals and aspirations. Individuals with lower self-esteem do not tend to regard themselves as worthy of happy outcomes or capable of achieving them and so tend to let important things slide and to be less persistent and resilient in terms of overcoming adversity. They may have the same kinds of goals as people with higher self-esteem, but they are generally less motivated to pursue them to their conclusion.

Most people believe that they have low self-love because they are overweight, but I believe it’s more complicated than that.  Perhaps our self-esteem suffered after we gained weight, but then we stayed that way because of our low self-esteem. I gained about 30 lbs my first year of college and my self-esteem really suffered.  It took me a long time to feel good about my body, even after I lost weight. Not weighing myself all the time has really helped.

We need to love ourselves enough to believe we are worthy of being taken care of and believe we are able to do it.  Getting into the habit of regular exercise and good eating is difficult and I personally didn’t think I’d be able to do it.  It is a process and you will need to be kind to yourself as you go through it.

It’s important to start your health and fitness journey for the right reasons.  You want to be healthy and be able to do the fun things you want to do because you love your body, not because you hate it.

Tips to Being Kind/Gentle to Yourself:
  • Pick out one word that reminds you to be calm & gentle. This word should be one that sticks with you so easily that you don’t have to try and remember it. Some examples would be: calm, peace, safe, kind, gentle, relax, slow, or ease.  Try and think of the word that automatically brings you the feeling that you’re desiring here.
  • Start to think about doing things for yourself from a place of nourishment vs. punishment. Instead of eating vegetables because you think you’re fat, make a really delicious plant based dish and tell yourself that your body needs amazing nutrients and you want to fuel her properly! It is ALL about how you think about things, so start small (like with veggies) and slowly build from there. Each day, do something kind for yourself - from a bubble bath to pouring a beautiful cup of herbal tea. While you’re preparing the thing, do it with love.
  • Rather than focusing on perceived body “flaws,” remember all that your body does for you! Share gratitude for your body - from the way she heals a cut to the way she carries you through your day! Remember that your body isn’t the enemy… she/he is your greatest friend!

Tips to Having Confidence & Feeling Self-Worth:
  • Confidence: Take yourself on a date & challenge yourself to a little experiment. Buy your favorite drink, and then take a walk. Walk somewhere populated - perhaps a downtown area. Look around, and try to pick out the women/men who look confident to you. What about them you see confidence? Pick things out that have nothing to do with their body size. What things do you find makes that woman beautiful?
    • Those who have done this experiment come back with: she was smiling; she was laughing; she stood tall; it looked as though she had spent time on herself; she seemed nice; she seemed happy. Think about these things. Envision a woman who looks this way - does this exude confidence to you? Can you FEEL what it would be like to see THIS as confidence?
  • Self-worth: What makes the people in your life worthy of love? Make a list! Is it the way they listen, support, etc? I bet the things that make these people “Worthy” of being loved is SO much more than the physical.
    • Start to look for these things in YOURSELF! Compliment yourself daily by looking in the mirror and saying: “you are [fill in the blank] and worthy of love, success, and happiness.” Anytime you feel “not good enough,” comfort yourself with these same thoughts & statement. It is a process, but every time you catch yourself and redirect your energy, you will move away from worthlessness and move toward worthiness!
    • Begin to give yourself the things you’ve been holding off of until you are “worth it.” This might look like buying clothing that fits properly, going on a vacation, taking an adventure (small or large) or even investing in delicious tasting food! Stop punishing yourself and start showing yourself your own value.

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