Why You Don't Have to Love Your Body.

You shouldn't hate your body, but you don't have to love it either. No you don't, but you do have to do four things if you want to change your body. What's up I'm Melanie Ash from MelanieAshFitness.com I'm a personal trainer, a fitness nutrition specialist, a weight management specialist, and a women's wellness enthusiast. And I know the message that you're hearing these days it's everywhere, all about body positivity and loving your body. Please don't get me wrong that is awesome, it is a wonderful thing to see women and courage of being proud of their bodies and not feeling the pressure to fit into a certain mold or into a certain stereotype, that is absolutely a good thing. The message that women have been told, has kind of evolved from nothing tastes as good as skinny feels to love the skin you're in, love your body and treat it well. And while that's a wonderful message if you're someone who's not extremely happy with your body right now it can be somewhat difficult to connect with that message. And so today I'm going to tell you why you don't have to love your body, you absolutely don't. But there are four things that you need to do if you want to lose weight, improve your health, or get to a place where maybe you can love your body. Alright so this message today is for anybody who feels like you know you want to change and you want to feel good about your body and you're just struggling a little bit to know how do you do that, and still love your body at the same time. Here are the four things that I want you to do instead of loving your body. Number one: Move it. Regular exercise walking, going to the gym, taking a dance class, sweating, absolutely you have to move your body. Number two: Nourish it. And that means eating healthy foods, hydrating it with plenty of water, occasionally nourishing it with something that might be a little indulgent like a decadent dessert, it can absolutely be nourishment for your body. It's not something that you have to have every day, but that's a great way to show some appreciation for your body. and.. Number three is: Appreciate it. Appreciate your body whether you've given birth to children, whether you have overcome an illness or an injury, whether you have climbed the grand canyon hike the Grand Canyon, your body has got some amazing things, appreciate it. It is incredible no matter what it looks like, no matter how you feel some days, your body is amazing. Being able to just move your body is a gift that not everyone has appreciate it. And finally number four: Respect it. As I said your body is an amazing thing and it does amazing things every day, and it takes a lot but over time it can only take so much before it starts to break down. And that's where respecting your body comes into play. Give it the things that it needs to feel good, to perform well, start with that. So start with the respect, know that your body is truly the only physical thing that is ever going to be one hundred percent yours. And your body is a reflection of your choices, so respect it enough not to blame it for being a reflection of those choices, make different choices if you're unhappy with it. So if you're kind of in a place where you feel like you want to change and you're seeing this message of love your body, love your body, and you're struggling because you feel like you don't love your body and you do want to change it that's okay, I'm here to tell you you don't have to love it. It'd be great if you did but if you don't you want to do those four things; move it, nourish it, appreciate it, and respect it. And over time that will bring you a lot closer towards changing it, which just might change your perspective about it. So I hope that was helpful if you're feeling in a place where you don't quite know how to love your body, you'll get there. And I'd love to hear from you and share your thoughts with me about the love your body message. Is that something that resonates with you or is it something that you struggle with? If you'd like some more encouragement or just a friendly place to share ideas and get motivated, I have a free Facebook group and you can get my free 7-day healthy kick start plan as well you join that group. It's seven days a complete meal plan, with recipes including prep instructions, complete seven days of workouts, including all length workout videos. So you can do the workouts with me and some extra guidance and motivation to get you going, to tend to get you in that routine. So i will put a link here with this video to that Facebook group and seven day kickstart our plan if you want to check that out, you can also find it at MelanieAshFitness.com Happy monday, make it a great day remember pick one thing that you can do today for your body to show it that you respect it and that you appreciate it. Take care! We'll talk soon.