Love, Just The Way You Are: 4 Reasons to Love Your Body

Love your body at any stage.

Learning to love the way you look won’t happen overnight if you don’t love it already. By accepting the way you are right now you will not only gain a healthier perspective on your body, but you’ll also stop working towards unattainable goals like looking like a run-way model. By setting realistic goals and being honest with yourself about how wonderful you are, and the reality of the natural beauty of your body you can achieve the attainable body-shaping goals you set.

Stop associating your self-worth with your appearance. This habit can cause you to tie the idea of beauty to a perception of who you are, and your sense of self. If you are comparing how you look to how other people look, or what other people think you should look like, you might find it harder to love what you have, and that’s a lot.

Change your perception. Studies have shown that people who are perceived as more attractive, also appear to be more competent and successful. A little confidence goes a long way. Look in the mirror and when you look back, be loving and confident. Loving the way you look and exuding confidence might leave you with a larger salary too! Other studies have shown that attractiveness can also influence salary.

You don’t see what everyone else sees. Research has revealed that the only factor common to all things people find beautiful is the activity in the brain’s medial orbital frontal cortex (the part of the brain responsible for pleasure sensations). This means that when you see a single blemish on yourself and judge yourself harshly, you are probably the only one doing so. Self-evaluation of your own attractiveness is often related to self-esteem, based on brain activity. So outsmart your brain and remember that a healthy body is recognized as beautiful, in the brains of most other people. (1)

Men love curves. The traditional idea of beauty for men includes voluptuous curves reminiscent of Marilyn Monroe. Kate Moss’s body is not the idea of beauty men are attracted to. Psychologists from the University of Texas found that lovestruck men have one thing on their minds: the waist to hip ratio. Beautiful women (to men) have a rounder shape, as it is a sign of youthfulness, and health. Love your hips and all your other wonderful curves, the men already do. (2)

Loving the way your body is shaped and how you look isn’t always easy. It can be difficult to accept what your body looks like so you can see how beautiful you are. Here are a few tips on how to love your body:

Be proud of your strength, and every bit of exercise that you do to make your body better than ever. Even if you don’t look like a fitness model, you are stronger and more powerful  than before your workout.

Find a body-loving workout. Ever try yoga? There are a variety of classes that focus on much more than just exercise, but you get to burn tons of calories too! The path to loving your body might be just spending some quality time with both mind, and body in a meditative environment.

Be a mentor, be an example. The first time noticed that you had to make a change in your life you needed support from trainers, friends and family, but you also needed a mentor. Someone to look up to or ask for tips and advice. By setting a good example with your habits, and perception of your own body image, you might be helping someone without even knowing it.

References:

http://www.cnn.com/2012/03/02/health/mental-health/beauty-brain-research/index.html

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/uknews/1539035/Men-lust-for-hourglass-curves-say-researchers.html