Hi lovely,
I wanted to create something special for you before I leave for vacation to Italy (I cannot wait!). So, I put together this Radical Body-Acceptance Workbook for you.
Now, before you dive into the juicy body-acceptance exercises in this workbook, I want to explain a few things.
This workbook is designed to get you in action mode.
As you know, change can’t happen without you taking action and actually doing something.
There’s nothing that has helped me more on the way to body-acceptance than my own initiative and I hope that with the help of this book, you’ll begin to take initiative too in order to be free, accept your body and love yourself.
So, please don’t just look at the exercises, decide they’re silly and move on with your life. Even if you’ve heard of them before, don’t just roll your eyes. Instead, do them, be honest with yourself and really work through them.
The exercises are based on real science and you’ll find that even the simplest of these exercises will help you to move a little closer to total body-acceptance.
Take action now!
Hugs,
Anne-Sophie
Click Here to Download Your Printable Workbook
Don’t engage in fat talk
Fat talk is one of the most common ways for women to spend their time. We get together and chat… about our fat bodies, our diets, our binges and our desires to lose weight. It’s an easy topic as we can all relate to these dreams.
However, the next time you get together with your girlfriends, stay quiet when the fat talk begins
. Or even better, kindly say that you’re sick and tired of beating yourself up over your body and you’d rather talk about more meaningful things.
Your girlfriends will react in all kinds of ways – so be prepared for that.
If you want to take it even further, complement your girlfriends on the parts you love about them. Tell them they have beautiful eyes, a wicked sense of humor and the kindest heart you know.
If you want, you can reflect on your experiences afterwards.
What changed in you? How did the atmosphere change? What happened with the conversational flow? Did you feel uncomfortable or in your element?
Ask others what they appreciate about you
A beautiful way to change your perspective around your body and yourself is to ask your friends, loved ones and even your co-workers what they appreciate about you.
Take action now and write up a short email or copy the following:
Hey there,
I hope all is well for you. I have a short (slightly weird) question for you, but I’d appreciate your – honest – feedback/ answer.
Can you tell me what my three best qualities are? What are the three top things you think of when you think of me? What do you appreciate about me?
I’d really appreciate your answer.
Love,
Be prepared to be surprised and blown away by the answers!
Important: don’t dismiss these words, but sit with them, see if they resonate with you or at least a part of you and believe them.
What people like and appreciate about me:
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
What do I think when I read these words?
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Make an ongoing list of some of the amazing things your body has done/can do
This is fun and will help you to move from body-shaming to body-praising.
Begin right now:
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If you need some more inspiration, read this post showcasing the true miracle that your body is.
And be sure to continue this list.
Click Here to Download Your Printable Workbook
Spend time in nature and feel your body
Being outside, feeling the crisp, clean air move into your lungs and fill your body with life is one of the most beautiful ways to truly embody your body. Feel your legs carrying you, your arms hugging you, the sun lovingly caressing your cheeks.
Spend this time outside without plugging in your headphones or engaging in mindless chatter. Simple be with your body and become aware of the feelings, thoughts and sensations that arise.
Wear clothes that fit
OK, this might be one of the most commonly suggested body-love tips and you might roll your eyes right now, but you know why it’s mentioned so very often? Because it WORKS.
I’ve had a situation like this a few days ago where I felt big and sluggish. I had just purchased a new pair of summer pants and somehow, I just didn’t feel great in them. Wearing them made me feel crappy and fat.
However, the moment I put on my sweatpants, I felt fantastic, could breathe again and was able to focus on more important things than my size.
So, if you have a billion clothes in your closet that sit too tight and ruin your mood, get rid of them.
Do it now. It helps SO much.
Take action now
I will go through my closet on: ______________
I will get rid of:
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Now that I’ve gotten rid of these clothes, I feel:
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Get rid of your scale
I’m going to beat you over the head with this until you actually do it. Because I know you haven’t done it yet, have you?
Get. Rid. Of. Your. Scale.
If you feel like you simply cannot do it, do some work around your beliefs of having to weigh yourself daily.
Take action now and journal about these writing prompts:
If I don’t weigh myself, I will…
I need my scale because….
Without my scale, I would…..
What do I feel when I weigh myself?
When I think of stepping on my scale, I want to….
When you’ve written down your thoughts, go through your answers one by one and say the following words:
Even though I believe that I’ll gain ten pounds if I don’t weigh myself anymore, I love and accept myself wholeheartedly.
Even thought…., I love and accept myself wholeheartedly.
Don’t dismiss this exercise as too “out there” and instead do it. It helps, I promise.
Mirror Work: look yourself in the eyes and say: “I’m beautiful”
Instead of looking in the mirror and hating yourself, turn it around. Tell yourself you’re beautiful.
Tell yourself that you love yourself and that you rock your socks. Try to look into your eyes while doing this.
Which emotions come up when you do this? What happens with your body? Your thoughts?
Don’t rush this exercise and give yourself time to truly feel all the feelings that want to surface.
When you’re done, journal about it answering these writing prompts:
What did I feel before this exercise?
What did I feel during this exercise?
What do I feel now that I’ve done this exercise?
What can I learn from this exercise?
Begin each day with a commitment
Every morning, instead of walking to the scale, commit to loving yourself, respecting your body and appreciating what it does for you.
Isn’t that a much better way of beginning a new day?
Take action now and write down the exact words you’re going to repeat for the next days, weeks, months and years.
I commit to
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Sign your personal body-love pledge
I pledge…
- To respect my body
- To stop bashing my body every chance I get
- To change the inner monologue in my head to one that is encouraging, loving, kind and filled with love
- To nourish my body and give it what it needs in order to thrive and keep me alive
- To exercise because I love my body and not because I want to punish myself
- To understand that weight is neither good nor bad. It is just a number and I am wholly good.
- To listen to my body instead of trying to control it and my world
- To begin living now instead of waiting until I’ve lost another 10 pounds
- To understand that I may have fat, but that I am not fat. Just as I have fingernails, but am not fingernails.
- To wrap myself in a blanket of love instead of a fire of hatred
- To stop being the primary abuser of my body
- To be committed to this journey to body-acceptance and self-love.
- To stop relying on compliments and a number to feel good about myself
- To cherish my body for its uniqueness and beauty
Signature: _________________________________
Click Here to Download Your Printable Workbook
Name your inner critic*
What name can you give your running body-shaming commentator?
Try to give her a loving name instead of focusing on hating her.
Once you’ve named your inner body-shamer, engage in conversation with her as often as you want, need, like. Talk to her when she tells you you’re fat, you need to lose weight, you need to be someone you’re not.
Tell her – lovingly – that you appreciate her concern, but that you no longer believe her words and that you’re ready to embrace a new reality.
Go a step further and get a mascot representing your inner body-hater. This can be a kitten, a beautiful crystal, a monkey, anything. This’ll help you to remember that you’ve chosen a different path and that you’re committed to a life without body-shame.
From now on, I’ll lovingly call my inner commentator _____________________. When _________________ voices her concern about my body, I’ll do the following:
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Create a body-gratitude jar
Gratitude makes the world go round, especially the body-acceptance world.
The more you practice gratitude, the more you’ll begin to live in the here and now, appreciating what you have instead of always longing for what you don’t have yet.
So, begin giving thanks now by creating your own body-gratitude jar – just like this one here.
Have fun with this. This is one of my favorite ways to remember that my body truly is amazing.
Define beautiful
Have you ever wondered what beauty really means to you?
Try to get away from what you see on TV and in ads and instead focus on what you find delightful and truly pretty. Cut out pictures, find words, photos, colors, shapes, textures, anything that inspires you and put together a piece of art that encapsulates beauty to you.
Share it with us if you like!
Write down your heart’s desires when it comes to your body and to food.*
Right now, you can probably think of a billion things you truly desire when it comes to your body and to food. In the space below, write down the things you most frequently dream of and really, really want. What would make you happy, giddy, super excited?
Thing 1:
Thing 2:
Thing 3:
Thing 4:
Now, that you’ve written down the things you want, think about the feelings you’ll have when you achieve these things – because in the end, that’s what you really long for right? Try to imagine having the perfect body or never longing for a piece of chocolate again (or whatever else it is you are dreaming of!). How do you feel now that you’ve achieved this state? What emotions come up?
In the space below, share how you’ll feel when you have what you really want:
When I have Thing 1, the sensation I’ll feel is:
When I have Thing 2, the sensation I’ll feel is:
When I have Thing 3, the sensation I’ll feel is:
When I have Thing 4, the sensation I’ll feel is:
Here’s the thing, you don’t need to have the perfect body in order to feel the way you want to feel. You can begin to feel that way today.
At the same time, you can have the perfect body and still feel lonely, unaccepted and hollow. You can eat “clean” and weigh only a certain amount, but still cry yourself to sleep every night (hell, I did that for a decade!). You can seem perfect but still be miserable.
Remember that external circumstances do not create feeling states. Feeling states create external circumstances.
Take action now: Start with the end in mind. Begin feeling, happy, free, powerful, and beautiful right now and see what happens with your life. You can tap into these feelings by meditating, journaling, practicing mindfulness and repeating mantras.
If you stick with this exercise, you’ll soon see that you don’t have to lose a single pound in order to feel as confident as you’ve always wanted to feel.
Exercise because you love your body not because you hate it
We often associate exercise with slaving away at the gym feeling miserable and looking at our watch every 10 seconds. We also associate exercise with the agony of having to lose weight. And thus, exercise always feels like a big punishment to us.
But there’s a different way to move your body. Yes, you can actually have fun while exercising – who know, right?
Take action now and think about the form(s) of exercise you truly enjoy!
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
I commit to doing _____ / week because I feel ___________.
Keep checking in with yourself as you’re changing the way you think and feel about exercising. When something doesn’t feel fun anymore, stop doing it and search for a new form of moving your body. After all, that’s why there are so many different styles and trainings out there, right?
Find/Name Your Body-Acceptance Buddy
You probably know that making a workout a constant in your life is easiest when you have a workout buddy. The same is true to finding your way to body-acceptance.
Take action now and find a friend that’ll walk the body-acceptance journey with you. That way you can keep each other accountable, help each other through tough times and stop each other from engaging in the nasty fat talk.
My body-acceptance body is ___________ because ________________.
Believe me, having a body-acceptance buddy will make all the difference in your journey to finding peace around food and your body.
Craft Your Go-To Body-Love Response
Unfortunately, we live in a world where body-shaming is normal and happens every single day. You may not have been the victim of body-shaming yourself, but I’m sure that you’ve felt judged in a collective manner by society and the media.
You can’t go into a supermarket without having headlines scream at you to Lose 50 Pounds in 2 Days or Try Out the Latest Wonder Drug Now, right?
These messages mess with our minds and with out hearts, that’s why it’s crucial to have a go-to body-love response to them.
These words should resonate with you and feel right in your body, so take some time to craft your response.
My go-to body-love response:
________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________
Every time you feel insecure or judged, say these words and you’ll certainly notice that you’ll feel more confident and at peace.
Compare yourself – in the right way
When I was in treatment for my anorexia (seemingly a lifetime ago), I once got the seemingly silly exercise to spend 30 minutes observing women in one of the busiest shopping streets in Zurich.
Even though I felt weird and guilty for doing this at first, I soon began to feel better about my body, my shape, my entire self.
For all of my life, I had compared myself to photos of Britney Spears or Sarah Michelle Gellar – photoshopped versions of women who’s job it was to look beautiful. While sitting on a bench in that shopping street, I felt “normal” for the very first time in my life.
Why?
Because I was comparing myself to “real” women instead of edited photos. During these 30 minutes I saw women of all shapes and sizes, tall, short, big, thin, with long legs and short legs and everything in between.
This exercise opened my eyes to reality and I haven’t looked back since.
Soooo, if you want to compare yourself with others, compare yourself to the women you spend your life with instead of those you see on TV.
Take action now and spend 30 minutes observing women in a lively street in your area. You’ll see that you aren’t nearly as different as you may think you are.
*Adapted from Martha Beck’s exercises on finding your essential self.
