by: Ange Anglade of The Wellness Studio LLC (@AngeAnglade)
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When was the last time someone gave you a compliment because they noticed your weight loss efforts and instead of you saying “Thank You,” you brush them off with an “oh thanks.” When was the last time you looked in the mirror and put your body under a microscope looking for areas of improvement? And can you honestly say those “trouble areas” have ever been improved? Well at least in your eyes they haven’t.
Research has suggested that women are up to 10 times more likely than men to be unhappy with their body image. According to a new survey, this negative perception persists even when women are at a healthy weight for their height. Interestingly, a researcher has found that the huge gender gap in body image is even seen among people from professional backgrounds
I must admit that I have been guilty of overanalyzing and criticizing my body type/shape. The fact that I am pear shaped and carry the majority of my weight in my lower body, I constantly find myself analyzing my butt, thighs, hips, saddlebags, etc., In the past, it would not be uncommon to find me in the mirror telling myself “if I can do more cardio, focus only on lower body workouts, my thighs and butt would look a lot better and I would be completely satisfied with the way I look”. I can honest say that I have come a long way, I am in the best shape of my life, I have been patient with body and as a result lost a good amount of weight. My journey has lead me to truly embraced my lower body, my curves and I have come full circle with the fact that if I continue to feed my body with negative thoughts, it will create poor body image and will interfere with my success.
Just like we need healthy food to fuel our bodies, it is equally important to feed ourselves with positive affirmations. If you are constantly knocking your own progress or telling yourself “I’m fat,” or “I’m not good enough” your body will respond to your emotions. You will more likely become depress, lose motivation, will start to believe that your goals are unattainable and will eventually give up.
The weather is changing and shortly we will be entering a New Season with hopes of starting a new weight loss plan, let’s begin this journey by eliminating negative self-talk and self-sabotage. Join me and pledge to love the body you are in and continue to embrace it as you see changes happen. If changes aren’t happening as quickly as you anticipate, please be gentle with yourself, allowing your body time to re-shape and re-design.
Tips that Helped Me Build a Better Body Image
1. Feed yourself well. Eat a well-balanced healthy diet of protein, carbs and fat
2. Move your body regularly. Find an exercise program that fits your fitness level, lifestyle and will keep your interest
3. Stay positive – this will help you create positive energy which will make you feel better and accomplish the things we want in life.
The amount of time we spend criticizing ourselves could be spent doing more fulfilling things such as improving our healthy lifestyle. Can you image how much energy we drain by constantly finding faults with our bodies? How amazing it would be if we put all that energy into positive thoughts to help us burn calories, fat so we can reach that ultimate personal fitness goals. You will have moments where negative thoughts will creep in your mind but find comfort in that you are not that person you were last week , 6 weeks ago or 90 days ago. You have made tremendous gains; you have changed and are headed in the right direction.
Your Partner in Health
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Ange Anglade is a wife and mother to three active children ages 14, 12 & 10 and founder of the Wellness Studio, LLC. Ange received a Bachelor of Social Work from Mercy College, NY and a Masters degree in Social Work from Howard university in 1996 and is Licensed Graduate Social Worker. She is a Certified Turbo Kick, PiYo Instructor and has taught group fitness exercises in recreation centers as well as gyms.
