When you first made the decision to lead a healthier lifestyle, chances are your body confidence was pretty low. Whether it was the way your body looked, how it stopped you living life to the full, or the health problems it created, you knew the time had come to change. And it makes sense to think that by getting in better shape, you’ll feel better about yourself. The truth is, feeling better starts from the inside out and building body confidence can start now – it doesn’t matter what size you are, or where you are on your weight-loss journey. And improving your body confidence has a double benefit – you’ll feel happier and improve your chances of reaching and maintaining your weight-loss goal.
For some Slimming World members, body confidence grows as the numbers on the scales go down. For others, it’s not so simple. Years of embarrassment, frustration, shame and resentment at how you look can embed a negative relationship with your body that’s hard to shift. So even when you’re dropping dress sizes and on the receiving end of compliments, deep down, you still feel the way you look is unacceptable. It makes sticking to a healthy eating plan extra hard. After all, if you don’t value yourself, why would you invest time and effort into taking care of yourself?
If that sounds familiar, there’s lots you can do to transform your relationship with your body, no matter how much you’d still like to lose. ‘Your aim is simply to become a friend of your body,’ says consultant clinical psychologist Dr Mary Welford, author of The Compassionate Mind Approach to Building Your Self Confidence (Robinson, £15). ‘A friend treats their body well and acknowledges what’s amazing about it.’