Just returned from a full week off training, featuring pints, pasties and plenty of chocolate. Carrying approximately five extra kilograms – I know, pretty good achievement in one week…
But I got back and immediately felt it was time to rein it in and start focusing back on good food, not just because I looked like crap, but I felt like it too.
Quite often, we’re so preoccupied with our shape and our jeans size, we are completely oblivious to what it is we’re really upset about. We look in the mirror and feel deflated and depressed because of how we look, but what is actually happening a lot of the time, is a whole lot more.
1. Guilt
We feel we’ve let ourselves down. We look in the mirror and we’re not greeted by the toned, athletic body of our late teen years. Instead, we see something that we vowed we’d never become; something that let it go, that lost sight of what we wanted. It’s not our physical form we’re angry with, it’s our mindset. We promised we’d never be the person that let themselves go and here we are…we feel guilty for letting ourselves down.
2. Hopelessness
We’ve often tried so many things before – and maybe even had some short-lived successes – and yet here we are, back in the mirror again, not liking what we see. We’re tired of trying because everything seems futile. And yet so many others seem to find what works for them. We feel hopeless to try and change the situation.
3. Apathy
We’re bored of seeing the same old story pan out in front of this same old mirror and the same bathroom scales. We can’t be bothered any more. Maybe we should just accept it and move on and try and claw back some shred of joy by trying to accept ourselves. We feel apathetic, like change can’t happen for us now.
But the thing is, these emotions don’t come from our body weight. They come from what that extra weight can represent; loss of self, loss of identity, stress, overwhelm, fatigue. And actually, if we take control and are honest with ourselves, we know that the cycle of these negative emotions when we evaluate ourselves, is fuelled by the diet of junk we continue to feed ourselves. We also know, that our diet should not be totally about the shallow picture we are so obsessed with. It’s about health, energy, vitality. It’s about so much more than just the jeans that give you muffin top. It’s about confidence. It’s about reconnecting with our true visions, values, goals, our real selves.
We live in a social society. We are social creatures. We want to fit in. We want to be respected. So much of that comes from how we appear to the outside world. And yet so much of that comes from within our own mind and what we project. But if we can take control of our physical selves, just for a moment, then we can help manipulate all of that and create the picture we really want to see.
Body image is a complex topic. It’s not something you will suddenly be okay with overnight. But when we break the societal bond between body image and diet and instead talk about a much bigger picture; emotions, energy, vitality, then we start to see success.