My thoughts on body positivity and being overweight
July 13, 2024
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I am all for learning to love ourselves.
It’s one of the main aspects of my work with my clients as a behaviour change expert and life coach specialising in weight loss and weight management.
For me health is true wealth.
This has been drummed into me after a 20 year career in the NHS prior to starting my own business and seeing first hand the results of what happens when we don’t look after ourselves.
I am concerned about how body positivity, when taken too literally, could potentially limit and shorten people’s lives because they do not feel able to make changes that they need to make for their health.
So here are a few of my thoughts on the subject.
If we are unhappy about being overweight, and how it makes us feel, and are worried about the health risks, we will need to make some changes.
In my own personal experience and my professional experience, we tend to only make changes when staying the same becomes too uncomfortable for us, either mentally, physically, emotionally, or all the above.
As a well known quote says, ‘our nervous system will always prefer a familiar hell over an unfamiliar heaven’, so we can put up with being uncomfortable for a long time, as we fear the effort and unknown results of making the changes.
We can have all the positive thinking and clear visions about what we want.
But what really tends to trigger us into action is an event that is SO uncomfortable that we’ve had enough and need to do something about it…
…a seatbelt not doing up on the plane,
…a chair collapsing,
…a diabetes or high blood pressure diagnosis,
…or not being able to fit into your wedding dress 6 weeks before your wedding! (that was one of mine)
But if we are being encouraged to love our bodies as they are, we’re not going to be as motivated to change anything.
If we are not concerned about our health and are not experiencing any problems, then it doesn’t matter.
But if we are, then it does.
So in my view, body positivity needs to be about:
- respecting our bodies that do such a great job of keeping us alive and tolerating everything we throw at them,
- loving ourselves enough to feel worthy of making the changes we need to make, in as healthy a way as possible, and
- using the energy generated from our discomfort in our bodies to motivate us into action.
So that we can feel really positive about a body that can do all the things we want it to do, can wear all the clothes we want to wear, and be healthy so we can live as long and happy a life as possible.
That to me is true body positivity.
But it’s not easy to do because if we have tried and failed to lose weight and keep it off, maybe many times, we may believe we’re not actually capable of making the changes.
So it can feel easier to instead try to learn to love our bodies as they are.
But in doing so we may stop making any efforts to change, and so may continue to become more overweight and further increase the risks to our health.
So it may not actually solve the problem. It can make it bigger.
Personally I found it impossible to love my body when I was overweight.
I hated how my thighs rubbed.
How tight waistbands would dig in.
How out of breath I got bending over to do up shoelaces.
How I would bump into furniture as I lost awareness of where my body ended.
How in pain I was from all the extra weight I was carrying.
How tired I was. All the time.
I felt terribly guilty about how I was treating my body, and worried constantly about my health. I knew it was only a matter of time before something happened… high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, cancer, joint problems…
And I didn’t recognise myself in the mirror.
There was nothing positive about any of that.
But what I did manage to do was love MYSELF enough to do what was right for my body, and that was to lose the weight.
And I got help to do it.
I’ve been a healthy weight for 13 years now, after 25 years of yo-yo dieting. And I am absolutely making the most of my life.
I love how I can do all the things I want to do, like running, walking, weight training and riding my motorbike with freedom from the worries of being uncomfortable and in pain.
I love how I can wear whatever I want and feel comfortable.
The experiences I have had over the last 13 years have been so wonderful and memorable and I intend to carry on doing all these things for as long as possible.
I no longer worry about my health, or whether my clothes will fit.
If I hadn’t made the changes I would have missed out on so much.
I feel so much more positive about my body than I ever did before.
And for the past 5 years I’ve been helping my clients to do what I’ve been able to do…
…lose weight and learn how to keep it off and love themselves and their bodies like never before.
You can find out more about how I can help you too by clicking here:
About Claire Jones
Claire Jones of YourOneLife Healthy Weight Solutions, is a multi-award-winning Sustainable Weight Loss Coach, Mentor, Therapist, Speaker and Author of the popular book “How To Eat Less”, available on Amazon.
She helps people learn how to confidently manage their weight well for life, after successfully managing her own weight since 2011, following a 25 year yo-yo dieting battle.
With a career background of over 25 years spanning the NHS, HM Prison Service, and the UK Fire Service, she has seen first-hand what happens when people don’t look after their health, and has a natural desire to help and to serve those in need.
However, it was after overcoming decades of yo-yo dieting and learning how to look after her own health, that she found a particularly unique way to be of service.
She realised she had found an effective, unique and sustainable solution to the weight loss and regain cycles that so many go through, that cripples their confidence and holds them back from the lives they really want.
She is known for her relatable, down-to-earth manner and for helping her clients finally crack the code to their healthy weight and happiest selves.
She offers both standard and bespoke packages to work with her intensively on a one-to-one basis, as well as lower cost options to suit more limited budgets.
You can find out more about her services by clicking here.
Find out how I can help you
Book your FREE 15 minute discovery call (online video or phone call) to find out how I can help you.
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