Week 8: What If Self-Love Wasn’t the Goal? Let's Talk Body Acceptance

I can’t believe we’re already on the last week of ’Tis the Season to Ditch Diet Culture — our 8-week long journey to pass on the poison punch and navigate the holiday season in a way that's truly healthy, mind, body, and spirit. 

Eight weeks in and wow, you all have been putting in the work!

Seriously - I am SO inspired by all the strides you’ve taken, the progress you’ve made, and the wins you’ve celebrated along the way. From the group calls to the online community, witnessing your commitment to breaking free of the chains of diet culture has been truly incredible. 

You have immersed yourselves in the really difficult journey of ditching diet culture in so many incredible ways:

• Identifying all the ways in which diet culture shows up in your every day

• Unlearning health myths

• Working through food judgments, food rules, and food labels

• Learning to navigate people as you move away from diet talk

• Breaking through lots of shit… lots and lots of shit

• Understanding what really makes you feel well

• Taking steps towards trusting that your body knows exactly what you need and honoring it in the process

At this point in the journey, one question consistently rises to the top. Or multiple questions, rather, all centered around the same topic: 

BODY IMAGE!

• Why am I committed to ditching diet culture but I still want to lose weight?

• Can I lose weight safely?

• Why can’t I just accept my body the way it is?

• Will I ever be able to love my body?

• Can I change the way I see myself?

The relationship we have with ourselves is the longest relationship we’ll ever have. And life is too damn short to spend our precious time and energy at war with ourselves, and worse, at war with our bodies. 

That being said, living in diet culture, the relationship we have with our bodies is one of the most complex relationships to navigate. 

And unfortunately, for the vast majority of people, the desire to accept our bodies as they are simply isn’t enough. 

Body acceptance is a practice. 

Body acceptance takes time. Body acceptance takes hard work. And body acceptance takes a commitment to take action.

And you know what? Body acceptance might not even be your goal.

Body acceptance. Body neutrality. Body peace. Body love. Body liberation. 

All of these (and more!) are valid goals. The relationship you want to have with your body is your choice -- it’s not for anyone else to choose. And chances are, your goal will evolve over time.

And whatever your ultimate goal, it all starts with a commitment to taking care of your body.

Because spoiler alert: YOU DON’T NEED TO LOVE YOUR BODY TO TAKE CARE OF IT. 

Would it make it a little easier? Sure. But it’s not a prerequisite. 

So no matter how you feel about your body, this is your call to take care of it. Every. Single. Day.

• Eat foods, regularly

• Eat a variety of foods, if you have access to them

• Don’t restrict yourself from any foods

• Move your body in ways that feel good

• Rest your body, and probably a lot more than you do

• Spend time with the people you love

• Do things you love 

Whatever choices you make, let them be kind. Always strive to make a kind choice. 

This week we’re exploring all of the above because we’re talking about all things body. 

• What is body acceptance?

• Why is body shame so pervasive/

• What gets in the way of body acceptance?

• What are the steps we can take to develop a more positive relationship with our bodies? 

• And so much more!

While we cover a lot this episode, we are just exploring the very tip of the iceberg. 

Luckily, this journey that you have embarked on with us is just the beginning of a larger journey that Kelly and I are working on -- more on that soon ;)

This episode felt extra special for us, because- 1) The way we see ourselves is something both Kelly and I are both so, so, so passionate about and 2) We ditched much of what we planned to talk about and spoke even more so from the heart than normal.

We’re excited for you all to listen and we hope you can join us for our last group call, Wednesday, December 16th at 8 pm EST. (There are no pre-requisites for these calls. It doesn’t matter if you’ve never listened to an episode, just show up with your curiosity goggles on and an open heart.)

If you haven’t yet, join our online community where we post the weekly journal prompts, share our a-ha moments, listen to our struggles, give advice, celebrate our wins, and support each other every step of the way. This group is going to continue beyond this program -- we have such a strong community that’s come together!

And most importantly, THANK YOU. Thank you for showing up. Thank you for doing the work. Thank you for sharing your journey. Thank you for staying curious. Thank you for being open. Thank you for sharing our podcast. Thank you for taking steps to create the space to live a life that’s not held back by diet culture. 

You are so worth it,

Kayla

If you haven’t yet, you can connect with me on Instagram @kaylareynoldsms :)