The Importance of Self-love In Reaching Your Fitness Goals

"I want smaller arms."

"I want my butt to be bigger."

"I need to get rid of these rolls." 

"I just have to loose 20 pounds and then ill be happy."

These are a few of the many different statements about our bodies that we hear everyday.  From working as a trainer in the past I have heard statements like these from my clients and I have even heard some of them from friends. I understand how people want to improve their bodies but it is crucial to look at the positives and love yourself before you can improve yourself. 

What is self-love? 

self-love

ˈˌself ˈləv/

noun

1. - regard for one's own well-being and happiness (chiefly considered as a desirable rather than narcissistic characteristic).

I myself have gone through struggles when it comes to my body. Being a colligate and now professional athlete, my main event is the 400m, (once around the outdoor track). When I started improving in my sport my size became noticeable. I would receive pictures from after my race or from workouts and notice that I was much bigger than the girls I was racing against or running with. When you get to a high level of competition everything counts. Personally I am a very positive person so I wouldn't negative self talk but the issue did consume my mind. I would start to think, "Pariis you have to be smaller like these girls if your going to get around the track faster than them." Then I told myself to STOP.  

When it comes to self love and fitness you can't focus on the negatives. You shouldn't want to change your body because you want someone else's or because you hate yourself! If that is your foundation then you could end up changing your diet and working out for the wrong reasons which would can be dangerous and unhealthy. 

I realized that everyday I focused on my size I could put that energy into my workouts, diet or sleep. My coach would always say "Focus on what you can control." So thats what I do. 

4 TIPS FOR SELF LOVE: 

1. Take care of yourself and do what makes you happy as long as it's not at the cost of another. 

Everyday do something for yourself, whether it's a bubble bath after a long day, or enjoying your favorite meal, or listening to your favorite playlist at the gym. Do it for you because you enjoy it!

2. Catch yourself, STOP the negative self talk, and flip it!

Don't feed your mind and body negativity. Find what you love about yourself and talk about that ! Be kind to yourself, notice the good things about yourself.

3. Don't criticize others for how they look. 

Be kind to others. We are all going through the same thing called life and we should be more supportive and find the beauty in one another. 

4. When you begin to think positive thoughts about yourself this will benefit everything you do, especially in workouts. If you are confident because you love who you are you will see a decrease in "I can't" statements and an increase in "I can" statements!

Now you'll be more likely to hit that time or lift that weight because you know you CAN do it! 

 I had to change my mental and remember it's about the work I put in, not about how I look compared to the runners around me. I stay focus on my goals and focus on what I can control to achieve them. This how we should approach our fitness goals and all our goals in general. While at the same time loving ourselves in the process. 

We are all created different and we are all beautiful. So let's promote self-love.