Throughout our lives, our bodies change to accommodate a variety of milestones. Puberty, pregnancy, post-thirty five, and then menopause, hormones and gravity can wreak havoc on our figures.
If you are having trouble coming to terms with a changing body, don’t become discouraged. Try seeing it from a different perspective.
Workout Everyday (even just a little)
Do your jeans feel particularly tight today? Are you distracted by what you imagine your bum looks like in them? Walk on your lunch break, ride bikes around the block with your kids, or hit the gym this evening. Twenty minutes of movement will do wonders for your state of mind. Empower yourself with the energy that comes from exercise and the arms you consider “flabby” may not seem so bad, after all.
Start Lifting Weights
You will be amazed at how well you can actually sculpt your body with resistance training. Though we are genetically predisposed to be a certain height and shape, we can actively influence the shape of our muscles and the tone of specific body parts as a direct result of lifting weights.
Mix Up the Exercise Routine
Are you in an exercise rut? Do you fall victim to the same workout, day and day out? Try mixing up your fitness routine to challenge your body and you will love its response. Our bodies quickly adapt to what we require of them. This was a means of survival from days of our hunting and gathering ancestors. Train for and run a 10K if you have already crossed a 5K off your list of accomplishments, then bump it up to a 15K if you are feeling inspired.
Address Your Eating Habits
And perhaps make some diet adjustments. I work out with many extremely fit, though hypercritical, women who manage to find fault daily with their backsides, arms, thighs, or whatever the current body complaint happens to be. The quickest way out of obsessing over body parts for me is to aim for impeccable eating and increase water intake. There is something psychologically soothing about “flushing out” past grievances with water and feeding the soul with good food.
Make the Decision to Be Happy
It sounds simple, and it is, really. We can choose happiness or we can focus on what we perceive to be lacking in our lives. Instead of finding fault with your waistline, celebrate your favorite assets and the rest will follow. Feel good about the person you are beyond the shell of your body, even if you have to fake it at first, and you will be more inclined to love yourself.
We can’t control what gravity and age do with our bodies, but we can absolutely control our mindset with regard to a post-thirty-five body. Having a sense of humor helps, as does remembering any “damage” accumulated on this body is well worth the life I have now with two great kids at this chapter in my life.
