You can spend energy on criticizing yourself or spend the same energy on being kind to yourself.
In this episode, I talk with Polina Fiksson a certified nutrition coach whose focus is helping women achieve a positive body image and find peace with food. Polina’s own struggle with orthorexia led her down the path to helping women find freedom from disordered eating.
Eating Can Become a Mental Game
Polina shared her journey with us on her healing from Orthorexia. Orthorexia is when your relationship with food turns to an unhealthy obsession. The focus becomes eating so clean that any slip up can turn into an emotional crisis.
Symptoms of orthorexia can including cutting certain food groups out completely from your diet or you stop going out with friends or family because eating has become so rule filled. You start to feel shame and guilt if you have a ‘slip-up’. Polina, tells us, that at the heart of it, food has become the idol and in her words “the negative emotions at that point are more harmful than the sugar in the coffee cup”.
Polina, was able to turn her disordered eating experience into a way to help other women who have similar fears about food or body image.
How to Move Towards Body Acceptance Kindness
Polina gave a great example of how when we are in a relationship, we might not necessarily like everything about that person, but we still love them. Now apply this to yourself! You don’t have to like everything, but you do need to have kindness and love for yourself.
- Be mindful of your thoughts and inner voice.
There will always be stuff that we don’t like, but when you hear a negative voice in your head, pause, count to 5 and unpack what just happened and then find something nice to say. - Make the conscious effort to work on your thoughts.
It is a journey, you have to unlearn the pattern of negativity! - Focus on sustainable changes.
It’s not sustainable to be on certain diets forever! What is something sustainable you can do for now and in the future.
Actionable Steps to Achieving Positive Body Acceptance
Working on your inner game takes time! Here are some things you can do right now to achieve positive body acceptance.
- Clean up your social media.
Unfollow those accounts that are leading you down a path of negativity in relation to your body. Rachel in our episode of the anti-diet movement also talked about this as being a key thing you need to do. - Journal about what your true values are.
You are more than your body. We have been conditioned to put our worth on our looks – but you are more than that! What do you bring to this world as a human being? - Act on your true values
Once you understand your true values, act on them! This will increase your confidence.
Internal Cues vs. External Messages
Polina ended the podcast with a great call to action that we need to listen to our bodies natural signals. This is different for everyone! Health and eating is not a one size fits all approach.
You have the choice and flexibility to listen and surround yourself with positive messages and people that encourage and support rather than bring you down.
Schedule a free 30 minute call with Polina!
Polina is offering a free 30 minute consultation call when you reach out to her on Instagram. She would love to help you achieve positive body acceptance.
Contact Polina:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/polina_fiksson/
