Have compassion & empathy for you and others

In a world where fat shaming is sometimes a sport for people, it is important to be the type of woman who is about compassion and empathy for yourself and others.  Often women fat shame themselves and along with the stress and social pressures of the shaming others do, it can be a very stressful time if you gain weight.  It is important in the body image and body love mission to ensure you see that others shaming is only a reflection of them and to let it ride on by because others’ opinions don’t really count.  It is your opinion that matters and if you have an opinion of yourself that is not healthy for you and is about shaming yourself then now may be a good time to make some changes.  As you age, it is rare that women are as thin as they used to be while they can be.  People don’t know truly what someone who has gained weight is going through or has gone through, so it is such a gift to be compassionate and have empathy for yourself and others.  These insights will assist you to gain compassion and empathy for your situation and with others because as you judge you shall be judged:

1. Appreciate your weight gain while making changes.

   When it comes to weight gain, I know you want to hate it and I know it’s difficult to see that loving your body can help you heal it and lose weight. The stress of body hate can cause you to diet, temporarily lose weight and gain weight within itself. So be sure to appreciate any weight gain, know that it doesn’t mean anything about you that is negative and it’s not the end of the world if you gain a few kilograms.  As you see that there are lessons and the weight has served you in some way, you get to own what you have done to your body, see it as something you can learn from and move on permanently while understanding that weight fluctuates so have some compassion and empathy for yourself and others.

2. Deal with unresolved trauma to heal the real problem.

   So many people think weight is a weight issue when it most often is trauma or unresolved and undigested life experiences that are at play. Now I know… there may also be a stigma around not being ‘perfect’ in this day and age when it comes to mental health.  But understand that compassion and empathy can go a long way in your life and for your weight loss because releasing the stress and pressure trauma puts on your body can be life changing.  Even if you never lost another kilogram in your life, isn’t it better to live your life in a state of gratitude and joy regardless.  While with the right strategy, healing, compassion and empathy for all past hurt and pain you begin to find yourself and take inspired actions toward your ultimate health.  Seek professional guidance to heal your past hurt and trauma.

3. Have compassion and empathy for others.

   As you understand that weight is just an accumulation of habits and unresolved life experiences, you get to see that it’s not about being skinny anymore – it’s about being free. As you have more compassion and empathy for others, you will notice you have more for yourself and vice versa.  As you look into the world you are telling yourself things about yourself by what you think of others.  So, in having compassion and empathy for others, you begin to have more compassion and empathy for yourself and you set yourself and others free because your commitment to being free overcomes all shaming.  Just live your life and go about your life while including health as a priority so you can live with vitality giving yourself and others the gift of compassion and empathy.

The blog post Have compassion & empathy for you and others was originally published to Battle babes fitness

Embracing your youth for body love now

In life, it is very easy when you are young to hate on your body and self.  I consider this life and time wasted because as you age, you may look back and wish you appreciated your weight, body and fitness for the way it was because they may fade, or it may become more difficult to maintain.  Don’t spend your youth wasting it on hating your body and self and don’t be one of those women who looks back in the future and wishes you enjoyed what you had.  If you already have done that, this will assist you also while if you are doing it, make sure you consider the impact on your self-esteem if you don’t make some changes now.  Of course, your looks need not fade as beauty is ever present no matter what you look like, while so many women struggle in their teens and beyond and age or things change, and they wish they had loved their bodies and embraced themselves in entirety the entire time.  What are you like when it comes to your body now? What about your body in the past?  Have you always loved and embraced your body, or do you look back and wish you appreciated it when it was easier to maintain a healthy weight?  These insights will assist you to embrace who you were, who you are and who you are becoming:

 

1. Don’t live with regret, just love the past and forget.

   Too many women look back and compare themselves and body to the way they used to be.  It is important that you learn from your past, appreciate all that has occurred and then move powerfully forward because you can’t change what occurred, but you can most certainly adjust things now and for your future.  When you look back wishing you had appreciated your body or you are in your youth and not appreciating your body now, you cause yourself undue stress and put unrealistic pressures on yourself. The best thing to do is to accept yourself for the way you are, make a plan to make changes if this is what you want and stop trying to morph yourself into a teenager and start embracing the journey of health in entirety for a new way of life that has you free from your past, embracing the now and living for a great future.

2. Take care of your body and appreciate it now so you avoid regret.

   What do you want to do and wear that you know you deep down would love to that embraces your body and causes you to know you are good enough and beautiful in it? What have you been holding back on trying to hide away your body and self because you don’t think you are good enough or thin enough?  Most likely you look better than you think and in that, it’s important to understand that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.  Be humble in your approach to your beauty while being inspired to express yourself for the true you who wants to be loved and adored for your inner self and soul over your body while wearing what you want and appreciating your body now and avoiding regret.

3. No matter what your past looks like, it is now and the future that matters.

   We’ve all done it. That’s right – I believe we have all had regret over not appreciating our bodies when we were younger and more youthful no matter what age you might be.  Where did you think you are fat when you were perfect and although all of us have curves and bumps in places that we may not appreciate all of the time, you must consider that in the future as you age, you may find that it’s more difficult to maintain so why not appreciate your body now and for the future.  Regardless of what phase you are at in your life, make sure you love and adore yourself in entirety for the beauty you are from within while looking after your body in the best way you know how at any phase by loving it and making sure you appreciate every part of it now and into the future.

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What is mental fitness and what does it mean

When I talk about fitness, I am talking about mental fitness and also fitness for joy.  As someone who has had all of the obstacles you could think of thrown my way when it comes to aligning with a fit life, I came to the realisation that it’s not about being skinny and obsessively fit, it is about the quality of your life based on your thoughts about yourself.  That is why Battle Babes is about mental fitness. So many people use pain to leverage themselves and to take action focusing on the pain and not being fat to the point where eventually, the focus comes to a point where you may have become exactly what you didn’t want.  I know from someone who has had mental health challenges and weight issues including an eating disorder that it’s not an overnight process to heal and it can take a long time to restore your body’s equilibrium, so it is important to focus on mental fitness first, loving your body now, your thoughts about yourself and take actions from a place of peace and adoration for who you truly are.  These insights will assist you to understand what mental fitness is and what it means to be mentally fit:

1. Your mental fitness is about your stamina and capability to deal with life’s challenges.

   Physical fitness often comes from mental fitness and understanding that being super fit isn’t always the answer to being mentally fit but it can be if you choose it to be a by-product of your decisions and actions. Physical stamina can impact your mental stamina most certainly while mental stamina isn’t dependent of physical fitness.  I say this because injuries and other things may occur causing you to not be able to exercise or as much and if you are dependent of exercise for your worth, stamina and mental fitness, you may find you struggle and can’t seem to cope.  Mental fitness is derived from you.  It is a human construct that gives you the capability to deal with life’s challenges in a way that is powerful and has you able to overcome all obstacles that may come your way.  It is your inner resilience and ability to withstand any challenge and get right back up no matter how long it takes to be focused on mental fitness over physical fitness while doing what brings you joy.

2. Your mental fitness is about thinking kind things about yourself.

   So many women berate themselves and use negativity to leverage themselves by hating their bodies into submission and being skinny. I understand that if you have been doing this, you may not know another way or you may fear losing your footing and gaining weight because you have spent so much time hating your body into looking a way you think will get you what you want in life.  The key to mental fitness is to think kind things about yourself and tell yourself you are worthy and deserving while leveraging yourself from a positive space while understanding that results come from your decisions, commitments and actions you take.  Kindness relieves the pressure you put on your nervous system and reduces stress over your weight while assisting in the weight loss process.  It makes way for a new approach that may take some time to shift your thoughts and behaviours from and you might just find that you become happy no matter what shape or size you are.

3. Your mental fitness is about loving who you are internally.

   If you place your levels of love on the external, you may find as you go through different seasons and phases in your life where weight fluctuates you will struggle with self-love. When you place love on external factors that most certainly can enhance your life but are not the crucial ingredient to love – your internal dialogue, mental fitness and ability to love who you are in essence is.  Loving yourself internally means loving your thoughts, feelings and emotions.  I’m not going to tell you that you will be positive all of the time because that’s not realistic.  It’s what you do with your thoughts, feelings and emotions that counts and this is what mental fitness is all about.  It is about making sugar free lemonade out of lemons, and it is about making your setbacks, challenges and negative thoughts mean something powerful. As you love your internal self, you begin to love your external self more and more because you know your worth is not based on your looks, weight, image and fitness levels, it is based on so much more than that and is something that can’t be taken away – your deep soul and true love for yourself.  Your mental fitness is derived from your deep inner power and knowing that you can overcome anything and when you trust in this power, you can physically achieve what you want in time.

The article What is mental fitness and what does it mean was originally published to Battle Babes Fitness blog

Love is for everyone and all shapes and sizes

In watching movies and dating shows, it seems the world is portraying that love is only for the ones who look what society might say or think is like the young, glamorous and ideal woman.  They are filled with thin, glamorous people who may or may not be nice people portraying that soul mates might only come in those packages. When it comes to body image and loving your body this is not about not being healthy where possible, it is about embracing yourself and knowing that you don’t need to morph into an ideal woman to find love.  You don’t need to wait until you reach your goal to allow love into your life.  While it is important while you are on the quest for love to ensure you attract your soul mate and make sure he is supportive of your health but don’t confuse looks for being lovable.  These insights will assist you to know you are lovable no matter what while ensuring you work each day toward your goals:

1. Embrace your body while taking action toward your goals.

   You don’t need to be model looking to be worthy of love.  This doesn’t mean you should let yourself go and not take action toward your dreams.  What it does mean is that it’s important to know who you are deep inside over your looks and if the man you are dating or with doesn’t love you for you, and only wants your looks then it’s time to take stock and make some changes if that is what you want toward being loved for the real you.  As you embrace your body the way it is now and work toward your goals, it is imperative to your mental health and quality of life that you are adored not for your looks but for your deep and loving soul.

2. Date now, not when you reach the magic number on the scales.

   I know it might seem difficult to date or be in a relationship when you may not be completely happy with yourself and your body.  The thing is, get happy with it while taking healthy actions and finding the man who loves you warts and all.  Happiness doesn’t hinge on the way you look, while health can most certainly enhance your life and make you feel more joyful, it’s not the defining factor in you being worthy and deserving of the love you are meant for.  So many women miss out on true love because of the way that they think they look and what society might be projecting is perfection and who gets love.  Be the type of woman who has courage and who loves their body now and makes life happen in all seasons and phases of life.

3. Choose the man who wants you for you.

   I know that it may be difficult for you to feel loved for you.  Society has often portrayed the ideal life as skinny, glamorous, and perfect.  But life just isn’t like that as what is perfection anyways and that is not where happiness is derived from, it comes from you as a human construct that can be decided on each day and moment regardless of how difficult it might seem to do so.  As you go about choosing your life partner, make sure he wants you for you.  Make sure he doesn’t want you for your looks, body or any material aspects because the quality of your life is hinging on making the right choice or continuing to choose the one you have.  Find the man who loves you and your body just as much if not more than you do and embrace the fact that perfection is in the present moment, not some day in the future when you may have achieved your goals.

 

The post Love is for everyone and all shapes and sizes was originally published to Battle Babes Fitness blog

3 ways to manage your health during the holiday season

Let’s face it, it is near on impossible to resist temptation at holiday times.  The thing is that most people let themselves go a little over the holiday season while it’s important to not be on a diet or restrictive, it is very important to focus on health and to not overindulge too much.  I’m not going to tell you to not enjoy yourself a little more in the form of eating things you wouldn’t usually over the holiday season, but I will encourage you to consider the consequences if you let it go too much or if you can’t seem to get back on track.  If you have been dieting or restricting too much, it is times like the holiday season that you may find you just can’t help yourself or you might have planned for a little weight gain and be alright with it.  It’s really not a big deal!  That’s right, it’s important to know that you are allowed to embrace the holiday season while understanding that if you gain weight, for health reasons you will need to consider losing it if you want to.  These insights will assist you to manage your health during the holiday season:

1. Limit the times you indulge.

   It may be tempting to indulge at every social event and let yourself go just because it is the holiday season. This is no excuse for losing your footing while knowing that it’s important to choose your events wisely where you let it go a little. Be sure to not be the type of woman who is obsessive and dieting while forgoing over consumption of alcohol and food and moderating it at the events you choose to let it go a little.  If you feel like you are on a diet, you may find yourself feeling like an outsider and unable to embrace the season for what it is while making your time during the holiday season not about alcohol and food but about the love and connection you have with other people.

2. Release the stress and relax.

   The stress of restricting while others are indulging can be the very thing that impacts your appetite and digestive system causing you to be hungrier at these times of year.  When you stress and obsess you put pressure on your nervous system triggering a chain reaction impacting your metabolic system.  Stressing out over your eating or non-eating can become more of an issue than the eating itself because stress can cause you to store weight on your body so if you are stressing about eating too much or not eating you are not embracing the holiday season for what it is – lots of fun!

3. Focus on your goals.

   Don’t forget your goals at holiday time. Too many women forgo their goals for excuses they are on holidays and let themselves go in a way that takes a lot to reverse.  It can be easy to lose sight of what you are working toward and even if you let yourself go for a bit, make sure you have a plan to get back on track starting one step at a time as soon as you can.  Your goals are there to keep you accountable and on track so see any setback as a learning experience and move powerfully forward toward what you know you truly want.  Your goals are worth having while making sure you focus on your outcomes and giving up the diet mentality for freedom.

3 ways to manage your health during the holiday season was first published to Battle Babes Fitness by Anna Maria Lang

3 strategies to take charge of your alcohol intake

When it comes to alcohol it is important to be in control of it and know if you are wanting to moderate or give it up.  It’s alright if you want moderate and you are able to do that but if you aren’t it is imperative that you do what is best for your physical and mental health to ensure you have quality and longevity of life. Alcohol is not to be made out to be evil or bad but in excess it can be very damaging to your health while affecting the way you think.  It can be enjoyed by some, but many are better off giving it up once and for all.  There is a movement that is about being sober and there is merit in this movement because in a world where the social culture is often based on drinking alcohol, it takes strength, courage and commitment to quit that which may be the reason you are not feeling the way you truly could.  These strategies will assist you to moderate of give up alcohol for the sense of wellbeing and vitality you deserve:

1. Change your social settings.

   The most challenging part of giving up alcohol can be the fact that social settings most often revolve around alcohol. Many social groups get together over drinks, and it is socially acceptable to get roaring drunk for fun when there is a long-term impact of doing this. It can also short term destroy your sense of vitality and become something that you sabotage your health with because you may not feel strong enough to say no or change your social settings, so you are able to be health focused.  Some people will put pressure on you, and they may make you feel like you don’t fit in because you don’t want to drink alcohol so be sure to surround yourself with people who support your goals and vision for your health.

2. Swap out alcohol for non-alcoholic drinks.

   If changing your social settings isn’t viable or something you want to do, try swapping alcohol for non-alcoholic versions of wine or mocktails etc. A large part of drinking alcohol is the connection with others and in this day and age with few groups that don’t do sober activities it can be difficult to change your social settings.  This takes courage and commitment because people will know you are swapping out alcohol with alternatives, but you won’t regret it the next day and into the future because you will find your health and mental clarity improve.  Gone will be the days of the hangovers and feeling lethargic and welcome the new days of vitality and longevity of life.  As a side note, be sure to consider that many non-alcoholic drinks can be filled with sugar so be sure to choose those wisely and in moderation also.

3. Consider how good it feels to be alcohol free.

   It can be very easy to forget how good it feels to be alcohol free because many people don’t remember what that is like. As you consider how good it feels or would feel to be free from the toxins and feelings the aftereffects of alcohol cause, ask yourself the next time you are faced with drinking what you truly want to feel and focus on that instead.  The short-term escape or high feelings of fun you might have with drinking don’t do you any good when it comes to your results and vitality.  As you consider your future, what do you truly want for yourself and what are you willing to do differently for the sake of your wellbeing?  What are you willing to do to be able to achieve all you set out to do in life in a way that is consistent and sustainable?

The following article 3 strategies to take charge of your alcohol intake is courtesy of Battle babes fitness

Overcoming patterns of attraction for freedom

Everyone has patterns of attraction that are derived from your thinking. To win the war on weight, body image and mental fitness, it is important to notice your patterns and work on them so you can change your behaviour. If you aren’t willing to dig deep and look at what you are attracting and creating, you will be doomed to repeat unhealthy patterns that don’t serve you over and over again.  In this mission, make sure you seek professional guidance to be able to identify your patterns of attraction and work toward a new way of approaching things to win this war hands down.  These insights will assist you to overcome your patterns of attraction and find some freedom:

 

1. Notice your behaviours and shift and adjust.

   When you notice you are doing something that doesn’t ultimately serve you, it’s important to pay attention to what is happening in your mind and then change your behaviours based on that.  Too many women think they are stuck with the patterns they are attracting into their lives, but you are not.  Shifting and adjusting your behaviours takes learning from the past and knowing you can change.

2. Learn from your past.

   As you notice your behaviours and you want to shift and adjust to be able to create a new behaviour, you must learn from the past and see how it served you to this date and then powerfully move forward. Learning from the past allows you to understand yourself and your past behaviours to become self-aware and capable of shifting and adjusting to be free of the old pattern forever.

3. Be confident you can change.

   Too many people believe that leopards can’t change their spots. That is a fallacy because all behaviours are human constructs and a compilation of decisions, thoughts, feelings and emotions that were created by people, influences and environments.  You may need to ask for a miracle every day and shift and adjust every day if you have deep programming, but you can find ways to feel confident that you can change. If you think you can’t you won’t but if you think you can you will.  Ask and you shall receive.

The blog post Overcoming patterns of attraction for freedom is republished from Battle Babes Fitness blog