How do you learn to love your body more?

Read on to find out a little more about my journey to loving my body more…

I spent years dieting just to loose a few pounds, and then repeatedly putting it all back on again. I was in the fitness industry for years and being a master trainer for a fitness brand meant being on stage. This meant lots and lots of people looking at me, and guess what; feeling very judged, and not loving my body very much!

I struggled with this for years, feeling a lot of pressure, feeling like I didn't fit that very small, ripped fitness model look. I also had this mentor, who unfortunately was not the type of mentor one needs. For someone who already didn't love herself enough, being told that 'I didn't fit the image' was so damaging to my confidence. I look back now and think, 'So what was this image that I did not fit? One size, one way only?' It left me feeing really bad about myself and knocked my confidence for six.

Over a period of time the lack of self-love and worth was so bad that I ended up leaving the fitness industry. But once I left magic really happened. I embarked on this journey of self-love, self-care and self-development, and worked out how to really love me and my body more. You can read more about my journey here.

7 years later, knowing my worth, accepting who I am, and enjoying it, I have figured out how to really love my body in all of its wonderfulness. Even more special is that I now get to teach others how to feel totally whole and how to fall in love with themselves. Guess what? When this happens, that confidence and self-esteem changes and life really begins to flourish.You can find out more about coaching options here.

Below are a few top tips to loving your body more:

Here are some of my tips to becoming more you, less of what others want you to be, and loving yourself so much more:

1. Notice how you talk to yourself. Is it loving, kind and compassionate? Noticing is one of the first steps to changing your relationship with yourself.

2. Focus on parts of you that you really love. Make a list and re-read it frequently!

3. Stop dieting, restrictions and rules. This one of the biggest keys in me learning to love my body more. Eat food that makes you feel good, that makes you happy. You can read more about leading a balanced eating on the NHS website. You can also fidn some of my favourite recipes by Deliciously Ella.

4. Quit the comparison. Comparing ourselves to others is key in creating more self-loathing. So if you want to feel better about you, stop comparing yourself and start loving yourself more. The easiest way to do this is making sure that you surround yourself with people, images and experiences that lift you. Making sure that your social media makes you feel good about you is also key! So get unfollowing accounts that don’t serve and find ones that inspire!

4. Do some mirror work. Look in the mirror, tell yourself what you love about your body, and keep telling yourself that. Know that you don't need to look like anyone else. You are ENOUGH, you are BEAUTIFUL, you are WONDERFUL, right here, right now.

These 4 things, and practicing them time after time are some of the ways I have really learnt to love and accept my body more.

Which one of the above do you need to start doing more?

Your coach,

Sirin Ortanca