Gosh, do you remember page 3 topless models? Is it still even a thing? I might be showing my age here but fine

Whether you argue that it is pro-feminism or against, I never took the plunge so don’t judge me

But at 18 I really did have great boobs and I’m not afraid to brag about them

Sadly, a decade of on again, off again weight loss trashed them (RIP GIRLS) but my boobs are not specifically why I’m in your inbox today

I’m talking about your relationship with your body, and body image

I know you hear this a lot but it’s not just about how your body looks

I speak to women who have lost a lot of weight and they mourn elements of their old body even though they love their new one

I coach women post partum who wouldn’t swap their kids but do miss their pre preggo body

And I don’t particularly think there’s anything wrong with that

But it can keep you stuck in a perpetual cycle of “never enough” if you don’t do the work to accept the body you have right now

One thing we do a lot in coaching is work on body gratitude as part of our body image practice

I know this isn’t as sexy sounding as “drop a dress size in 6 weeks” but it’s 10/10 worth it

How? 

Well, here’s a task that will take 3-5 minutes of your time…

Open notes on your phone or grab some paper

Start a list of things that you are grateful to you body for

Question..

What does it allow you to do now?

What has it given you?

What do you love about it (not how it looks)?

Summer can throw up a whole heap of body image distress and if we do get some more weather that is over 20 degrees, I know a lot of you will feel the panic about exposing more of yourself

So if you’re struggling right now, spend 5 minutes with a blank note or page in front of you

And brain dump answers to the above

Don’t think, just write

…..

How did that feel?

Maybe a little icky but that’s no reason not to do it and now you have a list you can return to on tough days

As a reminder of how amazing your body is

Even if you mourn your 18 year old boobs like I do - it helps

For more on how to work through your body image struggles, listen to this podcast episode 

Have a gorgeous weekend

Harriet x