Body Appreciation Day - Just Say Thank You
How often do you criticize your body? Are you even aware of how many critical thoughts you have about your body in a day, or are there so many that you have become immune to them?
For today, your loving yourself thin exercise is to note every time that you entertain a negative thought about your body and, when you have one, thank your body for something positive that it does for you. For example, tell your body thank you for breathing on it’s own. Sound silly, or just too simple? Well, if you are putting your body down for being overweight, or if you “hate your fat”, your body is getting slammed with negativity every time you think these thoughts.
Also, if you are sending your body so many negative thoughts, you might have a hard time coming up with something positive to thank it for. Breathing is a good one, because if you don’t breath, you don’t live. 
Look at how good your body is to you by breathing without you having to tell it to.
Of course, you can thank your body for something else (talking with ease, walking without pain, having all of your fingers and toes), this is just an idea to illustrate that there is so much more to your body than your weight. Send your body some love today and thank it for doing something wonderful for you every time you have a negative thought about it; about how you look, how your clothes fit, if you feel that you don’t have control over how much your body is eating, anything that is negative and relates to your body.
At the end of the day (or anytime you can throughout the day), jot down in your journal your thoughts and feelings about your body. Has this exercise given you any positive appreciation for your body and taken some focus off of only your weight? Or, has it stirred up more negative thoughts? Write down whatever you get from doing this exercise. Now you might not catch every negative thought you have towards your body today, but each one that you do catch, counter it with a “thank you” for something positive that your body is doing for you, without you even having to ask.
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What a great post! I love the idea of thinking a positive thought for each negative thought.
Hi Dee, thanks!
I agree, and since so much of our motivation to eat healthy and exercise is generated by our thoughts (everything in life is first a thought), by directing positive affirmations towards your body and loving it for all of the wonderful things it does for you, you’ll get much further than by hating your body for being overweight.
I find that the more I workout, the more critical I am of myself
Hi, thanks for sharing and commenting, I find that very interesting - that you are more critical of yourself the more you work out. For this particular exercise, I’d encourage you to thank your body for the strength it is gaining when you work out, every time that you have one of those critical thoughts. Look at how well your body is working for you during your exercises and thank your body for doing what you are asking it to do (the exercises you’re doing).
Each of us only has one body, and your body really is “on your side”.
JoLynn - excellent post. I’m going to choose my hands and eyes to thank because they enable me to work easily.
Hi Catherine, thanks!
Those are excellent ones to choose, see how wonderful your body is treating you?
The more we focus on what it’s doing right, we can get away from the negativity we send our bodies when thinking thoughts of dissatisfaction with our weight. Building up your “love store” and appreciation for your body will lead to natural motivation to eat better and exercise….why wouldn’t you want to be good to your best friend, right?