18 Body-Loving Resolutions For 2018

Hey Friends!

It's officially the New Year! We have survived the holiday frenzy and have entered into a time of self-reflection, self-improvement and resolution setting. I have a proposition for you. Instead of setting a New Year's Resolution - IE lose weight, lose 50 pounds, exercise more, insert repetitive New Year's goal here, I want you to come up with a word or phrase that inspires you to dedicate to 2018. For instance that word or phrase might be: joy, one more (one more vegetable, one more walk, one more glass of water), play, slow down, phoenix (one of my clients chose this to symbolize rising from the ashes after a particularly hard 2017). 

As you can see, these words and phrases are positive, not numerical and ultimately powerful.  There is no pass or fail with this approach. The cool thing is, you'll remember this word and be excited about it for the whole year, not just the first month or two. Give it a shot!  

Lastly, I came across this article yesterday and I love it so much I needed to share it with you, it's another view on how to flip the script on setting New Year's resolutions. Click for link.

We all want the best of ourselves. We want to do our best, look our best, perform our best. So it’s natural to make goals that we hope will bring us closer to our own ideals. This isn’t a bad thing! But what often happens is that we inadvertently pick up other peoples’ standards and pin our self worth on achieving those.

At the start of the new year, we often make resolutions that are a reaction to what we dislike about ourselves. I don’t think this is loving or constructive. Too often, these goals revolve around dieting and becoming thin.

I’m afraid I have some bad news: Becoming thin will not make you happy or more valuable. And punishing your body into submission will not make you love it more.

So why make these your top priorities? Our bodies are always (always!) doing their best for us. We don’t need to beat them into submission– we need to practice gratitude and do our best to nourish and protect them so they can keep on helping us live life to the fullest.

So how about some body-positive, alternative resolutions for the new year?

Here are 18 Body-Loving Resolutions for the New Year

1. I will stop using numbers (weight, clothing size, inches) to influence my sense of self-worth.

2. I will never talk about food or body shapes/ appearances (including my own) negatively in front of children and I won’t let others do it when I’m around, either.

3. I will remove morality-related words from the way I talk about food (like sinful, naughty, bad, guilty etc.).

4. I will eat for nourishment and pleasure, without guilt.

5. I will find ways of moving my body that feel pleasurable to me.

6. I will rest when my body needs it.

7. I will respond to my body’s messages when I am in pain– I will get bodywork or a massage, take a hot epsom salts bath, stretch, take it easy, etc.

8. I will eat when I am hungry.

9. I will get more sleep– which means I will have to make it a priority in my busy life.

10. I will purge my closet of all of the clothes that no longer fit me or that don’t make me feel good when I wear them.

11. I will not say mean things to myself about my body. And if I do, I will apologize and find something honest and kind to say.

12. I will express gratitude for all of the things my body does for me every day.

13. I will accept compliments instead of deflecting them, simply saying “Thank you.”

14. I will treat my body as a friend, not a foe– after all, it is with me from the beginning of my existence, until the end– who else can I say that about?

15. I will practice listening to my body, and hearing what it is trying to say to me– that I need to slow down, speak up, avoid certain situations, etc.

16. I will try new ways of taking care of my body– from seeing a chiropractor to getting acupuncture or scheduling a bodywork session.

17. I will help others to relax and enjoy their bodies by showing them love and acceptance, and modeling this in the way I talk about and treat my own body.

18. I will try new ways of moving my body– to give myself new opportunities to see what it can do, and what it enjoys.