In the previous post, I talked about the “don’t’s” of how we talk about bodies, food, and exercise. I highlighted the problematic language that can inadvertently create negative body image. In this post, I’m going to discuss the “do’s” of how one can and should talk about health, food, and exercise.
The main principal is to make sure your language focuses on what’s good for your body and what makes your body feel good. For example, exercise causes the release of endorphins that make us feel good and increases the ability to focus and be more productive. Instead of talking about exercise for the sake of burning calories, losing weight, and being skinnier, focus on the positive impacts of exercise and how it feels good.
The same goes for food, it feels good when we eat well. Focus your language on how it makes you feel instead of how it makes you look. Talk about the positive impacts it has on you physically, emotionally, and mentally.
The goal is to strive for health without focusing on the factors that create negativity and self-hatred towards our bodies. It can be difficult to change the language we are so used to hearing and using but as always, the goal is progress, not perfection.
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