Eating Healthy: Losing Weight Isn't the Only Thing that Makes You Lighter

We all feel body image pressure, no matter your gender, size, age, or any other category. I have suffered from these issues since I was a child, when I started becoming really aware and self critical of my body. It started off as rejecting any food I saw as 'bad' and wearing clothes that draped my body, hiding as much of myself as possible, and developed into something much more serious. Eating disorders and much more swamped my teenage years. It's an all too familiar story.

Losing weight is by no means the 'cure' to these feelings, but in my experience it helps, and has numerous, positive knock-on effects on your life.

Why I Feel Good When I'm Treating My Body Right

If you're like me, there is a lot of guilt associated with not eating healthily and not losing weight, and while there is no reason you should beat yourself up for eating a nice meal out or having dessert (or even eating junk food all day — we all do it sometimes!), it feels good when you're generally being healthy. I often feel happier and more motivated when I've been doing well with my eating, and it genuinely improves the quality of my life on a daily basis. This may sound odd to some, but for many people, what you've eaten and what you're going to eat can consume your life. It can take up so much space in your head, and causes so much stress that you're miserable, when you probably should be enjoying the food and your surroundings. While this is an issue that needs to be worked on, and we should forgive ourselves for not eating perfectly all of the time, not having this stress makes your day and your head much lighter.

Another amazing benefit to losing weight and eating healthy for me has actually been caring less about my body. I don't mean about how it looks, I haven't been blessed with that yet. What I mean is, I'm less aware of my body. If you've ever been insecure you'll probably understand this — even standing and sitting in public can make you uncomfortable. You stand clutching your clothes to cover yourself, you sit with your arms shielding your stomach and hips from people's eyes. It's torture. You can never be comfortable. When you view your body negatively, you think everyone does, and you spend so much of your time trying to hide it. Now, losing weight is not a cure for insecurity; however, in my experience, as you're eating and becoming healthier, you begin to view your body differently. Even if you don't drop weight, just treating your body well can give you a confidence boost. You really can start to feel better about yourself, and this has been priceless for me.

Ultimately these milestones mean so much more in the long run than a week's worth of clean eating or being five pounds lighter. The way you feel about yourself when you treat your body right can significantly improve and make you lighter in more ways than one. It's hard sometimes, so reward yourself with self-love when you're doing well (and when you're not!). Prioritising yourself and your health works wonders.

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