When you think of what a healthy lifestyle is, many things may come to mind. Running, meditation, and dieting are the main components that I think of. All of these are important parts to having a healthy lifestyle, but it may be effecting your self-image.
Let’s take a look at your motives.
Why do you run? Why do you meditate? Why are you dieting?
I can answer these questions for you based on my experiences.
As an athlete, I was always motivated to run because I needed to in order to be prepared for my sport. Now that my athletic career is over, I have began to run in order to keep my body healthy. I began to have negative feelings about myself when I missed a workout. I felt that I had to workout in order to have the body image I used to have.
Meditating for me is spending time with the Lord. I believe this is necessary for living a healthy lifestyle. As much as I exercise my body, I need to exercise my mind. It is important to me to spend time in a devotion with God. When I begin to slack in spending time with the Lord, I begin to compare myself to other Christian women around me and critique myself. I think that I am not as good of a Christian if I am not as motivated. I found that praying for strength from God helps me. I cannot grow in my faith on my own. Refer to our last blog post on how I feel about the power of prayer.
Because of the heavy amount of exercise that I used to be involved in, I never had to worry about eating healthy. I could eat an unlimited amount of calories, and I would not see the consequences. Now, I have to watch what I am putting into my body. If I go several days without paying attention, I feel gross about myself. I am motivated to eat healthy so I have what I believe is a good healthy image.
My motives for having a healthy lifestyle can negatively effective my self-image. No matter how hard you try, being dedicated to a healthy lifestyle will effect your self-image. It is easy to be caught up in making your body into the perfect image you have always wanted.
In order to not let your healthy lifestyle negatively effect your self-image, you need to have support. The relationship you have with God will help you stay focused on positive thoughts. Also, have a support system of friends and family. If you are honest with your support system about your thoughts, they will help you and pick you up when you are struggling.
Beyond the Mirror 