Do you feel unhappy with your weight? Do you hate your body? Wish you could have someone else’s body?

I know what it’s like to feel constantly unhappy with your weight, body and hate what you look like. If you’ve been trying to lose weight your whole life but got nowhere, then it’s time for a new approach (because my friend, that old strategy clearly isn’t working).

How to stop hating your body

So how do you stop hating your body? It doesn’t happen overnight, or even after a week of nights. If you’ve been hating your body for years, it’s going to take some time to repair that relationship.

But it’s possible and worth it because when you stop hating your body, you take better care of it and healthy eating and exercise stops feeling like a punishment and starts to come naturally.

If you’re reading this blog post, then you know that something needs to change. You don’t need to struggle with food anymore, or hate your body and weight.

Here’s how to stop hating your body:

1. Don’t skip meals

I know…. you’re ‘trying to be good’.

But realistically? All that happens is you feel deprived and hungry and eat everything in sight. Skipping meals slows your metabolism and doesn’t help you lose weight or hate your body less. If you want to love your body and weight, you need to stop skipping meals.

2. Change how you scroll

How many years will you spend wishing you had someone elses’ body before you realise that looking at photos of slim/lean/attractive doesn’t motivate you to lose weight? In fact, it’s the opposite.

In the long term, so-called ‘inspiration’ makes you feel unhappy about your weight and generally makes you feel shitty about yourself (i.e. you become LESS motivated).

If you want to love your body and weight and actually get healthy, then you must stop:

  • Using the ‘explore’ function on Instagram. It’s torture.
  • Creating fitspiration boards on Pinterest
  • Following accounts that make you feel no good/pretty/thin enough.

Right now. Go unfollow those people and get strict on how you use social media.

Trust me on this one. I recently found a bunch of photos that I used to have pinned up onto my wall to inspire me to be healthy. I really hated my body back then and it makes me very sad for younger me. She missed out on so much pasta.

3. Your inner circle and hating your body

The people you spend the most time with have the biggest influence on you. So, who are YOUR biggest influencers? It’s time to review your inner circle. I got clear on mine.

  • I used to date a guy whose unhealthy eating was bad news for me. I broke up with him.
  • My friend used to drink lots of alcohol and got drunk at every catch-up. We talked it through. Now she doesn’t drink as much.
  • I had another friend who always judged other women’s bodies. It made me feel crap. We don’t hang out much anymore.
  • My family used to comment on my weight. I explained to them that it was unhelpful. They get it. They no longer make comments. I’m much better for it. If you need a few tips, check out this blog post.

You can decide who you let influence you and your life. If you don’t want to be unhappy with your body, take control.

📘💫BOOK TIP: If you struggle with your body or your weight, it’s likely that diets and diet culture are keeping you stuck in a vicious cycle, full of empty promises and failed attempts. If you want to build real health and body confidence, check out my best-selling book Your Weight is Not the Problem. Get the deets and access to a free audio sample of the book HERE.

4. Accept that your body is imperfect

How many YEARS have you wasted hating your body and wishing it looked different? And where did all that body hate get you?

At some point, you need to decide that your body is ok just as it is. It’ll never look quite the way you want it to. Your body is imperfect. You have a choice. You can either spend the rest of your life hating the shape of your thighs or softness of your tummy, or you can decide to accept your body is imperfect.

This doesn’t mean you stop working toward being healthy. But it does mean you stop punishing and hating yourself. What you will find is that when you love your body, eating healthier and exercising actually becomes easier.

When I learned to love my body it absolutely changed my life. Today I accept my body just the way it is, rolls, cellulite, love handles and all – and that’s not something I ever thought I’d say (or even feel comfortable saying, yet believing). If you are intrigued how I got there, here are 15 ways I learned to love my body.

I’ve got rolls when I sit down, a soft tummy and cellulite on my thighs. I hated my body for years. But at some point, I decided that hating my body was ruining my life and getting me nowhere. When I finally accepted my natural shape, looking after my body with healthy eating and exercise became much easier. My body is imperfect but it’s healthy and strong.

5. Pick ONE simple change to make at a time

When you are healthy, you feel good and it’s hard to be unhappy with your body. Want to get healthier? Start small.

Adopt too much, too soon and nothing will stick, no matter how motivated or well-intentioned you are. Keep it simple and a year from now, you’ll be so grateful you made the investment. Here are some simple (non-sucky) swaps that are way more effective than diets:

  • Swap out energy drinks and soft drinks for water.
  • Keep alcohol for the weekend and special occasions.
  • Get 10,000+ steps each day.
  • Don’t eat in front of the TV.
  • Cook at home more – and try healthier recipes with more veg.

On that note…want my FREE meal plan? It might be different from any meal plan you’ve seen before. Click HERE to download.

Once your new healthy habit feels easy, pick another. Repeat this process when you feel ready. Here are some more ideas: 29 surprisingly simple healthy habits. BTW – I’m currently working on getting 8-9 hours of quality sleep each night.

Free 5-Day Course. Image: Lyndi Cohen
If you want a healthier lifestyle and better relationship with food check out my FREE 5-day course. I created it for people who’ve tried every diet and want to feel more in control around food again. Image: Lyndi Cohen

6. Focus on health. Not weight loss.

The scales can either be your best friend or enemy. And more often than not, they’re not your best friend. The scales keep you stuck in an emotional eating cycle, obsessing about food (which often means you eat more, not less) and hating your body.

When I stopped trying to lose weight and started focusing on being healthy instead, I ended up losing 20kg. Naturally, and easily.

My App, Back to Basics can help with changing your mindset and focussing your attention on health, not scales.

Stop ‘trying to be good’ and start trying to feel good. 

If you liked this blog post, you’re going to love my Keep It Real Program. It’s been called ‘life-changing’ because it’ll help teach you how to eat healthily without obsessing or feeling guilty about food. No more falling on and off that bandwagon. Check it out here. 

Quiz: What kind of eater are you?