Have you ever noticed that you can go to bed at night feeling one way about your body, only to wake up the next morning and feel completely different? This is something to get curious about because the size of our bodies doesn’t change in this period of time, but how we FEEL about our bodies does. If our body isn’t different, then what’s really going on? In this episode of the Fat Murder Podcast, I invited my co-coach, Steph Miramontes, back to the podcast to discuss body respect. You'll learn: How having respect for your body empowers you to achieve success in other areas of your life Why the first step in weight loss is through body acceptance (seeing the body as worthy instead of punching bag) Why it's important to understand what your body's needs are and how to go about meeting them Why you may fear body respect and acceptance will lead to weight gain How to lovingly appreciate and respect your body while also having a goal to lose weight (the two don't have to be mutually exclusive) As mentioned in a previous podcast episode (Navigating Bad Body Image Days), we discussed how we are socialized to ignore, suppress, or numb our feelings, especially the uncomfortable, messy or “unacceptable” ones. So when uncomfortable feelings arise, our body becomes the scapegoat. Instead of feeling angry, we scrutinize our body. Instead of feeling anxious about the big deadline at work, we feel more body shame. Instead of feeling sad because we had a terrible fight with our partner, we think about a plan to change our body. If you want to stop using your body as a punching bag and learn how to accept and respect it as your co-pilot in this life, then don't miss today's conversation. If bullying your body was an effective weight loss strategy, it would have worked by now. It's time to try something different. Are you in?