What do you think about your body?

Winning my first Ironman as overall amateur female at 2017 IM Chattanooga and giving my body a huge thank you for being oh-so-amazingly strong and healthy.

What do you think about your body?

• Standing on the podium in first place, yet you feel "too fat."
• Achieving a personal best time, yet your legs/butt feels "too big."
• Doubting your abilities because your stomach feels "too heavy."
• Blaming your subpar performance on your weight. 
• Lacking self confidence because you don't look like other athletes.

In each of these scenarios, is an athlete who believes one of two things: That looking differently will improve athletic success or a current look is the reason for lack of athletic success.

Despite putting in the training and being physically prepared for an event, actual acceptance of one-self can be a major athletic limiter. Inside, you have internalized feelings of being inadequate because of a look, a comparison or an assumption.

Poor body image can wreak havoc on performance, physical health and mental well-being.
There are great consequences to trying to conform to rigid societal ideals.

Underfueling, skipping meals, restricting carbohydrates, eliminating certain foods groups and ignoring body hunger cues are some of the many unhealthy dieting and disordered eating strategies that athletes turn to when trying to achieve a specific body type ideal. Sadly, many of the above strategies are unhealthy (for the body and mind), yet encouraged by coaches, nutrition experts and the media as a means to an end to gain the competitive edge.

Through the rise of social media and prejudgment statements from coaches/nutrition experts, the pressure to change how you look is almost inevitable. But that doesn't make it acceptable. Comparing your body to the body of another athlete can make you feel inadequate, unprepared and doubtful of your abilities. You may even assume that other athletes are more serious/successful than you because of their strict diets, body type and large social media following.

Pressure around body type can be detrimental to health (physical and mental), confidence and most of all, love of sport. It's not uncommon for an athlete to slip down the road of dieting, disordered eating and body image obsession only to reduce longevity (and potential) in the sport that was once fun, enjoyable and health promoting.

The way your body looks and the way your body moves/performance are not necessarily correlated. How you think your body should look to perform well may not match what your body really needs to look like to perform well.

To escape the immense pressure to attention body image perfection, body positivity is critical. What you think about your body matters. Without it, confidence and self-esteem are destroyed. How can you believe in your abilities if you don't appreciate your body?

To improve body image positivity, here are a few tips: 

• Every body is different. A look doesn't predict athletic success (or failure). 
• Always thank your body and appreciate what it can do. 
• Become more accepting of yourself. When you accept who and where you are, that's when change can occur. Mentally beating yourself up gets you nowhere. 
• Take control over your inner dialogue. Body image is closely linked to self-esteem. 
• Avoid a perfectionist mindset. Good enough is great. 
• Don't make comparisons or assumptions. 
• Remind yourself that in the world of social media, many people are presenting carefully selected images and posts of their lives, designed to look better than reality. 
• Break the habit of making excuses for yourself, being all or nothing or being highly critical of yourself. 
• Surround yourself with body positive advocates. Steer clear of people who make you feel bad about how you look. 
• Select your role models and influencers carefully. 
• A negative body image can be the start of an eating disorder, depression and anxiety. If you think you are suffering from a mental illness, don't be afraid to seek professional help. Brave athletes speak up and get help. 
• Learn to overpower negative thoughts with positive ones. Build your confidence with body positive affirmations and mantras. For example, workout because you love your body, not because you hate it.
• Wear clothing that makes you feel good about your body. Work with your body, not against it. 
• Be ok with change. Seeing your body change does not remove your great qualities and skills. Respect yourself. You must take care of your human self before your athlete self. Let your body know how much you care and appreciate it.