Introduction
Last Time you looked at the mirror what did you think about your body? What did you feel? Did you speak positively or negatively? The truth is we keep looking for faults in our bodies. Feeling defeated and sad because you don’t want to be happy. This negative body image us feel unwanted and kills our productivity. That is why you are struggling with low self-esteem and confidence. That is also why you feel unhappy about your body and it affects your Eman. The fitness industry keeps women trapped in an endless cycle of body dissatisfaction.
5 Fundamental Fitness Mindset Shift
I’ll be sharing with you how to change your fitness mindset. But I’d like you to first recognize that your body is an Amanah.
- Shift from End Result to the Process: You often get so lost in the end result that you lose sight of the process. And when you are obsessed with the end result getting through the process becomes difficult. You become impatient. Remove the pressure on losing weight or belly fat and focus on the process. That is the secret. Focusing on the process allows you to focus on what you can control. Rather than stressing over your size or huge belly. And this takes a lot of effort, especially with the social media hype.
- Shift from Measurement of Success to Appearance to Functionality: It has nothing to do with your appearance. Stop comparing your experience. Think of ways to be functionally fit and active.
- Shift from seeking societal beauty to accepting yourself: Stop seeking for unhealthy societal beauty. Rather aim for normalized objective healthy measurement ranges to evaluate health. Stop fearing those belly size and bodyweight numbers. They don’t determine how beautiful you are. They should only motivate you to work harder.
- Shift from Impatience to Patience: Take baby steps to achieve your goals. each small improvement focuses on one thing at a time and trust yourself to make it happen.
- Shift from Hatred to Gratitude: Stop hating your body. Start seeing your body as an Amanah. Always make that Du’a of looking in the mirror. It encourages us to appreciate our bodies and improve ourselves. Our natural beauty will also increase.
Measuring Your Waist-to-Height Ratio
I feel the need to say this but with no intention to offend anyone. I was on a long drive and was having a personal thought about how Nigerian women have a beautiful body but 90% of us always have that disturbing belly fat. I call it the Nigerian signature belly fat because you find 7 out of 10 women Nigerian with belly fat. Without dragging the issue that much let me get straight to the point.
The question is: Is Your Belly Fat Healthy? This is why calculating your waist-to-height ratio is an EASY way to track your body fat and particularly dangerous abdominal (belly) fat.
Steps to Measure Your Waist-to-Height Ratio
- Calculate your height in cm.
- Measure your waist in cm using a tape measure. Stand sideways in front of a mirror. Do not suck in your belly – breathe naturally. Measure above your belly button over the widest part of your stomach. Ask a friend or spouse for help if necessary.
- Calculate your Waist-to-Height Ratio: *Make sure your height and waist measurements are both in cm! Using a calculator, divide your waist measurement by your height measurement. Then, multiply this number by 100 to get a percentage.
Your waist should be LESS than 50% of your height to reduce risks for obesity-related disease. And that’s it. Easy right?
Conclusion
Negative body image infiltrates and affects every area of our lives. It zaps our self-confidence and makes us feel unworthy and unlovable. Be yourself and take baby steps to work on yourself.
