Next time you are having trouble loving that amazing body of yours, try these tricks:

1. Stand naked in front of a full-length mirror and say ‘I love you’ repeatedly until you laugh, cry or feel something else. It might seem odd and it will almost definitely feel very odd, perhaps even very uncomfortable. But trust me on this one, it will result in you believing it.
2. Move your body – go for a walk, stretch, dance around your lounge room, whatever it takes for you to realise just how lucky you are to have a functioning body that is all yours and produced a small human. I mean wow!
3. Treat yourself to a long hot bath, paint your nails; do something that makes you feel good about the way your body looks. It may sound vain, but hey, feeling bad about your body because you don’t look exactly like the other girls on instagram is vain, right?
4. Talking of instagram – stop looking at those girls! You know the ones I am talking about, it will only make you feel bad. Instead, look at inspiring #BUFmums posts, cute puppies, sunshine beaches, positive affirmations, cute kids; these will all make you feel far better than someone else’s perfect abs will.
5. Journal your feelings. Writing down the way you feel is a great way to express how you are feeling. And if applicable, it will also give you something to refer back to when determining any patterns for your negative self-talk.
6. Talk to someone – a friend, a counselor, a life coach, a partner. The saying ‘a problem shared is a problem halved’ is absolutely true.