5 Things to Remember When Your Body Confidence is Feeling Low

 

Okay, let’s be honest…
Some days, your body just feels... off. The jeans don’t fit right. A photo catches you off guard. And suddenly, you're in a full-on spiral, questioning your progress, your worth, and whether anything you’re doing is working.

If you’ve been there (or you’re there right now), this episode is for you.

I’m walking you through five mindset shifts to keep in your back pocket for those low-confidence days, the ones where nothing feels quite right. These aren’t surface-level affirmations. These are truth-based reminders that actually help reframe the way you show up for your body.

Inside this episode, you’ll hear:

  • Why loving your body has nothing to do with loving how it looks

  • What confidence is really rooted in (hint: it’s not your size)

  • How to unlearn the body shame you’ve picked up over the years

  • Why care rooted in respect lasts longer than motivation rooted in self-criticism

  • And why how you feel in your body will always matter more than how it looks in the mirror

This is the episode to come back to whenever you feel disconnected from your body, discouraged by your progress, or just need a reminder that you don’t have to be perfect to be confident.

And if this episode speaks to you, I know you’ll also love Episode 462: 4 Verses For When You Struggle With Body Image (Part 1)

If you want more from me, be sure to check out… 

Website: www.juliealedbetter.com

Transcript

00:00 -

Hey, hey, beautiful human, Can I steal five minutes of your time? I have something super important to share with you, but I promise I'll be really quick. You're listening to my weekly bonus episode of Embrace your Real with me, julie Ledbetter. I'm about to give you a quick tip for building your confidence, honoring your body and unconditionally loving your authentic self. Stay tuned If you're ready to embrace your real, let's get it. Let's go. Hello and welcome back to another bonus episode on the Embrace your Real podcast.

00:34

Let's be honest, some days, some weeks or even months, we just feel off in our bodies, like it happens to all of us. You wake up, your jeans fit weird, or you see a photo and you're like ugh, that is not what I look like in my head and before you know it, you literally start spiraling into body comparison, self-criticism and that old lie that your body is somehow not enough. So if you're having one of those days or one of those weeks, or maybe even one of those months, this episode is for you. I want to remind you of five powerful truths to hold on to when your body confidence is feeling low. These are not fluffy affirmations. These are mindset shifts rooted in truth that can change the relationship that you have with your body. But first let me share this super sweet review. It comes from Rocky Mosh. She gave a five-star review and said this girl, though I'm a 48 year old wife, mom, grandmother and ex fitness competitor. After 11 competitions over the course of six years, I finally hung up my clear heels and glitzy bikinis at the age of 44. I wanted to live my life stage ready. For anyone that can relate, you know that it is impossible. Needless to say, my hormones were wrecked and my mind was even more wrecked.

01:45

I stumbled upon Julie's podcast after searching for some macro counting information, and I'm so thankful that her podcast appeared in the results. I have listened to every episode and absolutely cannot get enough of this girl. She speaks clearly and there's no fluff aka words like um or like, which I try really hard, but sometimes I'm sorry they come out. I'm fascinated by how positive she is and how her compassion for others comes across in each and every episode. Our current world needs more positive influencers like Julie, now more than ever.

02:17

Unfortunately, it took me until my late forties, but I'm finally embracing my real Thank you, julie. You are an angel, rocky. This just hit my heart. This hit my soul. Thank you so much for taking time out of your day to send in this review. I am so proud of you, the fact that you are learning this at you know 44, you hung it up and in your forties you are finally embracing your reel. It is never too late, like I just want to remind you. It is never too late. You always have want to remind you. It is never too late. You always have the opportunity to choose it now moving forward, and so I just couldn't be more proud of you and thank you so much again for taking time out of your day to send in that review.

02:55

All right, let's dive into it. Five things to remember when your body confidence is feeling low. Number one loving your body isn't about thinking it's perfect. It's about realizing that it doesn't have to be. Loving your body doesn't mean that you have to love the way that it looks. Let's say that again for people in the back you don't have to love the way that it looks to love your body. You love your dog, your best friend, your kids, not because they look a certain way, but because of who they are and how much they mean to you. Their appearance isn't even a part of the equation. So why do we think our bodies have to be aesthetically perfect before they're worthy of love? Your body has been with you through every season, every heartbreak, every milestone, every challenge, every success, every high, every low, literally everything. It carries you, it protects you, it adapts for you, it fights for you daily, and that's love worthy period. And loving your body doesn't have to be this loud, bold declaration every day. Sometimes it's quiet, it's subtle, it's choosing to feed yourself well, to speak kindly to yourself, to rest when you need to, to stop punishing your body for not meeting impossible standards. So you don't have to look in the mirror and love the way that your body looks, but you do need to look in the mirror and love your body, speak kind words to it, show it gratitude and show it the love that it truly deserves.

04:22

Number two confidence is not size specific, it's belief specific. So many women believe that confidence is something that comes when they lose the weight, they tone the arms, they get back to their goal size, pre-pregnancy, whatever it is. But I have worked with thousands of women over the last decade and I can tell you with absolute certainty that confidence does not magically appear with a smaller jean size. Yeah, you heard that right. I know so many of you think that if you just lose five pounds, 10 pounds, 20 pounds, or you drop two more pant sizes, then you will love your body. But, sister, this does not work. You will lose the five pounds, you will drop the two pant sizes and it won't be enough. You'll think that you still need to lose more and you still won't think that you look good enough. You'll enter this endless cycle and you'll never actually feel confident.

05:14

And this is why you need need need to understand that confidence comes from your beliefs, not your body. Yes, confidence comes from your beliefs, not your body. It's about the story that you tell yourself. Do you believe that you are worthy? Do you believe that your body can be trusted? Do you believe that you deserve to take up space? Do you believe that your body can be trusted? Do you believe that you deserve to take up space? Do you believe that you are beautiful and powerful and capable? These beliefs are what really make the shift. These beliefs are what will bring real confidence. Start believing in those things and you'll start feeling more confident in your body, and I guarantee it. No weight loss is required for that.

05:55

Number three you were not born in your body and I guarantee it, no weight loss is required for that Number three. You were not born hating your body. This was learned and it can be unlearned. Babies don't hate their thighs. Little kids don't criticize their bellies. Body shame is not something that we're born with. It's something that we absorb. We soak it in from social media, from comparison, from offhand comments that people make. But just like you learned it, you can unlearn it. You can retrain your mind to notice beauty, to feel gratitude, to stop nitpicking every inch of yourself. This takes time, it takes repetition, but it absolutely is possible, and it starts with becoming aware of the messages that you're internalizing and choosing to rewrite them. So every time you have a negative thought about yourself, I want you to rewrite it. Say the opposite and you'll start to unlearn the beauty standards that you've built up in your head.

06:52

Number four taking care of your body out of love will always go further than punishing it out of hate. Let's be honest when your motivation is rooted in self-hate, it might actually work for a little. While you grind through the workouts you dread, you cut out the foods you actually enjoy, you obsess over every mistake and, yeah, maybe it feels like you're being disciplined, but deep down it's exhausting and eventually that kind of motivation will run out, because you can only hustle against yourself for so long before you burn out and before your body starts to push back and before your mind says I can't do this anymore. But when you shift your why, when you start taking care of your body because you love it and want to support it, everything starts to feel different. Workouts become a way to celebrate what your body can do, not punish it for how it looks.

07:43

You can start eating in a way that fuels you, not because you're trying to shrink, but because you want to feel strong and energized. You give yourself permission to rest, not because you're lazy to shrink, but because you want to feel strong and energized. You give yourself permission to rest Not because you're lazy, but because recovery is necessary, and that's when you start to build habits that actually stick, not because you hate where you're at, but because you respect where you are and you're excited to grow from it. So if your confidence feels low today, I want you to pause and ask yourself what would I do today if I loved my body? Start there, and that's where real change begins. That's where confidence gets rebuilt and that's where the pressure to be perfect gets replaced with something way more powerful self-respect. And remember love always carries you further than hate ever could.

08:27

And last but not least, number five, how you feel in your body matters more than how you think it looks. We live in a world that is obsessed with appearance, of health, abs, angles, filters and the highlight reels, but here's the truth that I've learned over the years you can look fit and still feel completely off in your body. You can shrink yourself to another, smaller size and still feel bloated, exhausted, moody, inflamed and disconnected. So what are we really chasing here? Because when you start prioritizing how you feel over how you look, everything shifts. You stop asking does this make me look smaller? And you start asking does this make me feel stronger, energized, at peace? That's the difference between a short-term result and a long-term transformation.

09:14

When your digestion is functioning well, when your energy is stable throughout the day, when your sleep is deep and restorative, when your mood is steady and when your workouts leave you feeling powerful instead of depleted, that's when you begin to feel confident in a real, lasting way, not because the mirror said so, but because your body did. And here's the best part when you feel at home in your body, the need for external validation fades. You stop obsessing over every photo, every outfit, every angle, because your worth is not tied to how you look. It's actually rooted in how you feel. So if you're in a tough spot with your body right now, I want you to pause and gently ask yourself how do I feel in my body right now and what would help me feel better today? Maybe it's a real meal, maybe it's movement, maybe it's rest, maybe it's a mindset shift. Whatever it is, start there, because how you feel will always tell the truth, no filter required. All right, there you have it, all of the reminders that you need today. If you're feeling like your body, confidence is tanking.

10:18

Let me do a quick recap. Number one loving your body isn't about thinking it's perfect. It's about realizing that it doesn't have to be. Number two confidence is not size specific. It is belief specific. Number three you were not born hating your body. That was learned and it can absolutely be unlearned. Number four taking care of your body out of love will always go further than punishing it out of hate. And last but not least, number five how you feel in your body matters more than how you think it looks.

10:42

If you love this episode, I know you will also love episode 462, four verses when you struggle with body image, part one. I really go in depth here and I remind you of some scripture that I believe will help you again if you're having body image issues. So I will go ahead and link it episode 462 in the show notes below. But that is all that I have for today's episode. I love you so dang much, I mean it, and I'll talk to you in the next one.

11:24

All right, sister, that's all I got for you today, but I have two things that I need you to do. First thing, if you are not already following me on the gram, be sure to do so. Julie A Ledbetter yes, it's with an a in the middle for that daily post-workout real talk, healthy tips and tricks and honest accountability to keep your mind and heart in check. The second thing, be sure to subscribe to Apple Podcasts to never miss an episode. Thank you so much for joining me. It means the absolute world, and I'm going to leave you with one last thought. The most beautiful women that I have met in my life are the ones who are completely confident and secure in being authentically themselves. Remember that beauty goes so much deeper than the surface. So go out there and embrace your real, because you're worth it. You.

 
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