[Health & Fitness] What is a Body Positivity Coach?

I am a certified Body Positivity Coach. That means I want to promote self-love, body acceptance, and a holistic approach to physical and mental health. Personally, I have struggled with loving my body and struggled through disordered eating and thinking at certain points in my life. Those hard times made me stronger and led me in the direction of helping others in their journeys to physical and mental fitness. 

What is a Body Positivity Fitness Coach?
“A Fitness professional who challenges the ‘fit ideal’, promotes a positive body image with clients and emphasizes strength and functional goals over aesthetic goals.”

​Can I be a Body Positivity Coach and still struggle with my own body image?
​Of Course, part of the journey as a coach is personal growth and discovery. In addition, it is easier to help other people from a place of personal experience and understanding. 

​Do you still promote goal weights, aesthetic goals? 
Yes. Part of body positivity is loving your body throughout whatever fitness journey you are on; this is NOT the same thing as being complacent or not having progressive goals.

What about competing/bodybuilding, don’t you do that?
The Body Positivity movement is designed to promote self-growth and to celebrate non-scale victories, and to begin to enjoy life without any correlation between my happiness and my body size/shape/weight. It is NOT a movement designed to discourage aesthetic goals or bash on body improvement. In fact, body positivity is a key factor in a healthy growth mindset. The bodybuilding community is one of the most body positive, celebrate yourself and the amazing things your body can do types of people I have ever been around. 

Competing gets a bad reputation for creating body dysmorphic behaviors or disordered eating patterns. Going into a show with proper coaching, mental health, and self-love (IE if you are body positive and if you understand what goes into the sport and why) you can compete in a healthy and enjoyable way. My personal experience has been one of learning to grow my body physically stronger and to better control my nutrition. 

​Body Positivity verses Fat Praising?​
​​My biggest problem with body positivity is distinguishing between loving your body no matter what size you are and embracing curvier bodies (which is awesome!) and normalizing or promoting unhealthy habits. The way I teach and promote body positivity is loving your body and accepting your body during your journey but continuously and always striving to be the healthiest version of me. That means, I can love being curvy and having extra weight if I am staying active and taking care of myself physically and mentally- that is body positive. What that does NOT mean is being okay with unhealthy eating habits and chronic disease. All bodies are beautiful and shaped differently, our challenge is to love ourselves and our journeys, to take care of our bodies and to not judge others in their own personal journeys.  

Who are you Certified through? 
​Bloom Fit, Check out their website here: https://www.bloomfittraining.com 

Have Questions? Let’s chat!