Be Body Positive for 2025!
“I believe you were designed to thrive. But here's the thing, sometimes LIFE happens and we need a little help.”
― Gillian Goerzen
Rebel Read
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The Elephant in the Gym | Your Body-Positive Guide to Writing Your Own Health and Fitness Story | Gillian Goerzen | 2018 | Non Fiction
Drop 20 Pounds in 10 Days! Gluten is Making you Fat! 12 minutes a Day = Bikini Body by Summer - all bullshit headlines but they strike a chord and shame us into action that is not lasting
This book is not about any of that ridiculous rhetoric - instead it is a book about redefining healthy living on your terms, and developing strategies, routines and habits that work for you and your real life!
The book shouts from the tree tops - ‘we do not need to be fixed’, ‘we are beautiful as we are’! How refreshing!
Instead, this book asks - what if you could create a healthy lifestyle using simple strategies to build lasting habits for a healthy life - a solution based on loving the body you’re in?
Sounds pretty great hey? I thought so and gleaned some pretty great personal insights as to why I avoid working out, how to love my post mid age c-section tummy and how to start building a foundation to help me succeed in my mind and body
‘Grounded in science, self-compassion and Goerzen’s personal journey from body hatred to body positive, you’ll learn to ditch the diet, reclaim an empowered relationship with your body, and become healthier as a result’
I loved the idea of taking your eyes off the scale since it never really worked for me in the first place and subsequently felt shame around the numbers on the scale - how about you?
The book covers allot of ground including mindset (which I am 100% into as you know), what fitness really is and why the gym is not necessary, tips for healthy eating, how setting goals can get in our way, mastering a self-compassionate approach to health and fitness, sleep habits and more
I admired the way Goerzen used the metaphor of the powerful elephant on the cover of this book as well as throughout the pages. It is a good reminder that we do not need to be tethered to the elephant - we can let the powerful beast go and determine our own path for what works for us in health and fitness (there is also the visceral connection to women being wise sages…the matriarch)
I really enjoyed this book and how it lifts you out of the ‘body-hatred battleground’ and helps you reclaim an empowered relationship with your body - you can read more about it here