I totally get why a lot of people feel like their body “hates” them.

I was fat for a while, too, and even though I didn’t gain as much weight as some people, it was enough for me to feel frustrated with my body…especially being an elite-level athlete whose livelihood depended on her ability to control her body.

When your body won’t let go of weight, when it’s hurting, when it’s battling chronic issue after chronic issue after chronic issue, it can feel like your body’s out to get you.

But the reality is, when that kind of stuff’s going on, it doesn’t mean your body “hates” you. It means your body is doing its very best to protect you.

When you’re hitting your body left and right with foods and beverages that it was never meant to consume (foods and beverages that are slowly but surely poisoning it), your body’s doing everything it can to keep you alive.

It starts storing all that crap you’re eating as body fat, because it doesn’t understand what else to do with it.

But it can only take so much. And when it reaches that point, things start breaking down.

All the inflammatory bull crap food wreaks havoc, leading to pain and disease.

And in many cases, your body loses its ability to tell “friend from foe,” and gets so confused that it starts attacking itself.

I get it. The bull crap food is tasty. After all, it’s chemically engineered to be that way. Or, in the case of sugar, it’s just naturally addicting, so food manufacturers add it to EVERYTHING.

But is it really worth feeling like you’re at war at your body 24/7?

Think of your body like a helpless little kitten (or puppy, if you’re more of a dog person).

If something was hurting that kitten, and it was meowing in pain, would you say, “That kitten hates me!” Or would you do whatever you could to love and protect it?

Start thinking of your body the same way as you’d think of that hurting kitten or puppy.

It doesn’t hate you, any more than a hurting puppy or kitten do.

It’s doing exactly what it’s programmed to do–keep you alive, even when the odds are completely stacked against it.

Make peace with your body. Appreciate it and be grateful for it, no matter what size you are or how sick you are.

And most important of all, start treating your body with love, and protect it as best you can, by giving it the real food, water, and sleep it needs to heal and be the best it can be for you.

You only have one body, and whether you live at peace or at war with it is entirely up to you.