10 ways to start loving yourself

Self-love is something a very small percentage of us actually have. If you ask a woman how she feels about her body she will most likely say 'awful' since the majority of us hate the body we're in. For many, negative body image is just something they have but it can lead to a dangerous route. Having a bad body image can lead to eating disorders, body dysmorphia and depression.

In the current times, we live in, society makes us think we have to look a certain way in order to fit in, but it really isn't us that need to change society. We are all built differently, all have different genes and different builds so how can we all fit into this generic body type? It doesn't work, one size just doesn't fit all.

As brilliant as social media can be I believe it actually does more harm than good. We fill our media feeds with pictures of the 'perfect' body. This is so damaging for women, and men. Constantly looking at images of other people and comparing ourselves to them makes it impossible to feel good about ourselves. I worry so much about the young people who are growing up with social media being their universe. As a nation, if we already suffer from bad body image, how are young girls and boys ever going to cope in the future?

Being a personal trainer I feel self-hate the most, women come to me hating every bit of their bodies, having no confidence and low self-esteem and I feel that it’s my job to change that. The sole reason I love what I do is that I am passionate about helping people feel good in their own skin. I do this by getting them to accept themselves for who they are. It's about making them realise they don't have to be a stick-thin Victoria's Secret model to love the skin they're in, and telling them they're amazing just the way they are.

I want to do the most I can to help improve body image for as many people as possible, I want us to start loving ourselves again and appreciating our bodies for all the amazing things it does. I think we sometimes forget all the hard work our bodies go through just to keep us alive.

1.  Forgive yourself. In life, we all have ups and downs and things we aren't proud of but if you're still holding onto that mistake you made 3 years ago, you're never going to be able to succeed. You learn as you grow so remember no mistake is a mistake if you learn something from it.

2. Remove any negativity from your daily life. When you live with negative factors in your life it's always going to be difficult to feel good about yourself. Remove anyone from your life who makes you feel bad. Unfollow the girl on Instagram you wish you looked like. Stop doing the things you don't enjoy. Life's too precious to spend it with negative energy around you.

3. Write yourself a love note. Long or short write yourself a letter to remind yourself of all the amazing qualities you have. Read this letter daily.

4. Tell yourself how fabulous you are. Stop looking in the mirror every day picking out all the things about your body you hate, instead choose 3 things about your body you like and focus on that, soon you will end up with a whole list.

5. Be grateful. Focus on all the functional things your body can do, the things you forget about on a day-to-day basis. You might think your legs are big but those legs make it possible for you to walk. You might think you have 'bingo wings' but they allow you to carry your child. Remember how incredible our bodies actually are and what they allow us to do.

6. Release the guilt. When you feel guilty about something you've done or something you've eaten all you doing is hurting yourself. You cannot change the past but you can move forward with positivity into the future. Learn to let go.

7. Turn negative self-talk into positive self-love. The next time you say something cruel to yourself, stop, rephrase it and change it into something positive. Contrary to what we believe, constantly beating yourself up will never make you happy.

8. Be true to YOU. Stop acting a certain way just to fit in, stop trying to be a size 0 to fit into society and do things just to look good on social media. Just be yourself and those who love you for who you are will show. Forget caring about what others think and start caring about what you think.

9. Treat yourself like you would treat others. Think about the way you treat yourself - would you ever treat a friend or family member in the same way? Probably not, so why do it to yourself? It's time to start giving yourself compliments and tell yourself you're beautiful.

10. Free the perfection bug. Banish the word perfect from your vocabulary. Stop striving for perfection because perfect doesn't exist. You are YOU and that is enough.

Remember - there's only ONE you - so be your best possible self, appreciate the body you were given and please start loving yourself as passionately as you do others.