Awesome article.

OP, I agree that learning to recognize and refute your negative self-talk is huge. IME, though (and again, this is just my experience), knowing this isn't as easy as putting it into practice. Therapy and having a professional, outside opinion helped. Sometimes it's even memories or engrained things that bring up certain feelings and recognizing those also help you be kinder and gentler to yourself. Self-compassion is an ongoing work in progress for me, though.

I also agree with /u/Mullugs about focusing on your physical abilities over appearance. It can be a hard balance when we also have aesthetic goals but focusing on what your body can do instead of just how your body looks can be really transformational.