Olympian Ilona Maher tells what she says to herself when she doesn't feel comfortable in her body: Watch video

Ilona Maher speaks openly about what she does when she is unhappy with her body.

The Olympic bronze medalist, who currently competes on “Dancing with the Stars,” shared a vulnerable TikTok video over the weekend in which she spoke about not feeling “physically confident.”

“I want to be honest with you guys, so I just wanted to let you know that I'm not feeling very comfortable in my body right now,” she began. “But that's okay, that's okay – and I know you're all going to message me.”

“But remember, the mind plays tricks on you,” she continued. “It tells you different things. So I think I'm making this video more to help myself, and if it helps you, all the better, a win.”

Maher said it's normal to “not always love your body and just think it's so great,” and she said it's something she struggles with from time to time. However, when she gets in that mood, she reminds herself of three things, she said.

“I try to remember what my body is doing for me, how strong it is,” she said. “How strong it is, whether I'm walking or jogging, lifting weights or dancing.”

The second thing she tells herself is that the body is constantly changing and “will constantly change for the rest of our lives.”

“It doesn’t matter if we’re in a different part of our cycle, you know, if [we’re] eat more, eat less, exercise more – I'm not exercising as much as I usually do, so my body is changing a little bit,” she added.

Finally, she tells herself to “have some mercy on myself,” which she says is not always easy.

“I think it's tough for me this time,” she said. “My whole training plan is messed up. I'm just dancing and not running 500,000 meters every day.”

Maher ended her video by telling her followers, “Take a deep breath, remember you are beautiful. It's okay if you're going through this. [this].”

“There will be ups and downs [for] the rest of your life,” she added. “I love you and thank you all for loving me.”

Ahead of her debut on “Dancing with the Stars,” Maher, who helped the U.S. women's rugby team to a bronze medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics and also became the digital cover star of the 2024 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue, told “Good Morning America” ​​that she wants to show people that there are many different facets to rugby stars.

“We go out there on the field and we're beasts, but I can be a beauty, I can dance and do all these things,” said Maher, who added that she wants to continue spreading her message of body appreciation during her “Dancing with the Stars” journey.

“My new goal is to show that all body types can dance and express themselves through dance and feel sexy and beautiful when you are on the dance floor,” she added.