Body Image - When Will the Madness End?
 Even in this day and
age when we have so much information about health
and nutrition and more help than ever to maintain
our confidence and self-esteem, we are still
bombarded with this strange obsession with body
image and being thin! Having a negative body image is becoming
the norm!
You only need to look to the media to get mixed
messages about what we are supposed to be or do and
it takes a confident, self assured person to ignore
these messages and be happy with the skin they are
in. Most magazines now have a very contradictory
theme - you can read an article about how you should
love and accept yourself as you are and a few pages
along is the latest lose 10lb in 2 days diet or a
page full of celebrities being criticised for being
overweight because they are over a size 6!
There have been several programmes recently
focussing on extreme weight loss. I watched Louise
Redknapp’s programme - ‘The Truth About Size Zero’
where she did an experiment to see if she could get
down to a size 0 in 30 days. This program was
intended to highlight the dangers of extreme crash
dieting and the dangers of this obsession to become
so thin. By the end of the program, Louise – who was
already petite before the experiment, was miserable,
looked ill and pale and did not feel good about
herself in anyway. She gained nothing from such
extreme dieting and lost so much. There was nothing
about her being so thin that was attractive and her
zest for life had gone.
It would be wonderful if we could all stand up to
the peer pressure at once and say ‘no more’ but
there will always be some of us still buying into
the image and diet mentality for fear that if we
don’t, we won’t fit in with society’s standards or
coming off the latest diet plan will result in
extreme weight gain. These fears are based on the
messages that we receive about what is and isn’t
acceptable and our deep rooted beliefs that we
cannot maintain a healthy weight without a diet
plan. It is about time we destroyed a few of these
old beliefs and instead concentrate on a level of
self care and acceptance that supports our
self-esteem.
As individuals, we can face reality and realise that
all of this pressure about image and dieting is not
healthy for our weight or our self esteem. We can
only tackle what is in our own control which should
be our refusal to comply with the very conflicting
media messages and start realizing that we only have
one life and we deserve to spend that life loving
and nourishing ourselves as much as possible instead
of spending most of it worrying that we are never
quite good enough just as we are!
Deciding that you are wonderful just as you are and
that from this day on you will do what is good for
you is your choice. This does not mean that you
can’t work towards your goals or strive to be
successful but it does mean being present where you
are and enjoying the moment. Look for resources that
support this decision and the way of life you want
to lead. None of us are perfect but it is our
uniqueness that makes us so wonderful. Embrace who
you are and start enjoying being you - you will be
glad you did!
Useful
Resources:
The Food Philosophy
Why keep on
banging your head against the wall. Try a
completely different way to lose weight with the food
philosophy.
Personal Power for
women
Isn't it
time you put yourself first?
Personal Power for
women is a powerful 6 week course to help you clear your
baggage and dramatically reclaim your life.
50 Ways to Build Self Esteem
A
step-by-step plan for happiness and fulfilment.
Change your beliefs, switch on those good feelings about
yourself and take control of your life. |
