CHAPTER 5

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Body and Self Image
Self Image Self Assessment

Are you often disappointed with the way you look?

Have you ever considered resorting to cosmetic surgery or to an extreme diet to correct a physical flaw?

What physical features would you change about yourself if you could? Height? Body shape? Weight? Hair? Complexion?

Do you feel comfortable with your appearance when you try on new clothes?

By the time the average young woman graduates from high school she will have watched over 22,000 hours of television. That’s nearly 2½ years of sitting in front of the TV 24/7 and during that time she will have been deluged with images of sexy women with perfect bodies. For many young women, this constant exposure to the perceived body ideal leads to a deeply seated subconscious connection between attaining a Sports Illustrated swimsuit body and love, happiness and fulfillment and all of this has led to a distorted view of body image among many women. In a recent survey, 41% of female respondents described themselves as too fat and 29% said that they were currently dieting. In fact, only 17% of them were overweight according to body fat caliper testing.

The result of all of this media fed body image control is that women have morphed their view of how they think they look onto their total self image. A less than ideal self body image then, can result in some pretty toxic ideas about one’s personal worth. Unless you consider yourself as physically acceptable, you’re likely to feel powerless, unworthy and unloved. That’s pretty harsh when the view of what is acceptable is, in itself, an artificially constructed illusion. After all, the images we see in the magazines are airbrushed and photoshopped to create an illusion of bodily perfection that simply does not exist. That’s why most of us are looking at our body images through a distorted mirror. The following steps will help you to correct your view:

  1. Start retraining yourself to forget about the false images that society has embedded in your brain about the body ideal. It has been designed for one thing only - to take your money. Your body is unique to you so focus on improving it bit by bit, forget everything else and stop comparing yourself to others.
  2. Judge your body by what it does for you rather than what you think it looks like. Your body is an amazing living machine that deserves your respect. Cherish it, feed it so that it can do its best and NEVER put anything into it that will cause it damage.
  3. Use such tools as the ‘Wheel of Life’ (see chapter 3) to uncover the real reasons behind any ongoing body image hang-ups that you have. What is it that is really holding you back from feeling good about yourself? Could it be that you were never praised as a child? Do you expect perfection from yourself? Whatever the issue is, make up your mind here and now to confront it rationally in the cold light of day. Acknowledge it. Accept it. Then remedy it.
  4. Adopt a positive power base. You are about to engage upon an awesome weight management or wellness program that will allow you to finally achieve your physical goals. The mindset that you take into this endeavour is critical. Rather than coming from an, “I’m broken and I need to be fixed” perspective, you should adopt the view that, “I’m awesome and I deserve to be the best me that I can be.”
  5. Learn to judge yourself by what is really important. At the end of the day, your character is more important than your thigh size. Develop the qualities of love, compassion, empathy and hospitality and judge yourself against these criteria. So make a list of positive non-body traits that you appreciate about yourself. Keep this close by and refer to it every day.
  6. Realise that you are not alone. Everybody has doubts about how they look - including those supermodels who you’ve probably been judging yourself against for so long. Without their million-dollar make-up and airbrushed photo-shoots, they’re just like you.
  7. View yourself as a whole person. You’re more than just what you think is a sagging butt. Look at yourself naked in the mirror and focus on the bits that you do like (come on, there must be something!).
  8. Surround yourself with positive people who clearly love themselves and will encourage you in the same regard. These people should love you for who you are, not what you have or how you look.
  9. Be stronger than your negative thoughts. Shut them down, boot them out and clear the space for positivity. Any time you see a negative thought taking root, squash it and put a positive affirmation in its place.
  10. Treat your body. Take a soothing bubble bath. Have a relaxing nap. Just find some time to chill out. Give back to the body that, up until now, you’ve probably been berating and taking for granted.

AFFIRMATIONS THAT HELPED ME THROUGH BODY IMAGE ISSUES: Repeat them morning and night - they work!!

  1. A “no” from the universe may be a blessing
  2. I love my life
  3. I feed myself nourishing food
  4. I bring joy to my life
  5. Everything happens at the right time