How to Overcome Body Image Issues
Who here is a woman and felt personally victimized by body image issues? (Anyone a mean girls fan?). In all seriousness, I don’t know one woman in my life who hasn’t struggled with their body image. I’ve seen it in many different forms. They could really be struggling emotionally, knit picking at themselves in the mirror, pinching at their unwanted skin, or making negative comments about themselves.
Now more than ever, women struggle with being content in their bodies and experience so much body shame. Especially with our online, edited versions of our lives, being beautiful and “perfect” is the expectation. As long as I’ve known it, being thin has been the symbol of being fit and in shape, and it’s also been a sign of being superior to any other version of ourselves.
This topic is near and dear to my heart because it’s been a challenge and struggle in my own life! Yes, me. A personal trainer and nutrition coach who coaches women to feel confident in their skin. This is a HUGE reason why I do what I do! My own experiences have been such a prominent part of my life since I was a little girl and now in my stages of motherhood. Helping empower other women has helped give me confidence during challenging seasons with my body image.
SO, I’m here to say, let’s talk about this stuff! Having open conversations about body image is just the starting point to help transform our culture of having the ‘perfect bodies’. My mission with Core Life Habits is to help women gain confidence in themselves. Feeling confident in our bodies is so essential to how we view ourselves, and impacts every part of how we go about our lives.
This post is here to serve as a resource to start the discussion behind body image and help you take steps in building confidence in your skin. Are you ready?
How to Overcome Body Image Issues
Understanding what body image is and where you are at personally with your own body image is our key starting point. When we have clarity on this, we can figure out what the best steps forward are to help us gain confidence and strength in our mindsets around our bodies! Let’s dive in :)
What Is Body Image?
So what is body image anyways? Is it the same for everyone out there or can it show up in different ways?
Body Image is a person's subjective picture or mental image of their own body. It’s a complete opinion. Challenges with body image can show up in so many ways! It can be a matter of not liking what you see in the mirror, having impactful past experiences where someone made judgements on your body, putting a self-imposed standard on how you feel you’re supposed to look, or talking down about parts of your body. It’s a lot about perceived flaws that we see in ourselves. At its worst, body image issues can go as far as developing disordered eating and other disorders such as body dysmorphic disorder.
How we perceive our body image has an undeniable impact on how we show up in the world. It impacts how you interact with friends, family, and co-workers, what goals you go after, the clothes you wear, the way you show up for an interview, how you show up for your kids or even how you spend and manage your money. Without confidence in our bodies, we don’t show up as the best version of ourselves in every element of our lives.
Getting a deeper understanding of where you are at with your body is the first step in helping you build confidence. Knowing how you perceive yourself can help us figure out what we need to do to help transform that mindset into a more content and confident space!
Signs Of Negative Body Image
If you aren’t sure what the signs are of a negative body image, pay attention to see if you’re experiencing any of the following.
Constant comparison to others
Unable to accept compliments
Expectations of feeling that you have to be a certain weight and shape
Mood is significantly impacted
Being frustrated after looking at yourself in the mirror
Using negative phrases to describe yourself and often engaging in negative self talk
Not being comfortable in your clothes
Feeling like you’re never reaching your ideal body
Feelings of shame, frustration, or anger about yourself
This is not a complete comprehensive list, however these are some essential signs to be on the lookout for. Are you experiencing any of these? If so, keep reading!
How To Deal With Body Image Issues
If you notice that you may experience some of the above signs, or notice that you have a negative perspective on your body image, I first want you to know that you are not alone! There are tons of studies and surveys that have been done on body image and the vast majority of women are with you. One survey discovered that over 60% of women have a negative body image.
Walking the journey to finding more confidence in our bodies is no walk in the park. It takes a lot of intentional effort, practice, and LOTS of grace. A lot of body image perspective comes from experiences we’ve had in our past, societal/cultural standards, social media, the sports we played, and even in our own households. I hope that these tips below can serve as a starting point to help you take steps to improve your body image!
Identify your Negative Thoughts
In anything I coach, identifying and observing gives us the baseline of where we are starting and gives us a more clear understanding of what’s going on. Write these down! Get these thoughts off your mind and onto paper. Are you unhappy with what you see in the mirror? What exactly are you seeing? Why does it upset you? Or maybe you notice you’re always comparing yourself to other women you know or even your past self. Whatever it is that you’re thinking or feeling, getting it off of your mind can be the first step to eliminating these thoughts from your everyday thinking.
Recognize your triggers
Have you ever experienced a comment, or put on some clothes and like a flip of a switch, you’re all of a sudden angry, uncomfortable, and ready to just crawl into your sweatpants and hide? Recognizing what triggers you can help you take another step in either avoiding these triggers all together, or help you navigate through them. Maybe you’re not hanging out with that old crowd anymore, or confronting your family member the next time you see them to share how their comment made you feel. Maybe you’re finding clothes that are not from 15 years ago in your closet and getting something that fits you more comfortably. Recognizing triggers is a huge step in this process. What I have found in my coaching experience is that avoiding our challenges is like putting a bandaid on a wound. It partially protects it but doesn’t heal it. The hydrogen peroxide cleans things out and heals the area! Recognizing your triggers will help figure out how to reshape and transform the way you approach these situations.
Write a list of what gives you confidence
This one may feel silly at first, but have you ever really thought about this? Most women I know don’t take the time! We are so focused on making others happy that we don’t even take a second to understand what makes us feel happy!
So what is it? Is it that new pair of jeans, getting in a good workout, having a delicious and healthy meal, jamming to a favorite song, or hiking a new trail? Maybe it’s getting asked to come aboard a new project at work or just getting dressed up for an evening date night. There is absolutely no right or wrong here! It’s what gives YOU that energized, reassured feeling.
If you look up the definition of confidence, one iteration is this: “a feeling of self-assurance arising from one's appreciation of one's own abilities or qualities.” So what appreciation do you have about your own abilities or qualities? Write these down and do these often!
Learn and acknowledge all the amazing things your body does for you!
There has been an interesting history surrounding women’s body’s. Sometimes we’ve seen that our bodies are supposed to be pretty and attractive, and that’s it. This societal history has made for a HUGE amount of pressure and very little amount of independence and freedom on how we perceive ourselves.
Outside of looks, have you ever thought about all the amazing things your body does? Even down to the simple things. Walking, Running, Lifting and moving objects, getting you to and from places, helped you play certain sports, lift up your child, grow an entire human and birth it into this world!
Our bodies are absolutely incredible. We don’t always give credit to the everyday things that our bodies do. Know that your body has an incredible capacity to do so much! Your body has more purpose than just being thin and “beautiful”.
Assume less
This is one of the toughest tips. How many of you as you identified your negative thoughts, recognized your triggers, and realized that you are assuming something? Assume what your old teammates might think of the way you look now? Assuming what that guy might be thinking as you go out on a first date? Assuming what you “need” to look like?
Assuming can get the worst of us! Why? Because it’s COMPLETELY out of our control. We can’t control someone else's thoughts, or really anything other than ourselves. We allow ourselves to stress, panic, and get overwhelmed by things we don’t even know to be true.
The next time you catch yourself assuming something, find a way to pivot! Say a statement out loud that helps rewire and reframe your thinking at that moment. Release and free yourself from those thoughts. Centering yourself in your own mind is the only thing you can control. It’s too much to try and guess what everyone else is thinking!
Surround yourself with right people
This last tip is my favorite. Surround yourself with people in your life that genuinely care about you, that support you and lift you up, that tell you the honest truth, and that encourage you in all aspects of your life without judgment or jealousy.
If you continue to put yourself in circles of people where you feel uncomfortable, unwelcome, under appreciated, and uncared for, your confidence about your body and yourself just goes plummeting down.
This could mean family, friends, a therapist, mentors, a nutrition coach, etc. We need a variety of connections and relationships in our lives. When you have a strong community of people around you, there is nothing better. Going through this journey alone is a recipe for doubt, and frustration. Take the time to nurture these relationships and see how they pour back into you and help build up your confidence in your body image!
At the end of the day, there is not a perfect recipe for how to “solve” any issues with body image. It’s something that really needs an individualized approach and the right sources of support.
If you have ever found yourself struggling with body image, you have come to the right place for support! Core Life Habits Nutrition Coaching is all about transforming the way we think and approach food and addressing our relationships with our bodies in our past and present experiences. We are here to help start the process of overcoming a negative body image! Reach out to our team to talk to a coach who will walk right alongside you in this journey. You deserve to feel good in your body!
If you’re experiencing things such as wanting to do harm to yourself, depression, anxiety, and drastic nutrition choices regarding your body, finding a Registered Dietitian who specializes in eating disorders or connecting with a mental health professional might be the right place for you. You can also visit the National Eating Disorders Association to learn more.
