Respecting your body doesn’t mean you like your body or are at peace with how your body looks. In fact, it is focusing on how you treat your body (behaviors) and not how you feel about your body. It doesn’t require you liking your body, simply treating it with respect by taking care of it’s basic needs. The process of improving body image is very difficult and not easy. Body Image is a relationship – shifting, changing, evolving day to day, even moment to moment. When we respect our body, we can start to nourish and give it the care it deserves. Nourishing your body looks like eating regular meals, getting adequate quality sleep, moving your body in a way that feels enjoyable versus punishing. This is the baseline of what’s required for intuitive eating and recovery – an important reminder for anyone who feels like it is only for people who love their body.
Oftentimes, we blame our bodies for not looking a certain way and taking a step towards body respect can look like starting to accept our body the way it is without having unrealistic expectations about its size and shape. A wonderful analogy described by Elyse Resch and Evelyn Tribole, creators of the Intuitive Eating, is thinking about shoe size. A person with a shoe size of nine could not realistically squeeze into a size six or seven.1 It would be just as unrealistic to do the same with body size – aiming for a smaller frame that puts you and your body under a lot of stress.
We live in a culture that is surrounded by body shaming, dieting, and anti-fatness. As a result, you may feel pressured to look a certain way or develop stronger insecurities towards your body due to the internet. What can you do about this?
Below we will discuss some ways you can create a healthier environment and mentality towards your body.
Creating a Supportive Environment
Social media influencers that talk about cutting calories, restricting foods, can have a negative impact on your getting smaller about your body can be draining. What you can do in this instance is avoid followers who promote body shaming, dieting, body dysmorphia, and more. Some influencers post “What I eat in a day to stay skinny” or other “what I eat in a day” clips that can sometimes include an intentional body check.
Some actions made by others can do more harm than good but keep in mind the previous intuitive eating principles, especially principle four (Challenging the Food Police) and principle six (Discover the Satisfaction Factor). The principles help us realize that our diet is not going to look a certain way and instead is crafted to our liking. Instead, getting off social media or following individuals who are educated on intuitive eating, share experiences that are interesting to you, and other influences that meet your style, liking, and satisfaction. following registered dietitians that promote non-diet approach and intuitive eating, , Taylor Grasso (@simplyhealthyrd) such as If you have TikTok or instagram
We all have different preferences based on our culture, taste, eye appeal, textures, flavor, and overall satisfaction with food. We may have similar likings to those around us, but we should never create an unsatisfactory meal based on what the internet says we should do, or we think it should be a certain way to change our bodies completely. It will not be sustainable for you in the long run.
Another way to create a supportive environment is to surround yourself with people who do not promote body shaming or negative comments about one’s body. Instead, surround yourself with individuals who show support, positivity, and respect for you and themselves. Expressing your hobbies, passions, and creativity with one another is a much more meaningful and enjoyable experience.
Wear clothes that fit!
Do you have any clothes that are too small, but you save them just in case you fit into them again?
Do you need some new clothes, but you tend to buy what you think looks good on you but doesn’t feel good?
I would suggest donating clothes that do not fit anymore, or if you are not able to due to sentimental reasons or simply not ready to do so, try boxing them up and storing them out of easy reach. Areas would include the back of the closet, garage, etc. What matters significantly is feeling comfortable in the clothes you are wearing. When buying new clothes, consider your style and how comfortable they would feel. Say you are trying on some pants in the changing room. If you are a larger body that is not straight sized, the availability of clothing that you can find to fit in store can be hard. Stores are getting better about carrying larger sizes but online clothing options may be the only option. If trying on clothes in a store, consider not looking at yourself in the mirror initially. Take a second to get a sense of how they feel on your body. Maybe stretch, wiggle, and/or sit in them. If they do not feel comfortable, take them off and try out a different piece of clothing. If they feel comfortable, look in the mirror to see if they match your style. Stop blaming your body when clothes don’t fit. Also, getting rid of the scale where your emotions are based on a specific number is a helpful tool in your journey to a better body image.
Comparing
Humans are 99.9% genetically like one another, but the remaining 0.1% are responsible for differences in physical traits, disease susceptibility, and more. Our similarities are so close, yet we are beyond different just from that 0.1%. Body diversity exists. Every one of us has an appearance and body shape completely different from others. There are more similarities among our family members, and even we can vary so much based on our ancestors. There are environmental and behavioral experiences that make us so unique and different from one another as well. With that, comparing yourself to others only leads to unnecessary suffering and it is not realistic.
Body Talk
The last thing I would like to touch on is how we can approach these negative body talks. Stop (or don’t start) talking about people’s bodies (including your) judgment. Weight bias can be something people do not realize they have, or even yourself. Being aware of these thoughts and words, as well as speaking up to challenge others (if we are comfortable) is something to be mindful of. You can shift a topic or statement into something more positive such as instead of saying “I can’t believe how much weight I’ve gained – no dessert for me tonight,”1 shift it to say, “I had a piece of the most amazing cake at Christina’s bridal shower last weekend, I need to find out the name of the bakery!”
Finding something positive or structuring your sentences in a positive way as such over time will create a healthy habit of minimizing or diminishing negative thoughts regarding your size, shape, and appearance.
Resources 1. Tribole E, Resch E. (2017). The Intuitive Eating Workbook – 10 Principles for Nourishing a Healthy Relationship with Food. https://amzn.to/3zxhARo*
