Having a positive body image is extremely important. After all, how you perceive yourself can have a significant impact on your physical, emotional, and mental health. Additionally, your perception of your body also affects other areas of life.
For instance, your body image determines how you present yourself and interact with others. Consequently, it can affect the jobs you apply for and your productivity.
You are not alone if you struggle with maintaining a positive body image. Many people feel insecure about their appearance, including weight, skin, hair, height, etc. While this is quite normal, a negative body image has several adverse effects.
Therefore, working on maintaining a healthy body is imperative to leading a healthy, happier life.
Why a Healthy Body Image is Important
Simply put, body image refers to an individual's perception, belief, and emotional attitude toward their body. It can relate to how you feel about your body, size, shape, height, and weight. Besides your belief about your physical appearance, body image applies to your sense and control of your body.
Your body image can range from positive and satisfactory to negative. If you feel an intense dissatisfaction with your body, you may develop a risk of conditions such as eating disorders and body dysmorphic disorder.
On the other hand, people with a positive body image realize that their appearance does not decide their self-worth. Positive body image relates to having a broader concept of beauty, i.e., not letting societal beauty standards determine your self-worth.
Additionally, you will possess inner positivity that helps maintain a stable body image. But the best thing about a positive body image may be how it allows a person to accept their body for how it looks and appreciate it for all it can do.
So, body positivity can fill you with self-confidence to achieve life goals. With more mental stability, confidence, and self-esteem, you are more likely to enjoy life, including work and relationships.
If you're struggling with body image, taking a few simple steps can help you feel more positive and content in your body.
1. Identify Your Goals
Firstly, it is crucial to identify your goals for changing how you perceive yourself and developing a positive body image. So, how can you do this?
Start by noticing what makes your body unique and beautiful. Then, you can move on to the challenges that your body presents for you. If you find it hard to do, write a journal about your journey.
You can write down your story of body image and include everything that influenced it at any point. This may consist of the people surrounding you, cultural messages, etc. Next, identify what things make you struggle before translating them into goals. Create a detailed wish list about what you wish to change about your body image.
These goals should sound something like this:
- I want to stop comparing my body to the bodies of women I see online.
- I do not need to hide my stretch marks.
- I will not let my negative thoughts stop me from performing yoga.
The wish list must be about changing the way you feel, think, and behave.
2. Do What Makes You Feel Good
For a healthy and positive body image, you need to do things that make you happy. It can include anything that keeps you content with life and yourself.
For instance, don't hesitate to wear clothes that you like. Choosing a right shapewear will make you feel more confident, impacting how you perform in different areas of life. When you're confident with your appearance, you are more likely to take up something you want to do. Ultimately, this will have a positive impact on your productivity.
Apart from this, you do not need to attend to negative situations that affect your body image. Feel free to walk out of places that steal your peace.
3. Surround Yourself with Positivity
Developing a positive body image is impossible if you stay in situations that don't serve you. After all, how can you grow when you're only feeding your mind with negativity? It is time to start working on the food you nurture your mind with.
Start by evaluating your friendships and assess the way your friends talk about their bodies. Often, your friends' critical attitudes about their bodies can also affect the way you feel about yours.
Try and surround yourself with people who are optimistic about their appearance as well as yours. Do not allow your friends to pressure you into losing or gaining weight.
4. Be More Active
You cannot develop a positive body image until you feel like you're not doing anything. However, having a healthy body image does not mean you need to try changing your body so you can like it. Instead, it is more about accepting and appreciating it in its current state.
Rewiring your brain and changing your thought process does not come easy. But, becoming more active can fuel feelings of satisfaction, strength, and happiness. After all, having a positive body image is all about feeling good about yourself.
You will grow to feel strong, fit, and healthy when you nurture your body, feed your muscles with what it needs, and work out. Besides keeping you healthy, exercise helps you feel more energetic.
5. Lose Weight in a Healthy Way
If you struggle with obesity and it affects your body image, it can harm your physical and mental health. In this case, when your well-being is at risk, you may need to lose weight. However, make sure to follow a healthy weight management plan.
Often, people, especially women, start beating themselves up to gain weight. Being so hard on yourself can do more harm. If you must lose weight, try to do so in the healthiest way possible.
While regularly weighing is unhealthy, remember the role of water retention in standard measurements. You can keep a food diary to track your meals when trying to lose weight. And remember, eating less does not equal health or fitness. Instead of skipping meals, try breaking them into smaller portions.
Key Takeaways
A healthy and positive body image can be highly fulfilling for you. Not only does it make you feel confident, happy, and content, but your body image also affects your physical health. Not to forget, you are likely to be more productive and have healthier, stronger relationships when you feel secure about your appearance.
Are you ready to begin your journey of developing a positive body image? Let us witness it by connecting with us on Instagram: @shapellxofficial.
