Mirror, Mirror, on the Wall...

By Rono - ISSA-CFT, WITS-CPT

Who is the fairest of them all. The idea of beauty, body image,
and body comfort is a very important and needs to addressed.
How do seen yourself? Are you uncomfortable with your body
image? Besides focusing on helping my clients get fit, lose
weight, or come into a healthy lifestyle, one of most important
goals is to get my clients is to really appreciate their bodies as a
whole. No amount of fitness or weight loss will replace true love
for thy self.

Within our society we are all under a lot of pressure to have the
so-called "perfect body". On countless magazine, TV, and other
media forms we are overwhelmed with artificial images of very
thin or unrealistically thin models or so-called "stars". This anti-fat
marketing plan isn't healthy for our society and is affecting all of
us and it is reaching our children. The gender most affected by
this are women. With that being said you can't control the big
marketing machine, but you can control your own behavior and
attitude towards yourself.

What's My Ideal Weight
One of most asked questions I hear is "what is my ideal weight?".
The answer I give is usually not what people want to hear but it is the truth.

Your ideal weight as I say is...

• One YOU can maintain for a lifetime.
• One that makes YOU feel healthy and able to do what you want.
• One the lowers your risk for preventable diseases.
  

The truth is your body is unique to you. Take ownership of your
body - it is yours, not societies or the other people in it.

Body Image
Sometimes we are our worst critics. Mostly women in general are
very judgmental and critical of there own bodies. Much more than
men. Women in general seek to point out the areas of their body
that their uncomfortable about, such as their butts, cellulite, or
waist-line. The truth is that your confidence about your body
image will always be more beautiful than your discomfort. Losing
weight, getting liposuction, or a tummy tuck are all some what
physical changes, not mental changes and will not fix your self esteem
or make your love yourself. Your attitude of yourself must
change, and this will change the way you perceive yourself.

Change your focus...
When you know you need to lose some weight, focus on
improving your lifestyle rather than attaining some arbitrary
specific weight goal. Getting your lifestyle under your control is
the real goal. Say no more to negative thoughts. If you catch
yourself thinking negative thoughts about you body, talk back
positively.

Don't focus some much on getting some number to show up
when you stand on a scale. That scale is only measuring - "the
force that gravitation exerts upon a body" - not how much you
love yourself or how others feel about you. The real goal in all
this is to establish a healthy lifestyle, a positive self-image and to
forget about your weight. Obsessing about your body image is
unhealthy and can lead to eating disorders and other problems
that can affect overall health.

Be Well

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