How many times have you woke up in the morning, looked at yourself in the mirror, and wondered how much happier you would be if you could lose a couple of pounds? Sadly, most American girls and women are not satisfied with their bodies, with many engaging in progressively more extreme measures to change their bodies.
A study found that 63% of women participants consider weight to be the main factor determining how they feel about themselves. Another research study indicates that 86% of women are not satisfied with their bodies and desire to lose weight thinking of it as the best way to improve their self-image.
Before you opt for any weight loss program, we recommend performing a resting metabolic rate test as it can help you choose the right path.
Women and teenage girls consider the size of their bodies a definitive element of their identity. Increasingly today, many girls think that something is wrong with their bodies when they don’t fit into some “standard size,” while others will refuse to buy a pair of jeans just because they don’t like the size on the tag.
Most girls that struggle with their weight, tie the scale to their self-worth. If the number on the scale is down, then it’s a good day, and they briefly feel “good” about themselves. But if they have gained a few pounds, then it is a bad day, and their self-worth declines. Girls aren’t alone, and this negative trend extends to women as well.
Body image often correlates with one’s weight, so if women are not satisfied with their bodies, it often impacts their view of value. Unfortunately, women and young girls take this one step further, thinking that their negative body image is the same as their self-image. We now live in a society where teenage girls think the only and best way to improve their self-image and self-confidence is to lose weight and become slimmer.
How Mainstream Media Influences Body-image Ideas
Young girls and women now live in a society where their body sizes define who they are. Women are afraid of gaining weight, and the media (both print and online media) reinforce this belief by bolstering the visibility of “perfect” bodies (and hence happy, perfect lives) altered by filters and staged photo shoots. In today’s digital world, influencers and advertisers propagate messaging about the value of losing weight.
There is a misguided belief that if followers are not exercising and dieting like their peers, there is something inherently wrong. Additionally, people are bombarded by TV shows about plastic surgery and images of famous people transforming their already perfect looks in an attempt to be and look better. Not surprisingly, the number of cosmetic procedures and surgeries in the US is increasing per year. Additionally, the average age at which patients seek out Botox, filler, cool sculpting, and lipo is a decade younger than ten years ago.
Today, women encounter unrealistic beauty images every day when they read a magazine, watch television, or see a movie. Young girls are exposed to an estimated 400-600 media images every single day. Women and teenage girls unavoidably feel insecure about how they look. Hence, they usually think they need to change their bodies to improve their self-esteem or life circumstances. According to a recent survey, just 2 out of 100 women in the world say that they are “beautiful.”
A large number of girls want to change some aspects of their appearance. Body esteem and self-esteem are interconnected and sometimes regarded as equal in today’s society. Sadly, this development is taking a dangerous and emotional toll on teenage girls. They feel inadequate and frequently resort to extreme unhealthy behaviors to change their bodies to “fit into” an impossible beauty standard.
Eating disorders have become more rampant in this society that places too much importance on beauty. Therefore, girls find themselves in an unending cycle of self-hatred, and those prone to eating disorders are especially susceptible to this cycle of negative body image.
Complex Body-image Issues
While most women are not satisfied with their bodies, many girls and women have extreme body image issues that can become complex problems. Some of these body-image disturbances are eating disorders, severe depression, and dysmorphic disorder.
Body Dysmorphic Disorder: This disorder is an “imagined ugliness.” When people with this disorder look at themselves in the mirror, they see a grossly distorted view of what they actually look like. These individuals will most often spend a lot of time trying to hide or obsess over their “so-called” flaws. Many even resort to spending a fortune on plastic surgery to improve their bodies.
Anorexia Nervosa: One characteristic of this disorder is an extreme fear of gaining weight. Individuals with the condition see their bodies as more significant than they are or “fat,” although they are extremely underweight. Women suffering from anorexia will restrict and avoid food in fear of gaining weight.
Bulimia Nervosa: People with bulimia nervosa are not satisfied with their bodies and take drastic steps to avoid weight gain. Typically, they binge eat, followed by purging the calories through vomiting or excessively exercising.
Depression: In most cases, depressed people have a distorted view of themselves and think they are not as attractive. Different from the other conditions, women suffering from depression tend to perceive the attractiveness of others objectively.
Negative body image is a common problem among girls and women and can be part of many complex disorders. Women must know they are not alone and learn strategies to alter their body image towards a positive and healthy self-view.
There are four aspects of body image:
- Perceptual: The way you see yourself or perceive yourself
- Affective: How you feel about the way you look
- Cognitive: What you think, believe, and feel about your body
- Behavioral: What you do relating to the way you look
7 Ways to Overcome Negative Body Image
1. Fight “Weightism”
Try to accept people of all shapes and sizes. This stance is going to help you appreciate your own body. Creating a list of people you like that don’t have “ideal” bodies can also help.
Does how they look affect your feelings about them?
It will help if you remember that society’s beauty standards have significantly changed in the past few decades. The women whom we regarded as “perfect beauties” in the 40s and 50s, such as Mae West and Marilyn Monroe, had a larger body, but they would be referred to as “overweight,” judging by today’s standards.
2. Fight the Ineffective Diet Downfall
9 out of 10 women have dieted at a point in their life, and most women who struggle with body image are always on a diet. According to a recent survey, 14% of girls aged five say that they are dieting to lose weight. It also showed that 80% of these girls report going on a diet by the time they become ten years of age. That aside, women are twice more likely to embark on diets than men.
However, 98% of dieters regain the weight they have already lost in 5 years and this can lead to an unending Yo-Yo diet cycle. Research also indicates that 20 to 25% of dieters develop an eating disorder. Studies have also shown that when afflicted eaters see advertisements related to fitness, diet, or weight loss, they have negative feelings and are more likely to overeat.
The problem with body image and weight loss is that there is a misguided belief you can be on a diet forever. Most women are unaware that dieting the wrong way can keep the hostage, always being on a diet. While dieting itself will not shift how women with body image disorders feel about themselves, learning how to take control of health and energy is more empowering.
Endless dieting can only help you lose strength and confidence in yourself. It can also result in mood swings and feelings of hopelessness.
A simple eating approach, such as intuitive eating, can help you fight the diet downfall. This intuitive approach emphasizes moderation of all food types and not label reading or measuring calories. Food is “food,” and there’s no valuation of bad or good food.
For others, finding an effective weight loss program, such as Ideal Protein, where there are a beginning and an end to the diet, brings the perfect solution. One of the most important distinctions of this effective ketogenic diet is that Ideal Protein Phase 1 is weight loss, Phase 2 is where you stabilize your new weight, and Phase 3 teaches you to live off a diet. The program is carefully designed to address individual needs after analyzing the results of your resting metabolic rate test. If you consider losing weight while overcoming negative body images, this weight loss program creates lasting changes, especially learning to live without needing to diet.
3. Accept Genetics
It would be best if you remembered that some things about your body can’t be changed. It is common knowledge that genetics play a crucial role in your body. Your genes determine at least 25-27% of your body. Even though some aspects of your body cannot be changed, you can change your attitudes and beliefs that influence how you feel about yourself. Change begins with you.
It starts with a positive attitude and self-esteem. You need to focus on your health (not size) and not compare your body with your family members, friends, or media pictures. We are all different, and our bodies are not the same. Dieting ourselves into a new body is not going to make us truly healthy or happy.
Often time, when people come to us, they have their resting metabolic rate testing performed, which reveals their genetics have given them a fast metabolism. They don’t know how to eat to support their particular genetic makeup.
4. Know that Emotions Are Skin Deep
You must explore the feelings and emotions that accompany your negative body image. Every time a woman checks herself in the mirror and says something like, “I’m fat and ugly,” she is saying that something is wrong with her or her feelings. When we don’t know how to handle our emotions, we often put the blame on our bodies.
You are betraying your body and ignoring your pre-existing feelings every time you say that you are fat. It would help if you learned to recognize your feelings and emotions and remember that focusing solely on your body would only distract you from what is “actually” worrying you.
5. Question Messages in the Media
The media sends strong messages to women regarding the acceptability or unacceptability of their bodies. Girls are encouraged to compare their bodies to women that the media portrays as successful, assessing how closely they measure up to the “perfect” body form. Sadly, most women and girls don’t measure up to the actresses and models shown in the media.
An average woman weighs 166.2lbs and is 5’3/8, whereas an average model is 5’11 and weighs just 117 lbs. This discrepancy between women and the cultural ideal makes many girls and women feel insufficient and unhappy with their bodies. You need to realize that just 1.8% of women naturally have the type of “perfect” body shown in the media. The remaining 98.2% of women believe that they need to take extreme measures to get this “unrealistic’ image. A lot of media images have been greatly enhanced and airbrushed with a computer or filters.
The majority of the “ideal” women in the media have an eating disorder or have cultivated unhealthy eating habits to keep such low body weights. You need to start questioning images presented in the media and asking why women have to “live up” to society’s unrealistic beauty and slimness standards.
6. Recognize the Impact of Body Misperception
Women tend to have more negative emotions about their bodies than men. Generally, women care more about how they look. This is why your body image determines how you feel about yourself. Studies show that 1/4 of your self-esteem depends on how negative or positive your body image is.
Many women with eating disorders clearly show unambiguous body image misperception, which makes them misperceive the size of a part or their whole body. Therefore, they don’t “see” their actual figures. This misperception is real and is not caused by “fat,” but by an eating disorder’s illness.
You need to recognize this body image misperception and ascribe it to an eating disorder. Working with a trained professional is ideal. Everyone can heighten their awareness of when they find themselves in this pattern and start by reminding yourself that you are misperceiving your shape whenever you feel fat and judge your size based on people’s opinions. This awareness will help you differentiate fact from fiction until you learn to trust your more accurate self-perceptions.
7. Love Your Body
You need to fight negative body image because it can result in insecurity, depression, and social anxiety. It can also lead to an eating disorder and self-consciousness in romantic relationships. Women today need to stop judging their bodies negatively and start to appreciate their soul, spirit, and inner being.
Women’s bodies are a biological masterpiece. Women can ovulate, menstruate, and help create life. You need to understand that you don’t need to compare your body with that of your friends or women in the media. Start to question images in the media and know that your worth is not dependent on how closely you match up with these unrealistic images.
Conclusion
Negative body image is a big problem that can damage women’s self-esteem. It can cause depression and even lead to an eating disorder. It would be best if you remembered that change begins with you. Respect and self-love, and the end of prejudice begin with one individual at a time. The constant desire to change your body can affect your spirituality by driving you away from your inner self. If you or a loved one has a negative body image issue, please look for professional help and end the body-hatred cycle once and for all.
One good way to start making a positive change is to first know about yourself and your body. BioIntelligent Wellness in San Diego offers resting metabolic rate test (RMR testing) that can reveal your whole body composition and give an insight for crafting a viable solution through customized nutrition. We can guide you to develop intuitive eating habits and make the necessary modifications to your lifestyle which can help you overcome the negative body image. To know more, how we can help you, schedule a complimentary consultation with us.
