Get a healthy body image Done with dieting? An Alternative to the Diet-Culture

Check out the Ultimate Body Image Workbook: Through the Lens of Polyvagal, Somatic Therapies and more!

Don't be Fooled by Diet Culture: Find other ways to feel good in your body

What everyone else is doing

Dieting…it’s a billion-dollar industry. You can probably name a few diet fads off the top of your head. Maybe you’ve even tried a couple? There is no getting around that there are societal pressures to diet as a means of achieving a certain size and shape – thin.

In reality, there is a range of body types and food isn’t the only thing shaping our bodies. Body diversity exists thanks to genetics, hormones and the fact that we are all unique individuals with different upbringings.

Even so, dieting persists in efforts to reshape the body despite having low success rates. Most individuals (over 80%) regain their lost weight from dieting within 3-5 years. There is well documented research on the lack of success of weight loss and weight maintenance due to dieting**.

Get the right information

Traditional weight loss programs typically focus on telling people what to eat and how to exercise. There is some sort of outside source (aka “the expert”) telling the person what to do. This can be problematic. Relying on someone or something, who doesn’t live in your body, to tell you what to do is not sustainable. It’s not uncommon for people to rebel against their diet plans or exercise programs.

With that said, having an understanding of nutrition and knowing what exercises are appropriate for you is still helpful. And, if you want expert advice, get the right information from accredited professionals like registered dietitians and physicians (preferably by a Health at Every Size (HAES) provider or a professional that promotes a non-weight bias attitude).

However, if you are someone who already has a basic understanding of nutrition and exercise but still struggles to feel motivated or satisfied in your body, you’ve come to the right place.

Shift from dieting to thinking

Start by looking at how you think. How you perceive your body is important and it ties into your body image.

Body image refers to your perception (how you think about your body) and your relationship with your body (how you feel in your body).

MIND + BODY = BODY IMAGE

A healthy body image results when we believe our body is worthy of care, respect, attention and love regardless of size and shape.

A negative body image results when we think (MIND) and feel (BODY) poorly about ourselves and our body. But where does this perception and feeling come from?

A negative body image comes from the beliefs you formulate as the result of left-over energy not discharged from the body following negative experiences.

Negative experiences could include:

• Traumatic events (e.g. abuse, violence, bullying)
• Negative external and internal messages received about your body
• Images depicted in the media that are different from your body
• Unhealthy family dynamics,
• Social and cultural pressures, and
• Any other experience leaving you to feel badly about yourself or your body
  

This residual energy from negative experiences can stick around for years. This energy becomes trapped in your nervous system causing mayhem in how you feel in your body and how you think in your mind.

The shift from dieting to thinking, is the re-writing of your belief system. No diet-plan is going to change your belief system. Diets tend to perpetuate such unhelpful beliefs as “If I just lose that 10lbs, then I’ll feel happy”. Yet, people lose the weight and still feel unhappy.

Underlying problems associated with a negative body image

It’s not a leap to conclude people with a poorer sense of body image may suffer from other mental health concerns. Low self-worth, anxiety, depression, disordered eating, relationship difficulties are commonly correlated with a negative body image.

Our minds are not in isolation of the body. There is a mind-body connection. How I think impacts how I feel in my body, and vice versa. If I think negatively about my body and feel negatively as a result, I am making space for other problems like:

• low motivation,
  
• procrastination, and
  
• avoidance
  

Trifecta to a Healthy Body image MeHealing is an alternative to the traditional weight management industry. There is no focus on achieving a certain size or number on the scale. Our aim is to embrace body inclusivity, rejoice in diversity, and heal a negative body image. The Trifecta to a Healthy Body Image is one model for understanding body image healing. The goal of body image healing is to: Live healthier, Bring meaning, Feel free from negative pressures to conform to unrealistic ideals, Address other underlying problems like low mood, anxiety, disordered eating, or _________________________________ (whatever body image healing means to you) To help facilitate healing, the Trifecta to a Healthy Body Image focuses on increasing your self-worth, nourishing your body by eating mindfully and finding ways to move your body that feels good to you. These are the same skills Justine uses in counselling her clients and are the components largely discussed in the self-help material.

Want to improve Body Image?

MeHealing is your companion in empowering you to regain your own wisdom and to better understand what your body needs. You will be the expert of your own life by learning the skills in the Trifecta to a Healthy Body Image.

Give this a try.

• Have individualized online sessions with Justine for cultivating a healthier understanding of the mind and body

OR

• Head over to the MeHealing™ Self-Help section for free downloads.
  

Check out this this resource: The Ultimate Body Image Workbook. 

**Research on weight-loss and weight-maintenance: 

• Fothergill, E., Guo, J., Howard, L., Kerns, J. C., Knuth, N. D., Brychta, R., . . . Hall, K. D. (2016). Persistent metabolic adaptation 6 years after “The Biggest Loser” competition. Obesity,24(8), 1612-1619. doi:10.1002/oby.21538
• Kolata, G. (2016, May 2). The New York Times. After ‘The Biggest Loser,’ Their Bodies Fought to Regain Weight. Retrieved August 13, 2018, from https://www.nytimes.com/2016/05/02/health/biggest-loser-weight-loss.html
• Polidori, D., Sanghvi, A., Seeley, R. J., & Hall, K. D. (2016). How Strongly Does Appetite Counter Weight Loss? Quantification of the Feedback Control of Human Energy Intake. Obesity,24(11), 2289-2295. doi:10.1002/oby.21653
• Soeliman, F. A., & Azadbakht, L. (2014). Weight loss maintenance: A review on dietary related strategies. Journal of Research in Medical Sciences,19(3), 268-275.
• Sumithran, P., M.B., B.S, Prendergast, L. A., Ph.D, Delbridge, E., Ph.D., Purcell, K., B.Sc., Shulkes, A., Sc.D., Kriketos, A., Ph.D, & Proietto, J., M.B., B.S., Ph.D. (2011). Long-Term Persistence of Hormonal Adaptations to Weight Loss. The New England Journal of Medicine,365, 1597-1604. doi:10.1056/NEJMoa1105816
• Rosenbaum, M., Kissileff, H. R., Mayer, L. E., Hirsch, J., & Leibel, R. L. (2010). Energy intake in weight-reduced humans. Brain Research, 1350, 95-102. doi:10.1016/j.brainres.2010.05.062