Dealing with body image

I want to write about body image because I feel this is something everyone can relate to and because it is all mental. Let's just be honest, how we feel about how our body looks is completely up to us. We can be influenced by other people, but ultimately it is our own perception and I truly think a lot of people struggle with this. 

I will gladly admit that I have body image issues. Like plenty of other people I think I'm overweight, even fat. It doesn't matter how many people tell me I'm not, for the past three years I've seen myself as fat.

Now, am I actually fat? No, not really. Overweight? Maybe slightly. Am I healthy? Yes.

So then what's the problem?!

Let's look at a few things that might contribute to why so many people have body image issues.

Lets first talk about pop culture. This is the influence that is talked about the most, and for good reason. If you open any popular fashion magazine, look at most celebrities, or peak a glance at a Victoria Secret model you will see what has become the standard for people to live up to. For girls it's to be a size 0 with no fat and still have great boobs. For guys (I'm kinda guessing here, since I'm a girl) it's to be slender and toned, like David Beckham. The problem is this standard is unrealistic! It's unattainable. And yet celebrities who meet this standard are praised, for a moment. The media is always at the ready to tear down these already ultra slim celebrities. So even for the people who meet this standard, it's still not enough.

I believe this rubs off on the average person as well. When we look at someone like Kim Kardashin, who has admitted to tons of plastic surgery to maintain her famous body, or Paris Hilton, Gwenyth Paltrow, and Guliana Rancic, who are beyond skinny, and say "they look great, I wish I could look like that" (or anything like that) we are starting to set that standard for our self and comparing ourself to these women who go to crazy measures just to reach this unattainable standard. Don't look to these kind of women to be a role model in your life. Look to people who truly inspire you to love who you are. And seriously, stop praising those women for meeting a rediculous standard, praise the women and men who love them selfs and are setting a good example.

Now let's talk about gossip and bullies. Another big factor for body image issues is when mean people say mean things. We can all admit that it stings when someone says something bad about you, either to your face or behind your back, still hurts. And that can really mess with someone's head and stick with them. When someone calls another person fat that can really hurt their confidence and may influence them to look at them self in a negative way. Gossip and bullying is it's own topic in it's self, but bottom line is, if someone is saying something bad about how you look just ignor it. If you think you look good then that's the only opinion that matters, own it, flaunt it! And all of you gossips, shut up and get a life.

Now a lesser talked about reason for body image issues is that May have been a real change in that persons body image. For me it was that I started gaining weight after the death of a family member, then again about a year ago. I quickly went from a size 4 to a size 8 then even quicker to a size 13. Suddenly none of my clothes would fit. That really can mess with how you see yourself. I've lost some of the weight, but I've noticed that how I see my self, my body, and my weight is different now. Most days I see all these areas of my body that has fat on it, or is too wide, or this or that, and I ended up just thinking I need to lose the rest of the weight until I'm a size 4 again. But why? Why do I NEED to lose any weight if I'm healthy?

The truth is I don't. What I need is to learn to be confident with myself and how I look now. I need to learn to love my body. I need to be proud of it.

I know this blog didn't have much advice, but I'm hoping that by just writing this and saying how I feel and what I see as bad influences someone won't feel alone or like something must be wrong with them. Because this seems to be an issue that a lot of people have.

And I didn't talk about it much in this blog, but if you or someone you know needs help with an eating disorder go to www.nationaleatingdisorders.org, there you can find their support line number or chat online with someone who can help.