The Role of Body Image in Weight Management

How we feel about our bodies can be central to how we feel about ourselves. Our view of our own body is called body image. Unfortunately, body image is negative in most people, especially in women and in people who are overweight. This is not surprising considering the enormous pressure in our society to be thin. When people perceive a major difference between the way they look and the way they think they should look, they develop a negative body image. It really isn't fair, because the social norms present an ideal that is unrealistic and unhealthy.

Let's look at how this might work for a young woman named Ann. As Ann approaches puberty, she is full of energy, enjoys being active, and takes pleasure in what her body can do for her. Yet, she is increasingly aware of the need to be thin. She is not prepared for this pressure to be so intense at the very time puberty causes her body to deposit more fat. Instead of accepting and enjoying the changes in her body, she feels like her body is betraying her. Natural processes like eating and exercise become a battleground. She must restrict what she eats and must exercise, not for fun, but to lose weight.

As Ann enters her 20s and passes the 30-, 40-, and 50-year benchmarks, two things are likely to happen. One is that she will be dissatisfied with her body. She will overlook its virtues that allow her to be active, to move, and to enjoy both sensual and sexual pleasure. Instead, she will focus on the disparity between ideal and actual and will feel it is her fault that she does not look perfect.

As a result, Ann's body image will impact her self-esteem. Appearance influences us all, but for some people, appearance creeps to the heart of self-esteem. It can crowd out other positive influences so that no matter how good we are at other things, there is always this looming matter of how we look.

Having a positive view of your body, no matter how imperfect, is very important. If you dislike how you look, and accept society's unrealistic beauty standards, you will be unhappy with what you accomplish in any weight management program. The risk is that you make very positive changes in eating, activity, and weight, but may be left with a negative body image.

An excellent book on this topic is The Body Image Workbook, written by a leading expert in the field, Dr. Thomas F. Cash. This book includes many excellent ideas for evaluating how we feel about our bodies, how this affects the way we feel about ourselves in general, and how we can respond.

So, what can you do to be happier about the way you look? Order this incredible book now!

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