News Article

ok everyone, hope you had a good week. here is week 2.

BODY IMAGE

 Today we will be focusing on body image and how to improve it. We will also talk about a different way of looking at body weight and what weight is right for you.

NUTRITION GROUP

One barrier to mindful eating can be a close relationship between dissatisfaction and worries about body weight and food choices. Learning to find and appreciate your "natural" body weight can help support your effort to eat more mindfully.

YOUR NATURAL BODY WEIGHT

Measuring your self worth according yto your weight can wear you down, shake your confidence and distract you from whats really important in your life. The media has a narrow definiation of what it means for your weight to be satisfactory. In a poll published in People magazine in Sep 2000, 80 percent of women reported that images of women on television, in movies and in fashion magazines made them feel insecure about their apprearance, and 90 percent of women indicated that they had made various and repeated attempts to lose weight to measure up to media images. Women end up feeling so insecure that they are willing to try diets that pose health rises and they may even go under the knife in pursuit of the perfect body.

 The medias definitions of a healthy weight are not only unrealistic: they ignore the fact that body weight is just one part of health, one part of who you are. People are different in many ways, weight being just one of them. Height and weight charts are sometimes used to point out an ideal body weight, but how ideal can that weight be if you have to starve to achieve it? An individuals healthy weight actually depends on body build, genetics and natural body shape. If you have petite genes, its unlikely that you will be the tallest person in the room. If one or both of your patents have (or had) bigger builds, its likely that your natural build is not going to be thin.

BEHAVIORAL MIRRORS

Another way to view a healthy weight is to look in a different kind of mirror: a behavioral mirror. WIth a behavioral mirror, you see what you are doing rather than focusing on your physical appearance. For example, if your eating patterns and level of physical activity are healthy and in balance, your healthy body weight will follow. If you are overeating and not being physically active, your weight may be a bit higher. If you are caught in the restrict/binge/purge whirlpool, your weight may fluctuate greatly. If you are excessively exercising and not eating enough, your weight may artificially low. Healthy bodies come in many shapes and sizes. Health, however, is a product of healthy habits, not movie star diets. 

Think about your own weight and behavior history. What was the lowest weight you ever achieved and what did you have to do with eating and exercise habits to achieve it? What has been your highest body weight and what food and exercise behaviors were associated with that weight? What is the general build of your biological relatives? Often, a persons natural weight falls somewhere in between the extremes, neither the highest or the lowest weight they have ever experienced. More importantly, a natural body weight is one that can be maintained for a long time, without undue attention and focus on eating, without restricting, dieting, or bingeing. A natural body weight is the natural result of mindful, normalized eating behaviors and balanced physical activity patterns.  

WHAT IS BODY IMAGE

Body image involves how an individual perceives and experiences his or her body. There are a number of components of body image including:

how an individual views herself or himself in the mirror

How an individual sees her or his body parts when looking at them directly

The mental picture an individual has or their body (in the "minds eye")

How the body feels when it is touched

How an individual experiences the body spatially(for instance, how much of a bus seat her or his body seems to occupy)

How an individual perceives bodily sensations (hot and cold temps, hunger, and anger)

The thoughts and self statements an individual has about their body

The feelings an individual has about her or his body

In other words, body image is a term that refers to different types of bodily experiences and perceptions. All of these different parts of body image influence each other. Improving your body image can involve a number of these components.

WHAT INFLUENCES BODY IMAGE

Many people and events in the environment during both childhood and adulthood affect an individuals body image. Events that occur at a young age(ex. being teased about appearance by peers or family members) can continue to affect how we view our bodies as adults. Growing up, we are also influenced by watching how our role models felt about their bodies. For ex, if a sibling, parent, or friend felt negatively about their body, you may have learned to fell badly about your own appearance from watching them.

Another factor that influences an individuals body image is our society. Specifically, how an individual evaluates their body often depends on how much it resembles what society considers the ideal appearance. In out present society, for example, thinness is seen as attractive. Garner and colleagues found that the average weight of Miss America contestants and winners has decreased over the past decades. In other time periods, larger body sezes were considered more beautiful. The current emphasis on thinness is especially strong for females. For example, by age 18, 80% of AMerican girls have been on a diet.

Unfortunately, the current ideal of thinness is unrealistic for most people. ALthough messages in the mass media suggests that an individual can achieve any size she or he wants through diet and exercise, the myth does not conform to our biological realities. The pursuit of an unrealistic degree of thinness can result in chronic dieting followed by bingeing, obsessions with body size, and constant dissatisfaction with body shape.

People with binge eating disorder are often quite dissatisfied with their weight and body shape. Preliminary evidence indicates that people with BED are more dissatisfied with their shape compared to others of comparable size without BED.

Negative thoughts about weight, shape, and appearance play a role in the onset and maintenance of BED. Many people start dieting because of dissatisfactions with their appearance and a belief that they should lose weight. Severe dieting often precipitates binge eating episodes. Binge eating leads to negative feelings about appearance, which can trigger further binge eating. Thus, body dissatisfaction can contribute to the vicious cycle of binge eating patterns.

How you see and feel about your body will influence how you feel about yourself as a person. An important part of recovery is lerning to be more accepting of your own body, regardless of shape and size. While it might be unrealistic for you to go from hating your body to loving it, there are ways to improve your body image. First identify the parts of the body that you do feel comfortable with and emphasize these positive feelings. Second, work towards feeling "neutral" about or accepting those body parts you dislike.

Body image has a number of components. Beginning to change your thoughts can have a POWERFUL effect on your feelings and behaviors. For this reason, targeting your negative thoughts about weight and shape is the most effective way to start to feel more comfortable with your appearance.

OK, HERE ARE SOME QUESTIONS TO EITHER WRITE DOWN AND ANSWER TO YOURSELF OR SHARE WITH US TO DISCUSS.

Explore your thoughs about your body, as well as associated feelings and behaviors.

Currently, how do you feel about your body size and shape?

Do you feel more satisfied with some body parts than others?

How much time do you spend thinking about your phusical appearance?

How many minutes in an hour do you typically spend thinking about it?

Do thoughts about your body sometimes serve as cues that lead to binge eating?

Do you see your body accurately? How do you know you are accurate?

How does your weight and body perception affect your feelings about yourself?

Do changes in your weight and body shhape influence your self-evaluation?

How important is your physical appearance to you? Do you value other aspects of yourself?

What are some of the messages, rules, and beliefs about your body that you remember hearing from your family and peers? From society and the media?

Do these messages or beliefs influence how you feel about your body? Which ones?

How can you change these thoughts to reflect more positive and accurate feelings about yourself?

List frequent negative thoughts about your size and shape

Now challenge each of the above thoughts using the techniques we have reviewed in the week 1. Try using accurate language to make negative statements more neutral.

(ex. im a size 12. i may feel fat but im within my normal weight range for my height)

Another way to begin feeling more positive about your body is to concentrate on what functions your body is capable of. Ask yourself the following questions,

What does my body enable me to do:

(ex. legs enable me to walk)

What does my body allow me to enjoy?