7 Tips for Positive Body Image
We talk about positive body image all freaking day. But how do we actually get there??
Body image is something so many of us struggle with, and it’s no wonder: we live in a world that is obsessed with thinness. But it’s so much deeper than just how you see yourself in the mirror and how you feel in your skin. It’s really intertwined with self-esteem. And it can be representative of deeper dynamics that we aren’t even aware that we struggle with.
It may reveal how we feel about ourselves, and how we feel about the space we take up.
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As you start thinking about your body image, some questions you might ponder include: How does it feel to take up space in the world? Do you feel like you CAN take up space? Do you want to take up more space… or less of it?
All of these deeper questions concerning how we feel about ourselves, and how we feel about ourselves in relation to the world, come into play with body image.
Even if you have all of the knowledge in the world about body image, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be able to implement those tools. But deepening your understanding about yourself AND using these tips IS a really good place to start in your personal body image journey.
Some things to remember (*put on sticky note for bathroom mirror):
Optimal Health
Every person has their own weight range for optimal health. Just because there’s a BMI chart that says where you “should” be doesn’t mean that YOU have to be there in order to be healthy.
Your weight and height might be lower or higher than what the BMI chart says it should be, and you could still be healthy. (The BMI chart is a statistics thing, not a medical thing, by the way.)
Moreover, “health” isn’t necessarily what you look like. Your body isn’t meant to look like anyone else’s; you are meant to look like YOU, period.
This all points to a larger conversation of “what is health?” which we’ll leave for the moment but the main takeaway is that if this is about “health” for you, losing some weight isn’t necessarily the answer for you.
“Normal”
“Normal” eating doesn’t necessarily mean “healthy.”
There are so many pressures from the outside world to look and behave a certain way, but just because everyone else looks or behaves a certain way (like going to the gym 17 times a day), it doesn’t mean it’s necessarily healthy. So the “everyone is doing it” argument kind of goes down the drain. (If everyone was jumping off the bridge, would you do it, too?)
Hormonal Changes
Every person’s body changes throughout their lifetime. There are many developmental and hormonal changes that happen at different times – starting in childhood and continuing during puberty, pregnancy, postpartum, and menopause – that cause major shifts to a person’s body.
These normal changes don’t even include fluctuations caused by someone’s health journey or stress levels. All of these factors impact body weight, shape, and size.
My point? The 25-year-old body is NOT supposed to look like the 40-year-old body; if it does, something’s wrong.
If we can learn this during adolescence, then we might be able to avoid feeling like something’s wrong with our bodies EVERY time they change throughout our lives.
Because seriously – it seems like a waste of energy to think something is wrong every time our bodies change in a normal, healthy way. 🤷🏻♀️
Food
Maintaining a healthy relationship with food is SO very important and intertwined with positive body image. If you have poor body image and don’t know where to start with food, the first thing to do is focus on eating ENOUGH food – because none of the health trends or any nutritional advice matters if you’re not eating enough.
Additionally, food needs to be neutral. You’re not a good or bad person for eating a particular food, and food shouldn’t be used as a reward or punishment (this is especially relevant to kids).
Check out my past episodes on your relationship with food and intuitive eating basics and definitions if you want more information on this topic.
With all of that in mind, here are 7 tips for positive body image:
1. Notice Your Strengths
So often, we tie our entire self-esteem to how our body looks and feels that day.
If we can notice our strengths and virtues that have NOTHING to do with how our body looks, this is going to be a crucial step for developing a healthy body image.
Meaning, even if you feel terribly about your body, there IS always something else you can appreciate. It doesn’t have to be “My legs are strong, I can walk” or “My eyes can see,” because sadly, it’s easy to take those things for granted and therefore harder to feel appreciative for them.
“Appreciate” doesn’t mean that we love it; but it means you can notice it and feel gratitude for it.
Examples:
You excel in your schoolwork
You make great relationships at work
You enjoy listening to podcasts and love learning
You have a quirky sense of humor
This is a way to build up another part of yourself that’s not just your body. You want to expand your focus to you as a person instead of just you as a body.
2. Follow Body Positive Accounts
If you’re on social media (okay, when you’re on social media 🙈), follow body positive accounts.
Meaning, unfollow that influencer who posts about her diet or her wellness journey and how much she LOVES her body… all while seriously restricting.
Let’s be honest, if any account is triggering for you, annoying you, or makes you jealous or angry… just unfollow or mute. You really don’t owe it to anyone to follow them. 🤷🏻♀️
Switch your feed to more body positivity or to accounts that have nothing to do with body or food. Try following funny people, or people who teach you about things you’re interested in.
Expand your horizons to reach beyond your body. We don’t always have to look at body stuff on social media.
3. Wear Clothing that Feels Comfortable
“Comfortable” is completely subjective. I’m not saying to walk around in sweatpants and a sweatshirt if that makes you feel gross.
The idea is that whatever you’re wearing – a dress, skirt, pants, shirt, whatever – for the entire day, it should be comfortable enough to forget about.
Let’s say you get dressed at 7:30 AM. You’re likely going to eat breakfast, lunch, and dinner, get on calls, take a walk, etc. in those clothes. If you put on something super tight that morning, let’s be real – it’s not going to fit the same way after you’ve eaten. We’ve all been there!
Instead, put on something that will give you a little wiggle room. You don’t have to wear huge stretchy pants… just something that won’t be terribly distracting for the rest of the day.
And of course, comfortable for you might not be comfortable for someone else. If you feel your best self in heels, wear that 👠 but if you’re the kind of person who would be distracted by the pain of the heels, don’t wear those!
Same thing goes for your waistline, your sleeves… everything.
4. Get Enough Sleep
Your relationship with food and your body is SO dependent on the amount of sleep you get. I CANNOT emphasize this enough.
Get as close to the amount of sleep you need that you can (not everyone is an 8 hour a night person.) If you don’t get enough sleep, it’ll affect your mood, appetite, and ability to handle difficult situations during the day, just to name a few.
Do what you can. If you have little kids at home who wake up early or during the night and you know you need 9 hours of sleep, but you’re only able to get 7… then that’s okay. Just make it a priority as much as you can. 😴
5. Manage Your Stress
You might read this and roll your eyes, thinking, “Okay, Rachelle, I’ll just stop being stressed.” I hear you, it’s easier said than done.
But I DO think it’s important to emphasize: if you’re under a tremendous amount of stress, then your body image, mood, EVERYTHING will suffer.
If you feel anxious, depressed, or stressed, it should be a priority to address it. I don’t think it’s possible to address your body image without addressing stress first.
Shameless plug, go to therapy! Therapy is amazing for this, even if you just want to blow off some steam. But other stress management ideas include:
Journaling
Hiking
Slow mornings
Scented candles
Hot showers
Getting out in nature
6. Connect with Friends and Family
Social interaction is very important for developing healthy body image – and healthy emotional well being in general.
Focus on hanging out with your friends, calling up a loved one, or sending a quick text to stay in contact with people.
We’re inherently social beings. Maintaining relationships is going to be integral to keeping a healthy body image.
7. Try Affirmations
If you’re an affirmations person, I’d highly recommend posting affirmations as sticky notes on your bathroom mirror, around your room, or anywhere you’ll see them.
Personally, I’m not a huge affirmation person. But if you use them, just make sure it’s an affirmation that resonates with you. If “I am strong” doesn’t resonate with you, then don’t use that – find one that DOES speak to you.
And say it out loud! Talk to yourself in the mirror. You’re not crazy for doing that… it will actually really help you begin to believe those things!
Not Just About Body Image
Developing and maintaining a healthy body image is NOT just about following these tips. This is a great start, but this is also about understanding your personal journey with your relationship with your body and food.
Here are some questions to journal and explore in your personal journey:
How does it feel to take up space in this world?
Do you feel like you CAN take up space?
Is taking up space threatening to you, exciting, or something else?
Do you want to take up more space? Or less of it?
Exploring these questions is going to really make the biggest difference in your body image.
Tweetable Quotes
“Every person has their own set point [of optimal health]. You are not meant to look like the person on Instagram, you are not meant to look like the person on TV. You are meant to look like you… period.” – Rachelle Heinemann
“The 25-year-old body is NOT supposed to look like a 40-year-old body. If it does, there’s something wrong.” – Rachelle Heinemann
“We want to expand our focus to me as a person as opposed to me as a body.” – Rachelle Heinemann
Resources:
Understanding Disordered Eating Episodes:
17. The OG Intuitive Eating Author: Elyse Resch
35. Finding Joy in Your Relationship With Food
45. Basics of Intuitive Eating
More From Rachelle
Hey there! I’m Rachelle, the host of the Understanding Disordered Eating Podcast. As a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, I work with clients to make sense of life’s messy emotional experiences.
I believe in the power of deep work and its positive impact on your life in the long term. Learn more about how we can work together here.
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