Breaking Free from Body Image Pressure: 5 Steps for Self-Love and Empowerment
If you struggle with binge eating and bulimia in California, Chicago, Florida, Atlanta, GA, Colorado, London, or anywhere else in the world, you’re likely grappling with body image issues. The drive to have a certain body type is so strong, you can’t escape it. The fact is, you deserve to live a life filled with self-love and empowerment. Body image issues take away your power because it gets you to focus on changing your body instead of killing it in other ways of your life. It truly hijacks your brain. So let’s focus on five steps to cultivate self-love and empowerment so that you can live a life free from body image pressure.
Step #1: Turn away from diet culture
Diet culture is like the ocean and we are the fish. It’s all around us, and we’ve grown up swimming in it, we often don’t notice that it’s there unless someone like me points it out. Additionally, diet culture is a multibillion-dollar diet industry whose aim is to convince you not to trust your body. They want you to sign up for X program or follow Y influencer so that you’ll engage in diets. The truth is that diets don’t work, so abandoning diets is key to leaning into self-love and empowerment.
Step #2: Change how you talk about your body to reduce body image issues
Take a step back and notice how you talk about (or even think about) your body. Do you see your body as bad? Are there a lot of criticisms, even subtle ones, about various parts of your body? Is there a narrative around, “If only I lost weight, then I would start…(dating, going out, traveling, etc.)”? Let’s change it!
Awareness is the first step to reducing body image dissatisfaction
First, notice when you think or speak negatively about your body and mindfully label it (without judgment) by saying, “I’m criticizing my body.” Second, when you realize the times you’re disparaging your body, distract yourself by looking at something else around you, like your pet, like the sky, like your brightly colored shirt (yes, I’m wearing a turquoise one with orange flowers right now). Third, and I know it may feel like a stretch, begin (gently) saying neutral comments about your body via mindful labeling. Such as, “I’m sitting in this chair,” “I’m walking down the hall,” “I’m picking up my child,” or “I’m getting ready for the day.”
Step #3: Read empowering, body image recovery books
The best body image recovery book is The Body is Not an Apology by Sonya Renee Taylor. Hands down. There’s even a workbook. Buy them now.
The term, "radical self-love" comes from Taylor’s book. In it, she discusses how it's important to consider contextual factors that teach us not to love our bodies. Such factors include racism, homophobia, anti-fat bias, sexism, healthism, ableism, classism, etc. Acknowledging inequity and injustice is vital to shift the blame of us struggling with radically loving our bodies to systemic oppression.
So it's not your fault that you struggle with loving your body.
It. Is. Not. Your. Fault.
Does that mean that it's impossible to cultivate radical self-love? No. You just can't do it without acknowledging the literal superpowers (medical systems, multi-billion dollar diet industries, etc.) that want us to hate how we look.
Radical self-love is a skill. A skill you can learn with help, with support. We need support to fight these powers.
Step #4: Listen to positive body image podcasts
When you’re struggling with body image issues, it’s important to saturate yourself in positive body image, recovery-oriented information. Podcasts can do just that. Here are 5 top body-positive, eating disorder recovery podcasts to help you.
#1 -- Finding Your Freedom With Food: The Eating Disorder Therapist Podcast
#2 -- Maintenance Phase
#3 -- Food Psych
#4 -- Heal From Within: Overcome Binge Eating Holistically!
#5 -- The Recovery Warrior Shows
Step #5: Follow body-positive celebrities/influencers
Okay, so if you’ve been around Dr. Marianne-Land, you know that I’m a HUGE Lizzo fan. I must have watched Lizzo’s Watch Out for the Big Grrrls reality TV show five times. What I love about Lizzo is she unapologetically loves her body and revels in the beauty that is herself. Follow her on TikTok or on Instagram, and you’ll see she practices what she preaches (and sings!).
Other body-positive celebrities I love are Cardi B and Nicki Minaj. These are women who unapologetically flaunt their curves and stare down anyone who dares to think negatively about their bodies.
For influencers, check out the amazing Bri Campos @bodyimagewithbri and Caroline @justmeandmymirror on Instagram.
Begin to Recognize Your Body Image Issues and Recognize that Recovery is Possible!
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Disclaimers for Body Image, Binge Eating, and My Virtual Online Binge Eating Program
*The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY PROGRAM is online binge-eating education and private virtual group support via a Facebook Group. The aim of this course is to help people reduce and eliminate any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The INEVITABLE BINGE EATING RECOVERY COURSE is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment program and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.
**The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is virtual binge eating education and LIVE virtual coaching support. The goal of this program is to help people stop any type of distressed eating, such as binge eating or binge/purge behaviors via education, behavioral changes, and mindset shifts. The ELITE BINGE EATING RECOVERY METHOD is not a clinical eating disorder therapy or eating disorder treatment program and is not intended to serve as such. In them, Dr. Marianne Miller works from her role as a binge-eating coach, not as a binge-eating therapist.