Learn how a heathy body image can help you eat better
In this blog I break down why improving your body image can actually help you improve your relationship with food and eating better.
There is a big misconception that in order to make healthy choices, get control of your eating and feel confident in your body, you need to follow a strict diet.
Therefore working on improving your body image is a sign you’re giving up and you will never get the body you want.
I am here to tell you, that isn’t the case.
In fact, the opposite is true.
There can be a lot of fear that you’ll end up letting yourself go, but the reality is that improving your body image will help you to eat better.
If you have tried every still diet going, can’t be consistent and on the brink of giving up because you think you don’t have enough willpower, improving your body image could be the missing piece.
Improving your body image could be the missing piece of your puzzle.
How does that work?
While this sounds paradoxical, when we don’t like how we look, we are more likely to feel pressure to diet and rigidly control our eating behaviours.
Not only does this damage our relationship with food, but it actually leads to more uncontrolled and binge eating.
This type of binge and restrict eating pattern leads to guilt, shame and self-criticism, which is often what keeps so many women stuck in this vicious cycle and feeling that they never get anywhere.
In addition, research shows that poor body image has been consistently related to unhelpful eating behaviours that are likely to undermine successful weight management[1]. If your goal is weight loss, this isn’t a case of choosing between weight loss or a healthy body image.
You can still have a healthy body image and lose weight.
A positive boby image is protective against increased BMI
Another key area to look at when looking at improving your body image, is to look at your current drivers or motivators for why you want to make a change?
In my experience when clients start working with me, I can almost guarantee that their motivations and reason to make a change is nearly always determined by external sources of motivation like trying to lose weight to have that “ideal body”, or to a certain clothes size.
The problem with only having external motivation as the reason behind you change, is that the research has shown they are low quality motivators and there is often more shame and guilt compared to internal or intrinsic motivation. When we are motivated from an internal desire to feel good about ourselves and support our body’s needs, we are more likely to be successful with the change we are trying to make.
If you want to have more quality motivators, you need to look more intrinsic motivators, these will allow you to build and maintain the habits you want to create and the life you want to life. For example, being interested in the activity you’re doing or the challenge or enjoyment you get afterwards.
Where do I start?
If you are looking for somewhere to start on how to improve your body image, look at your motivators and assess if you have any that are quality, internal motivators.
If you make this one change, please let me know what difference this made to your life as I know it will make a such a positive impact to how you view yourself, what you do and your body image.
[1] Pelletier LG, Dion SC: An examination of general and specific motivational mechanisms for the relations between body dissatisfaction and eating behaviors. Journal of Social and Clinical Psychology 2007, 26:303-333.
