The Road To a Happy, Healthy Body Image

Being a woman is no easy task. Being a woman in today’s society, where physical appearance seems to always be on the forefront of females’ minds 24/7, is a nearly impossible feat. But it’s no wonder why—women are bombarded, left and right, with messages from today’s social culture about the need to “lose stubborn belly fat” or “sculpt inner thighs”.

And while yes, these ideas may seem, at first glance, ones of motivation for “self-improvement,” they also tend to imply a much more commonly-overlooked implication—women are being subconsciously taught, on society’s terms and standards, that the way they are and the way they look are insufficient in this and any given moment in time.

Yet, with time, especially as more and more women realized the negativity consistently being generated towards them from the media, new messages arose that spoke about the need for females to “love their bodies, no matter the shape and size.”

While such positive vibes instill significantly more beautiful and wholesome thoughts into the minds of all women, these thoughts, just as the negative ones do, take body image to an extreme. This has led a large portion of the female population to openly justify eating a whole pizza by one’s self, to eat excessive amounts of cookies and ice-cream, and to skip workouts to watch Netflix instead.

To some degree, this lazy attitude towards health has become a culture people have begun to embrace in contemporary society—this is equally as detrimental to a female’s health perception and body image. In short, this newfound message of loving your body, as compassionate as it may be, has had unexpected consequences as well; women are warranting their laziness, lack of physical exercise, and poor eating habits, by claiming they do not want to change the way they look, as they are at peace with their body.

I do believe it is truly wonderful that women are gradually becoming more comfortable in their skin, but I believe it is dangerous that over-all health has been pushed aside as a result.

Health is so much more than physical appearance. In order to be healthy and foster a positive body image, we must be able to create wholesome balances between our mind, our spirit, and of course, our body. But, it’s important to remember that body includes what’s on the inside as well—yep, I’m talking about all of your organs and their systems, as these are just as important to keep healthy as what outer physical health appears to be. Approaching health and fitness with the mentality that, “Your body is a temple, not a tent” (yes, this is the title of my ‘Health and Fitness’ board on Pinterest), is a great start to achieving a fulfilling body image.

Now, don’t get me wrong here—I’m not trying to say you’re going to read this and have some sort of health epiphany where suddenly you know exactly what to put in to your body and what exercises will benefit you the most (heck, I don’t even know all of that for myself).

I am trying to say the best way to produce an affirmative body image is to focus on a concept of balance. This means that you should be conscious of what you’re putting in to your body (you are not a garbage can, so don’t treat your stomach like one!) and how active you’re being, but you should also learn to enjoy yourself and indulge in moderation. Moderation is not a loose, open-to-interpretation term here—it probably means that ¾ of the time you should be eating well and working towards physical fitness, but every now and then you should cut yourself some slack, treat yourself to a slice of cake or an episode (maybe even two?) of Grey’s Anatomy. 

I’m here to point out that this road to authentic health and becoming at peace with your body image is paved as a two-lane, one-way street.

You do not need to choose between being health conscious and loving your body. No. As a matter of fact, the best way to achieve overall happiness with yourself and with your body is to create a balance of both. Once you’re able to recognize and act on the notion that it is important to be physically active and eat well, you’re going to radiate less negativity towards how you look and feel.

When you’re exercising regularly (whether it be walking for 30 minutes a day or biking 30+ miles) and eating nutritiously (no more feeding the Brussels sprouts to the dog!), you’re going to naturally feel so much better about yourself, inside and out. 

Now, let’s get this out on the table—I am not the first and I certainly will not be the last woman to admit that she suffers, time to time, from a negative body image.

Sure, I’m fairly certain each of us has different reasons for such notions; however, commonplace as it may be, it makes it neither healthy nor okay to beat ourselves down so much. Society likes to unrealistically and drastically emphasize the level of physical fitness that women need to be in (that’s right, you do not need a six-pack to obtain true health and fitness), the female generation cannot use this as an excuse to overlook the basic necessity of being active and eating well.

Magazines and other forms of social media tend to over-promote the need for women to be physically active and “in shape,” there is, undeniably, a decent amount of truth in such campaigns—we do need to step up our health game. Still, I believe it is both powerful and heartwarming that women all over the world are coming together to campaign and promote the cessation of body-hatred.

All that being said, I have come to find that body image is, as mentioned before, a one-way, two-lane street; you should be aware of your over-all health conditions but you should also be lovingly patient with yourself and the process. This road to healthful happiness consists of being gentle with yourself—it is vital that each woman knows she has been gifted a body that is capable of breathing, walking, lifting, creating, talking, swimming, biking, etc.

It’s often difficult to realize, but we generally take all of those capabilities for granted. We have been truly blessed with the bodies we have and, as difficult as it may be, we need to embrace the individuality that comes with each of our bodies. Contrary to the misleading messages that the general public tries to pound into your head, you were not made from a cookie-cutter design —you are unique and beautiful and, most importantly, you are enough.

We are all too often our own worst critics, especially when it comes to body perception and physical appearance; yet, we must begin to realize that, even on the worst of days, we have the ability to take control of how we feel about ourselves. So, I challenge you, each and every day, to be tender and compassionate towards yourself as a whole being, in your entirety, because you’re human and you are going to make mistakes. But, being human also means you have such exceptional potential to go into the world and make your mark—so don’t let negative self-image hold you back; work to better yourself and your health constantly. Go be you, beautifully. 

Images: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7

• beauty
• body image
• fitness
• happiness
• health
• wellness