Food for Thought: Body Image Do’s & Do Not's Body Image Do’s
- Do accept that bodies come in a variety of shapes and sizes, and this makes life interesting.
- Do expect normal weekly and monthly changes in weight and shape. Weight can vary by 1–6 pounds just due to changes in barometric pressure (you may weigh more on a stormy day).
- Do explore your internal self — emotionally, spiritually, and as a growing, changing human being.
- Do decide how you really wish to spend your energy: pursuing the perfect image, or enjoying friends, family and school.
- Do be aware of your own weight prejudice: explore how those feelings may affect your self-esteem and how you act towards others.
- Do limit how often you talk about food and weight.
- Do remember that you can be your own worst critic. Think of how your friends would react if you told them what you tell yourself.
Body Image Do Not's
- Don’t let your body define who or what you are: you are much more than your body.
- Don’t let obsession with your body keep you from engaging in activities that you like.
- Don’t judge others on the basis of appearance, body size, or shape.
- Don’t forget that our ideas about beauty are often determined by fashion, not health. These ideas vary from one culture to another, and they change over time. What our culture considers attractive might not seem attractive to other cultures. Also, what we consider attractive today might not seem attractive to future generations.
- Don’t believe that all thin people are happy with themselves.
- Don’t forget that you are not alone in you pursuit of self-acceptance: it is a lifelong process that many people have difficulty with.
- Don’t weigh yourself more than once a week. You might want to consider not weighing yourself at all!