Body Image
Have you ever stood in front of the mirror and praised the good bits rather than criticising your perceived bad bits?
Body image is very emotive. There are basically three images. The one you see in the mirror, the one your friends, family and colleagues see and the one the camera sees. Which of these can be manipulated and which of these is the real you? The answer is that they can all be manipulated and, at the same time, they all represent the real you!
I have had many people come into my clinic and have a totally unrealistic goal for weight loss. Few people take into account their natural shape and most of us, to a greater or lesser degree believe the advertising images we see in magazines and on television to be real; when in fact the image you see has been manipulated, usually by computer, to provide the "perfect" image the advertiser is trying to achieve.
Recently, one of my trade magazines consisted of articles about the damage unrealistic body images has on all of us. Examples of the articles included attitudes of girls and young women on body image; impact of body image on diet and children's views on body image. The magazine was promoting a campaign for airbrush free advertising. To see real people advertising beauty products rather than airbrushed models; to change the emphasis on impossible bodies to healthy bodies - How wonderful that would be!
So this Spring as we all dust off our summer clothes in the hope that we might get a chance to wear them this year, think "Healthy me is the way I'm going this year!" Be kind to your body and feed it the foods it needs to keep it healthy. If you need to lose a few pounds to be more comfortable with yourself, be realistic about how much and how quickly. Remember 1kg
(1-2lbs) a week is achievable and will stay off. Cut down on your evening snacks. Research has shown that cutting down 200 calories in the evenings promotes an easy and steady weight loss. You need fewer calories in the evenings as you burn less overnight. This is a really easy way to cut down your daily calorific consumption and waking up hungry the next morning will encourage you to eat breakfast which as we all know, is the most important meal of the day!
Body image is very emotive. There are basically three images. The one you see in the mirror, the one your friends, family and colleagues see and the one the camera sees. Which of these can be manipulated and which of these is the real you? The answer is that they can all be manipulated and, at the same time, they all represent the real you!
I have had many people come into my clinic and have a totally unrealistic goal for weight loss. Few people take into account their natural shape and most of us, to a greater or lesser degree believe the advertising images we see in magazines and on television to be real; when in fact the image you see has been manipulated, usually by computer, to provide the "perfect" image the advertiser is trying to achieve.
Recently, one of my trade magazines consisted of articles about the damage unrealistic body images has on all of us. Examples of the articles included attitudes of girls and young women on body image; impact of body image on diet and children's views on body image. The magazine was promoting a campaign for airbrush free advertising. To see real people advertising beauty products rather than airbrushed models; to change the emphasis on impossible bodies to healthy bodies - How wonderful that would be!
So this Spring as we all dust off our summer clothes in the hope that we might get a chance to wear them this year, think "Healthy me is the way I'm going this year!" Be kind to your body and feed it the foods it needs to keep it healthy. If you need to lose a few pounds to be more comfortable with yourself, be realistic about how much and how quickly. Remember 1kg
(1-2lbs) a week is achievable and will stay off. Cut down on your evening snacks. Research has shown that cutting down 200 calories in the evenings promotes an easy and steady weight loss. You need fewer calories in the evenings as you burn less overnight. This is a really easy way to cut down your daily calorific consumption and waking up hungry the next morning will encourage you to eat breakfast which as we all know, is the most important meal of the day!
