A Healthier Us : Best Way To Lose Weight Fast - Weight Loss

Many of us have a negative body image. Like those skinny jeans in the back of our closet they we are hoping to get back into, but are they really sabotaging us? Millions of women have undiagnosed eating disorders such as eating less than 1000 calories, smoking to lose weight and exercising too much. Here are a few ways to help you with your body image.

I have a challenge for you: The next time you have a negative thought about your body, write it down. Feeling fat or ugly or comparing yourself to the woman next to you? Write it down. Then read it out loud to yourself. Hearing yourself actually say the words, “My thighs are fat” can be quite a wake-up call. The thing we need to tell ourselves is “You’re being way, way too hard on yourself.”

Why is it that so many of us treat our bodies with so little love or compassion? We would never say these things to a friend. But in our mind, we let the self-hate fly free, and the results can be destructive. It’s called self-sabotage. It’s something many of us do and we need to start working on it. A few of the most common types – and some possible solutions - include:

1. Comparing ourselves with other women, be they celebrities or the woman standing in front of us. I’m guilty of doing this too. I hardly ever turn my head to look at a man on the street but other women? Watch out! So many of us size ourselves up to other women, even if they have wildly different body types (ie stick thin model-types; curvy and voluptuous celebs; our buff trainer at the gym). This will always make us feel terrible and, in some cases, leads to bashing of other women.

Save yourself: It’s unrealistic to think we can simply stop comparing ourselves to those around us, but how about flipping the script and complimenting the other woman with the toned body? Research shows that complimenting someone – whether it has to do with their looks or not – improves their mood…and I’m willing to bet it’ll make you feel better, too. Try it. I do this at least once a day and it does feel great.

2. Self-sabotaging behavior: Body checking This is basically the over-evaluation of one’s shape and weight via any number of methods such as:

-Looking at ourselves in the mirror (to obsess over a body part)
-Checking the scale numerous times a day to track our weight
-Trying on a pair of jeans or other item of clothing to see if you “still fit” into it (Yes, many people like using their clothes as a measure of whether they’re gaining weight and I really like the idea of doing that versus scale-hopping, but this is different - this is “I’m going to try on my skinny jeans and see if I can still button them. And I will do it everyday, especially when I’m feeling bloated.”)

Save yourself: Of course you need your mirror to make sure you don’t poke your eye out with the mascara wand. But the mirror turns from friend to foe when you look into it expecting to see something bad. If you use it to constantly monitor your belly or breasts or thighs, you are just looking for trouble try limiting the times you check yourself out – even if it’s little by little. You may find your stress levels decrease. Also, remember that you are more than a collection of body parts – there’s a whole body there, not to mention a beautiful mind.

3. Eating like a bird on a date - Why do many women think the words, “I’ll have a diet coke and salad, no dressing, please” makes them more appealing? Here’s why: A recent study showed that when subjects read phony food diaries — some were of women who ate small meals, while others were about women who ate larger meals - the small eaters were perceived to be more feminine, more concerned about appearance, and better-looking than the larger eaters! So basically, we’ve got these cultural notions that women should be eating less, and we’re totally buying into it by forgoing what we would really like to eat for a salad. And besides sabotaging your body, you’re also starting off a potential relationship on a false note.

Save yourself: Eat. Ordering a low-cal entrée will leave you unsatisfied and seeming anxious, and the perfect set-up for a binge later on. This doesn’t mean you should order deep dish pizza every night, but do try to listen to what your body is telling you. If you need protein, steamed broccoli ain’t gonna cut it.

Try these helpful steps and maybe you can have a healthier body image. Once you succeed then try to help a friend or even your daughter.