very passionate about encouraging women to be content with their own body image. My book is a step by step guide on how women can learn to lose weight and be happy with their bodies. I will briefly discuss this issue here but the book deals with it in detail.
It upsets me to see so many women not being at peace with their body image. They are not happy and their day to day lives are affected because they believe that there is something wrong with their bodies. A friend of mine went to her daughter’s 21st Birthday Party and instead of enjoying the night, she felt ‘fat’ and unattractive. She felt over weight and kept comparing herself to another woman who was ‘slimmer’ the whole night. I felt sad for her because she should have enjoyed herself rather than worry about her body. She also did not notice that there were women of various shapes in the room.
So why do women feel this way? The answer is complex but basically the media, society and women themselves play a role. Day time shows are sprinkled with advertisements about how to lose weight with powders, diets and exercise equipment. Movies, and television shows have beautiful skinny women who parade across the screen. Magazines display gorgeous young women who stare at you from glossy pages. The media is bombarding women with unrealistic images of young, and skinny females.
We all need to realise that what we are being shown is not real. The models in magazines are air brushed. The women we see in movies and television shows represent a certain percentage of the population. These actresses have probably had plastic surgery as well. In short women need to wake up and realise that they are perfect just the way they are. They need to stop comparing themselves to others as everyone is different, yet perfect in their own way.
Unfortunately family and friends also make comments about our bodies and this can affect the way we feel about ourselves. I have met many women who express how ‘fat’ comments from others make them feel awful about their own bodies. Should we allow others to affect us so much? People need to build resilience and believe in their own uniqueness and perfection. Accept yourself and realise that there is no one in this world like you. The media is ‘make believe’ and the people in it are not part of the real world. The models and actresses are part of a clever marketing campaign. Be grateful for your healthy body and learn to love yourself. More importantly stand up for yourself and ignore those that like to make comments about your body. Remember you are perfect just the way you are.