Battling Body Image

“For you created my inmost being; you knit me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well.”  Psalm 139:13-14

Body image is an issue that almost everybody deals with at some point. Many women, in particular, have an unhealthy view of their bodies which negatively impacts their lives. How many women have you known that have tried fad diets like the lemonade diet, the grapefruit diet, and the military diet? There was even a vision diet where you ate everything with blue-tinted glasses. And there was a thing where you could get a staple in your ear which was supposed to curb your appetite. We’ll try just about anything to get the body we want!

Consider these statistics:

• 40-60% of elementary school girls (ages 6-12) are concerned about their weight or about becoming too fat. This concern endures through life. (https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/what-are-eating-disorders)
• The main contributor to the development of eating disorders is body dissatisfaction. In the United States, 20 million women suffer from a clinically significant eating disorder at some time in their life. (https://www.nationaleatingdisorders.org/what-are-eating-disorders)
• Only two percent of women globally consider themselves beautiful. And two-thirds of women strongly agree that “media and advertising set an unrealistic standard of beauty that most women can’t every achieve”. (https://www.dove.com/us/en/stories/about-dove.html)
• A study found that while “fat talk” tended to decrease with age, “old talk” often came in to replace it, and that both were reported by women who appeared to have a negative body image. (https://www.nytimes.com/2013/02/28/booming/old-talk-and-fat-talk-among-baby-boomers.html) – Guilty!

I have had an unhealthy relationship with body image since my early college years. I started smoking in high school and, by my sophomore year in college, I decided to quit. I heard that many people who quit smoking gain weight and was really worried about that. I believe that to be what started my unhealthy obsession with being thin. I started doing cardio and lifting weights and was very conscious of what I ate. The thing back then was “low fat” so I ate low fat everything. Occasionally, I would binge on something and then would have terrible feelings of guilt and exercise extra hard the next day. By the end of my senior year of college, I was down to 99 pounds which really wasn’t a healthy weight for my 5’5” frame.

I continued to struggle as I got older. One of my roles in a previous job was to lead employee wellness efforts. Although this was right up my alley, I think it made me even a little more obsessive about health and fitness. I tried to impose my diet choices on my family, and shockingly they were pretty resistant. My husband eats like a middle school boy and my daughters wanted stuff they thought tasted good like French fries and chicken nuggets. In addition, I tried to get everyone to exercise and was a failure there as well. I don’t think my daughters have ever been as mad at me as when I signed them up for a personal training session in middle school and the trainer had them doing jump squats and burpees.

Admittedly, I still struggle. I exercise every day with few exceptions and try to make healthy food choices. However, I still experience anxiety at times if I make unhealthy food choices or don’t find time to exercise.

In Genesis 3, Eve was tempted by Satan. Does anyone else find it ironic that the first temptation involved food? I might have been more tempted by doughnuts or pizza than an apple though. Just sayin’.

Genesis 1:27 tells us that God created us in His image. Isn’t that amazing? We are created in the image of the most flawless, perfect being ever to exist!  Our body is our temporary dwelling place while we are on this earth. Although I believe that we should be good stewards of our bodies, it doesn’t determine our worth. God thinks we are beautiful just the way we are. Even with stretch marks. Even with a muffin top. And even with bat wings. Reminding yourself of this can help us prevail in the battle of body image. Below are some tips to try to work on your body image.

1. Stop letting the number on the scale define you.
2. Pray and ask God to help you let go of your negative body image issues.
3. Pay attention to your body and what it needs. Honor God by treating your body with love and respect and nourish it well.

“Your beauty should not come from outward adornment, such as braided hair and the wearing of gold jewelry and fine clothes. Instead, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.”  1 Peter 3:3-4