Tag Archives: self image

Mirror, Mirror: Reinventing Your Own Self-Image

It’s easy enough to say that you love yourself and that you find yourself beautiful. It’s easy enough to say that beauty is in the eye of the beholder, but many times we use these platitudes with only a wishy-washy sense of personal belief. This is one of those instances where you need to truly focus on yourself and see yourself not through the murky lens of negativity. Remember, as I have said many times that fitness is about a wholeness between the mind, the body and the spirit. Fitness success in exercise is because you not only reap the … Continue reading →

Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: I Hate Myself

We’ve all been there, a half-glance that catches your own image in the corner of your eye as you look into a mirror and the negative self-talk begins. Your legs are too thick, your tummy isn’t flat enough and your arms are fat. Kids may be the worst when it comes to teasing and saying things, but women are the worst when it comes to judging themselves and being self-critical. Unfortunately, when it comes to judging ourselves – we’re harsh and we always compare ourselves (often unfavorably) to other women and find ourselves lacking. Imagine looking at yourself in comparison … Continue reading →

Rapid Changes in Weight & Fitness May Require Therapy

I read an interesting article today that made a lot of sense to me. It discussed the fact that people who engage in intensive fitness or weight loss programs that reshape their physical bodies, may want to engage in psychotherapy in order to help reshape their mental image as well. Specifically cited were weight loss surgeries and other rapid weight loss programs, but the psychological aspect associated with building a fitness program should not be ignored. People who have a poor mental image may or may not have a poor physical body. For example, I know at least three women … Continue reading →

Your Self-Image Defines Your Success

I talk a lot about motivation and goal setting, I think it’s important to keep in mind that if you believe in yourself, anything is possible. I know that sounds exceptionally cliché, but remember – in every cliché there is a root of truth. Clichés become clichés because those truths are proven again and again. So when I say that your self-image will help you define your success, I mean that literally as well as figuratively. If you see yourself as a failure, that is what you will be. If you see yourself unable to overcome your challenges, then you … Continue reading →

Ladies, Do You Hate Your Body?

I have a confession to make – I am not particularly fond of my body. It’s not the exact shape I’d like it to be. It doesn’t look like all those size 4 actresses on television and I’m not as tall as I’d like to be. One of my eyes squints funny when I smile and my teeth are not all straight. As a youngster, my parents invested in eyeglasses and eye surgery rather than dental work. So like many women, I fall into the category of hating my body because I was not taught to love it and I … Continue reading →

Putting on a Brave Face: Children with Facial Disfigurements

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Facial disfigurements can be caused by birth defects, genetic conditions, or traumatic injuries. Parents of children with facial disfigurements feel a tremendous amount of pain for their child’s sake. That’s because they recognize that going out into the world with a facial difference takes an enormous amount of courage. Children with facial differences are often teased, bullied, humiliated, and shunned. “I know what it is to be left out of things. On more than one occasion, kids would whisper behind my back, sometimes even throw things at me. I never knew what it was like to have a boyfriend much … Continue reading →

Do You Act Fat?

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I had the weirdest conversation with someone the other day. I was standing outside my daughter’s dance school and I was chatting with a couple of the other mothers. To put it into perspective, one of the women was a size 6 or 7 and the other I would hazard was somewhere around a 14 or 16. She wore my size. Both women look good and while I would hazard that the woman who wore my size was a little on the overweight side, she didn’t appear fat as we define it in our culture. Now, bear in mind, I … Continue reading →

A Losing Proposition

Too often when we get sick of trying to lose weight, we may resort to an extreme to get those pounds off. The problem is we’re force-fed a diet of quick and easy diet tips. These oft-misused pronouns leave us frustrated and overwhelmed. When this happens, we are prone to the following choices. These choices are uncomfortable, they are demanding and they are very, very tough. They work, but they are far from healthy or ideal choices to make. Starving Yourself In our young, we call this anorexia. It’s an eating disorder. While we need to employ healthier eating habits … Continue reading →

Weight Loss & Loving Your Body

Do you love your body? Chances are, you don’t. I didn’t – for years in fact, I found my body to be repulsive. When I gained so much weight during my pregnancy, I literally felt like a land whale walking. I hated the way I looked. I hated the way I felt. I experienced depression and the worse I felt about myself, the less inclined I was to do anything about it. It’s a vicious circle and for those of us who are looking to lose significant weight and sustain that weight loss, we need to love our bodies. Loving … Continue reading →

What is the Body-for-Life Challenge?

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The Body-for-Life Challenge is about personal transformation. It isn’t a contest built around competition with others. It is a contest where you compete against yourself. Who are you today? What do you weigh? How is your overall health? Are you carrying too much bodyfat? Are you happy? These are all questions you should ask yourself before accepting the challenge. Why? Because the people who have completed the 12-week challenge have emerged changed people. They are healthier, happier and more energetic than they have ever been before. The real challenge is in challenging yourself to be the best YOU you can … Continue reading →