How to start improving your body image and moving towards body acceptance, for children and teenagers in 5 simple steps.
Body Image is an important topic for young people. With use of filters and photoshop on social media increasing this feels all the more urgent to talk about.
"79% of 11 - 16 year olds said how they look is important to them, and over half (52%) often worry about how they look." - Be Real
Negative body image or ‘body dissatisfaction’ can result in unhealthy and risk taking behaviours.
"Higher body dissatisfaction is associated with a poorer quality of life, psychological distress and the risk of unhealthy eating behaviours and eating disorders." - Mental Health Foundation
Here are 5 easy tips for improving body image that you can start straight away!
Tip #1 - Get Rid of the Weighing Scales
We can become easily obsessed with the silly numbers on those scales. But this number does not tell you if you are healthy. It does not define your worth. If you can stop weighing yourself, this is a great place to start. Or at least keeping weighing scaled out of sight if you can't get rid of them completely.
Tip #2 - Unfollow and Unsubscribe
Unfollow any social media accounts that make you feel bad about how you look. It doesn't mean there's anything wrong with that person or account, but if it is causing you to compare yourself or feel unworthy, IT NEEDS TO GO.
Maybe even take a break from social media. Take 1 week a month where you delete the apps and have some time away from it all. It will be waiting for you when you get back.
Social media can have such a massive impact on our mental health and body image without us even realising.
"Research shows that social media use is associated with increased body dissatisfaction and disordered eating." - National Eating Disorders Collaboration
Tip #3 - Diversify Your Feed
If you do use social media frequently, think about diversifying your feed. If you are looking at the same sort of body type or aesthetic every day, we will start to think that is 'normal' and what we should be aiming for. But we are all completely different and unique and out instagram feed's should celebrate this!
Follow body positive accounts, follow people that have a diverse range of bodies and aesthetics. We create echo chambers in our social media and if we are looking at one type of body all the time, of course we will start to think that is what we should look like too.
Check out our instagram stories for accounts that we love @hungry2move.
Tip #4 - Be Grateful
Gratitude is a well known practice for boosting your mental health, and this can help with your body image too. When you are feeling down about your body try and list 3 things you are grateful for you body doing.
For example:
1. I am grateful for my body letting me dance
2. for my body healing itself when I am hurt
3. for my body allowing me to laugh with my friends.
What else does your body help you do that you are grateful for?
Tip #5 - Be Patient With Yourself
It takes time to unlearn a life time of conditioning that we should look a certain way. There are a lot of companies that make money off people wishing they looked different than they do.
Be patient with yourself, forgive yourself if you don't always get it right, and keep going. You and your body deserve to be in this world just as you are!
Learn More About Body Image
At Hungry2Move we offer workshops to improve body image, confidence and self esteem in young people. Clock the button to find out more
Places we recommend looking for further information about body image, click the links below 👇👇👇
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