Body Acceptance

Photo credit: Brittany Bevis

What do you think about your body when.... Standing on the podium in first place, yet you feel "too fat." Achieving a personal best time, yet your legs/butt feels "too big." Doubting your abilities because your stomach feels "too heavy." Blaming your subpar performance on your weight.  Lacking self confidence because you don't look like other athletes. In each of these scenarios is an athlete who believes one of two things: That looking differently will improve athletic success or a current look is the reason for lack of athletic success. Despite putting in the training and being physically prepared for an event, actual acceptance of one-self can be a major athletic limiter. Inside, you have internalized feelings of being inadequate because of a look, a comparison or an assumption. Poor body image can wreak havoc on performance, physical health and mental well-being. There are great consequences to trying to conform to rigid societal ideals. Underfueling, skipping meals, restricting carbohydrates, eliminating certain foods groups and ignoring body hunger cues are some of the many unhealthy dieting and disordered eating strategies that athletes turn to when trying to achieve a specific body type ideal. Sadly, many of the above strategies are unhealthy (for the body and mind), yet encouraged by coaches, nutrition experts and the media as a means to an end to gain the competitive edge. Through the rise of social media and prejudgment statements from coaches/nutrition experts, the pressure to change how you look is almost inevitable. But that doesn't make it acceptable. Comparing your body to the body of another athlete can make you feel inadequate, unprepared and doubtful of your abilities. You may even assume that other athletes are more serious/successful than you because of their strict diets, body type and large social media following. Pressure around body type can be detrimental to health (physical and mental), confidence and most of all, love of sport. It's not uncommon for an athlete to slip down the road of dieting, disordered eating and body image obsession only to reduce longevity (and potential) in the sport that was once fun, enjoyable and health promoting. The way your body looks and the way your body moves/performance are not necessarily correlated. How you think your body should look to perform well may not match what your body really needs to look like to perform well. To escape the immense pressure to attain body image perfection, body positivity is critical. What you think about your body matters. Without it, confidence and self-esteem are destroyed. How can you believe in your abilities if you don't appreciate your body? To improve body image positivity, here are a few tips:  Every body is different. A look doesn't predict athletic success (or failure).  Always thank your body and appreciate what it can do.  Become more accepting of yourself. When you accept who and where you are, that's when change can occur. Mentally beating yourself up gets you nowhere.  Take control over your inner dialogue. Body image is closely linked to self-esteem.  Avoid a perfectionist mindset. Good enough is great.  Don't make comparisons or assumptions.  Remind yourself that in the world of social media, many people are presenting carefully selected images and posts of their lives, designed to look better than reality.  Break the habit of making excuses for yourself, being all or nothing or being highly critical of yourself.  Surround yourself with body positive advocates. Steer clear of people who make you feel bad about how you look.  Select your role models and influencers carefully.  A negative body image can be the start of an eating disorder, depression and anxiety. If you think you are suffering from a mental illness, don't be afraid to seek professional help. Brave athletes speak up and get help.  Learn to overpower negative thoughts with positive ones. Build your confidence with body positive affirmations and mantras. For example, workout because you love your body, not because you hate it. Wear clothing that makes you feel good about your body. Work with your body, not against it.  Be ok with change. Seeing your body change does not remove your great qualities and skills. Respect yourself. You must take care of your human self before your athlete self. Let your body know how much you care and appreciate it.

Societal (body image) pressures of female athletes

 

Today is International Women's Day. A day to celebrate women's achievement, raise awareness against bias, stereotypes and discrimination and to take action for equality. A day to move closer and to eventually achieve a gender equal world. 

Although every day should be an important day to celebrate women's achievements while calling out inequality, today is an important day to remind female athletes that the power to change starts from within. When you take this approach, the world is better off. 

Far too many young girls, teenagers and young adults believe that the external view of their body defines their perception of their physical self. And when a female doesn't feel good about her looks, she may be hesitant (or refuse) to participate in sports, try out for a club, join a team or lack confidence in a professional setting. Many little girls grow up idealizing certain celebrities, athletes and influencers with the idea that they must look a certain way. These girls grow up to become teenagers and then adults. Throughout life, bodies change. When a female struggles to accomplish a certain body, she can become very self-conscious and may resort to unhealthy and drastic measures. 

There's no denying that conventional mainstream media has greatly contributed to negative body image among girls and women. All over TV, movies, magazine covers and ads are females looking thin, defined and beautiful. Messages about body image are almost always shaped by the media, beauty and diet industry and claims of health and fitness. With a unified message showing how all women should appear - this creates an idealized body image. Let's not forget that most "perfect" bodies are digitally altered and filtered. If you are like most women, you have been criticized, bullied or shamed by others - or you criticize yourself - for being "too big" and not fitting the standard. 

Due to lack of representation of women who do not meet an idealized image or beauty standard, race, age or ability, it's very difficult for a women and girls to see themselves as beautiful......and normal. As a result, women and girls have unrealistic expectations of what a female body should look like and this creates feelings of low self worth and inadequacy. If we want a world with gender equality, we need to change the norms and expectations about the female body. Age, race, religion, ethnic origin, socio-cultural status, ability and identity should carry the same weight as body image when it comes to social inclusion. 

On International Women's Day, I encourage you to think about your relationship with your body. 

• When do you feel most dissatisfied with your body? 
• Where did your toxic attitudes about your body and negative self-talk come from (and when did they begin)? 
• Who taught you to hate your body? 
• Who taught you to love your body? 
• What changes do you make with your diet/exercise routine when you feel "off" in your skin? 
• Why do you feel great pressure to change the way that you look? 

Helping female athletes develop (and maintain) a healthy relationship with food and the body is a topic that I will always promote. I've written over 30 articles on the topic, created a program to helping female athletes unlearn toxic dieting behaviors and fix the dysfunctional relationship with food and the body that is sabotaging performance while negatively impacting mental and physical health and it's a subject matter that I discuss with all of my nutrition and coaching athletes. 

Far too many female athletes struggle with the contrast between a body that is healthy and performs well in sport and a body that meets "social standards." While some athletes see weight loss as a means for sport improvements, many athletes adhere to rigid eating rules to look a certain way. When a female athlete has issues with how she looks, there's a good chance that this athlete will intentionally undereat and overexercise in an attempt to change her shape, size or weight....but with this comes the inability to meet energy, hormonal and nutrient needs. Food and body image become a mental stressor as health and performance deteriorate. 

There is no escaping the fact that female athletes are objectified. Glorifying unattainable standards of the body of a female athlete can negatively impact the self-esteem of women - especially young female athletes. Female athletes do not deserve to be judged, shamed and sexualized. A female athlete's looks should not override the celebration of her athletic ability.

The power of change starts from within. In a society where societal expectations and pressures on how a female body should look often drive females to diet, exercise and cosmetically change their image/shape/size, how can we move to a more gender equal world if women constantly feel the need to change to meet a standard? 

This leads me to an even more important question....

Who the heck is setting this body image standard that you feel you need to achieve?  

A set of beauty standards with the mission of achieving an ideal (or approved) shape, size, weight or appearance does not help us move toward equality. 
It's unfair and unrealistic. Far too many women are discriminated against simply for being (or not being) a certain size.

Let's stop the objectification of the female body and see every body type as an amazing piece of art. Your body is a gift and it should be celebrated and cherished. Body diversity is normal. Only when you care for your body properly, can we move closer to female body acceptance. 

Addressing the body positive movement and weight loss

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Body positivity challenges the ways in which our society presents, celebrates and views bodies.  Sadly, far too many body shapes and types have been shunned by the mainstream media or not classified as beautiful. Our society has a fixation on the "tiny" ideal and encourages everyone to fit the social standards of being lean. This is why there are so many movements promoting body positivity. Because many people feel discriminated against because their body doesn't meet the "ideal" image, the body positive movement challenges social norms and promotes the belief that all bodies - regardless of size, shape, gender, physical abilities or skin tone - should be accepted.

The body positivity movement is a necessary movement but it can also be controversial - can you have a positive relationship with your body and desire weight loss/a change in your body composition? 

First off, it is a myth that large bodies are unhealthy. Being bigger doesn't mean being unhealthy. Someone can be thin and unhealthy. As an example, all runners are susceptible to injuries and overuse injuries - not just larger bodies. 

Secondly, your body = your choices. You deserve respect, equality and kindness regardless of your body size, what foods you eat or your health status.

Lastly, large bodies are not the only humans who can struggle with body image. Learning to hate your body is the primary goal of the diet industry. You can be small/thin and have a negative body image.

One of the missing focal points when discussing the body positive movement is the topic of developing and maintaining a positive body image. A positive body image means you embrace, accept and appreciate your body for all that it can do. You can be body positive but not have a positive body image - and vice versa. But both are important when it comes to weight loss. Body dissatisfaction often leads to unhealthy behaviors. If you love something, you are more likely to treat it well.

First off, the decision to lose weight should be a personal choice - not because you feel pressure to achieve an idealized image. This is why the body positive movement is so important. You should never feel pressure to look a certain way. If you desire weight loss, you need to be body positive and have a positive body image.

Choosing to become more active, eat a more nutritious diet and to live a more healthy lifestyle doesn't need to happen because you hate your body. Taking better care of yourself is a positive thing to do for your body.

The diet industry wants you to believe that your looks are everything and with weight loss, you will be happy and healthy. This desire of happy and "healthy" can lead to unhealthy behaviors like overexercising, dieting and eating disorders. When it comes to body positivity, I want to remind you that health is made of many different factors. You can't tell how healthy someone is from how they look.

And just because you lose weight or change the way your body looks, this doesn't mean that you will feel happier - or become healthier. Don't pin your happiness on achieving a smaller version of yourself. Weight loss should not come from a place of hate towards your body. Changing your body doesn't change how you feel about food, exercise and your body image.

For those who don't understand the body positive movement, there's a belief that this movement is normalizing unhealthy bodies. And this is not what this movement is about.

There's tremendous social pressure to look a certain way. Most people are not comfortable with what they see in the mirror because society has brainwashed you to believe that you need to change how you look in order to be healthier, fitter, happier and more successful. The diet industry has created an illusion that smaller = healthier.

All bodies deserve to be accepted. Your body should not be judged. But let's also celebrate self-care - even if your self-care acts don't lead you down the road to significant weight loss - and that is ok.

Body positivity is about finding an exercise regime that you enjoy, changing your diet because it makes you feel good, sleeping well to be more rested and looking after your mental health. Weight loss goals or not - don't forget to be kind to your body.