HealthyLife Articles

Tag: perception

  • Eating And Body Image Issues

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 5

    Group of friends eating at a resturant.

    Develop a healthy relationship with eating and your body image. Paying attention to your eating and exercise habits can be a positive step for your health, but you are also at risk for having a distorted body image, developing unhealthy eating patterns, and becoming preoccupied with food and body image.

    Healthy Concern

    *  I pay attention to what I eat in order to maintain a healthy body.

    *  I am flexible in my goals for eating well.

    *  I am not concerned what others think regarding what and how much I eat.

    *  Food only occupies a small part of my time.

    *  I balance my pleasure with eating with my concern for a healthy body.

    *  I feel no guilt or shame with what I eat.

    Food Pre-Occupied/Disruptive Eating

    *  It’s hard for me to enjoy eating with others.

    *  I think about food a lot.

    *  I feel ashamed when I eat more than others or more than what I feel I should be eating.

    *  I am afraid of gaining weight.

    *  Eating more than I wanted to makes me feel out of control.

    *  I feel strong when I can restrict how much I eat.

    Eating Disordered

    *  I am afraid to eat in front of others.

    *  When I eat, I have a hard time controlling the amount of food I eat.

    *  I regularly stuff myself and then exercise, vomit, or use diet pills or laxatives to get rid of the food or calories.

    *  I am terrified of gaining weight.

    *  My friends and family are concerned I am not eating enough.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine

  • How Do You View Your Body?

    Healthylife® Weigh

    Part 5

    Young smiling man eating on diet.

    Body Ownership, Healthy Body Image

    *  My body is beautiful to me.

    *  My feelings about my body are not influenced by society’s concept of an ideal body shape.

    *  I know that the significant others in my life will always find me attractive.

    *  I nourish my body so it has the strength and energy to achieve my physical goals.

    *  I pay attention to my body and my appearance because it is important to me, but it only occupies a small part of my day.

    Body Pre-Occupied/ Distorted Body Image

    *  I spend a significant time in front of the mirror viewing my body.

    *  I spend a significant time comparing my body to others.

    *  I’d be more attractive if I was thinner, more muscular, etc.

    *  I have considered changing or have changed my body through surgery so that I can accept myself.

    *  I wish I could change the way I look.

    Body Hate/ Disassociation

    *  I often feel separated and distant from my body, as if it belongs to someone else.

    *  I hate my body and I often isolate myself from others.

    *  I don’t see anything positive or even neutral about my body shape and size.

    *  I don’t believe others when they tell me I look OK.

    *  I hate the way I look in the mirror.

    Move toward viewing your body in a healthy way. Use the healthy body image statements in the left column as affirmations. Repeat these to yourself. Make changing your attitude a goal.

    © American Institute for Preventive Medicine