Body Image

What is Body Image?

BODY TYPES

ECTOMORPH  The ECTOMORPH  Definitive "Hard Gainer"  Delicate Built Body  Flat Chest  Fragile  Lean  Lightly Muscled  Small Shouldered  Takes Longer to Gain Muscle  Thin Lisa Kudrow, Kate Moss, Brad Pitt, Seth Green, Edward Norton.

MESOMORPH  Athletic  Hard Body  Hourglass Shaped (Female)  Rectangular Shaped (Male)  Mature Muscle Mass  Muscular Body  Excellent Posture  Gains Muscle Easily  Gains Fat More Easily Than Ectomorphs  Thick Skin

Famous Mesomorphs  Bruce Willis, Sylvester Stallone, the majority of Mr. Universe winners

Endomorph  Soft Body  Underdeveloped Muscles  Round Physique  Weight Loss is Difficult  Gains Muscle Easily Like the Mesomorph.  Famous Endomorphs:  John Goodman, Roseanne, Jack Black.

Beyond the reflection in the mirror… Body image is the collection of ever- changing, descriptive and evaluative beliefs about one’s appearance that are learned through one’s environment.

Contributing Factors to Body Image Body Image Mood Imagination Self-Esteem Environment Physical Experiences

What is Self-Esteem? Ideal Real Ideal Real = Low Self-Esteem = High Self-Esteem

Sources of our “Ideal”

The Body Dissatisfaction Epidemic

The Ideal Body Paradox  Women are programmed to have proportionately higher body fat composition than men.  Contemporary society prescribes the tubular, lean, no-fat look, especially for women.  The average woman is 5’4” and weighs 140 lbs. The average model is 5’11” and weighs 117 lbs.  If today’s mannequins were actual human women, they would probably cease to menstruate.

Men are Affected Too!

Body Image Questionnaire 1. Have you avoided sports or working out because you didn’t want to be seen in gym clothes? 2. Does eating even a small amount of food make you feel fat? 3. Do you worry or obsess about your body not being small, thin or good enough? 4. Are you concerned that your body is not muscular or strong enough? 5. Do you avoid wearing certain clothes because they make you feel fat? 6. Do you feel badly about yourself because you don’t like your body? 7. Have you ever disliked your body? 8. Do you want to change something about your body? 9. Do you compare yourself to others and come up short?

Negative Body Image  A distorted perception of your shape  You are convinced that only other people are attractive and that you body size or shape is a personal failure.  You feel ashamed, self-conscious, and anxious about your body.  You feel uncomfortable and awkward in your body.

Body Dysmorphic Disorder Distressing, time-consuming preoccupation with an imaginary defect in one’s appearance, or excessive concern about a slight physical anomaly. Preoccupation impairs functioning Use elaborate means to camouflage the Perceived defect.

Body Image and Disordered Eating Negative body image can (but not always) lead to disordered eating.

Anorexia Nervosa  Distorted body image  Intense fear of becoming obese  Weight loss of at least 25% of body weight  Refusal to maintain “normal” body weight  Absence of physical illness to account for weight loss

Bulimia Nervosa  Inconspicuous recurrent episodes of binge eating.  Consumption of high caloric, ready to eat food during bingeing.  Termination of eating episodes by abdominal pain, sleep, social interruption, or self-induced vomiting.  Repeated attempts to lose weight by severely restricted diet, self-induced vomiting, laxatives, and/or diuretics.  Depression following binges.

Binge Eating Disorder  Regular and repeated binge eating episodes.  Does not include purging or other compensatory behaviors.  Affected individuals are usually obese and have had problems with fluctuation in their body weight.  For most, binge eating begins during a diet.

Compulsive Overeating  Eating large amounts of food when not physically hungry.  Eating much more rapidly than normal  Eating to the point of feeling uncomfortably full.  May often eat alone because of embarrassment.  Has feelings of depression, and disgust with self after eating.  May have a history of marked weight fluctuation.

What is Normal Eating???  Being able to eat when you are hungry and continue to eat until you are satisfied.  Being able to use moderate constraint on your food selection to get the right food.  Giving yourself permission to eat sometimes because you are happy, sad, or bored, or just because it feels good.

What is Normal Eating???  Eating three meals a day, or choosing to eat several small meals/snacks throughout the day.  Sometimes overeating (think Thanksgiving) and sometimes under eating and wishing you had more.  Trusting your body to make up for mistakes in eating.  Takes some of your time and attention, but keeps its place as only one important area in your life.

Positive Body Image  A clear, true perception of your shape.  You celebrate and appreciate your natural body shape and you understand that a perfect appearance says very little about one’s character and value as a person.  You feel proud and accepting of your unique body and refuse to spend an unreasonable time worrying about food, weight, and calories.  You feel comfortable and confident in your body.

Ten Steps to Positive Body Image 1. Appreciate all that your body can do. 2. Keep a top-10 list of things you like about yourself. 3. Remind yourself that a “true beauty” is not simply skin-deep. Beauty is a state of mind, not a state of you. 4. Look at yourself as a whole person. 5. Surround yourself with positive people. 6. Squelch the voices in your head that tell you that your body is not “right” or that you are a bad person.

Ten Steps to Positive Body Image 7. Wear clothes that are comfortable and that make you feel good about your body. 8. Become a critical viewer of social and media messages. 9. Do something nice for yourself. 10. Use the time and energy that you might have spent worrying about food, calories, or your weight to do something to help others.