As a fitness trainer, I’m witness to more body hate than the average person.
People come to me with their ‘flaws’ on their sleeves asking for help for their ‘trouble’ zones, weight loss tips, to get rid of muffin tops & cellulite etc. Initially I prescribed exercise and diet regimens, assuming that once their ‘flaws’ were fixed, they’d be happier (as did they). But there was always something else not to like. Something else that wasn’t perfect. Because of course, none of us are perfect. No matter how much weight they lost or how toned they got, they never seemed to measure up to the image of perfection in their heads.
And that’s when it hit me. What people wanted was not really flat abs, slim thighs or weight loss. They simply wanted to be rid of the insecurity they felt. And that wasn’t something they could fix by only changing their bodies.
Truthfully, vanity is the number one reason people want to lose weight. Not health. Vanity. Health-wise, it’s true that some people should change up their diets and eat better, something that may result in weight loss for many people. But the desire to LOOK a certain way is not based in health. It’s based in vanity. Vanity fueled by what we believe is desirable or what we believe others will find desirable. The problem is that we receive the majority of these ‘desirability’ measures from the media: which is saturated with imagery & messages that have reached mindblowingly unrealistic proportions.
Basically, we’re comparing ourselves to ‘perfected’ images. Not perfect. PERFECTED. And it’s so pervasive that it’s become normal. We’ve internalized it. Few people see anything wrong with the images, but rather with themselves for having flaws. We’re constantly comparing ourselves to images of models, celebrities and pro athletes that have been digitally altered to be as ‘perfect’ as possible.
They also represent a VERY small percentage of people in general (with models, about 3%). And truthfully, even THEY don’t look like the final product… in real life. When it comes to body love, questioning where your concept of beauty comes from is one of the first steps to awareness. Knowing that images are photoshopped, knowing that the bodies we’ve come to admire represent a VERY small percentage of people and knowing that there’s no right way to have a body. It takes time, but the more you remind yourself of these things, the easier it gets.
Have a Happy and Healthy Day, Cheers :)