In this personal essay, Integrative Nutritionist, Jennie Miremadi, M.S., shares the story of her own body image struggles and the self-loving wisdom she gained in overcoming them. Read below to see how Jennie learned that food isn't the enemy - self-hatred is - and find a few of her seven positive practices for reshaping body image to make your own. Here's Jennie...
When I was 14, my relationship with food began to unravel.
I'd just had the stomach flu and I’d lost a bunch of weight – fast. I hadn’t given the weight loss any thought, until I walked into my ballet class and the first thing the teacher said was, "Looking good, Jennie. Keep it up."
My teacher didn't know it, but those few words profoundly impacted my body image and my relationship with food. I had been a normal, healthy weight, but after that, I became completely obsessed with being thin. I refused to eat any fat and I started counting my calories. When my mother was cooking dinner, I would wait until she wasn't looking and skim the fat out of the food on the stove. A few years later, I started popping diet pills and I forced myself to run for an hour every day, even though I hated it.
When I wasn't artificially restricting my intake with diet pills, I was jumping from one fad diet to the next. Not only were my eating patterns unsustainable, they were destructive and unhealthy. The worst part was that I was miserable, and my obsession with food and my body was preventing me from really living.
What I didn't realize until years later was that the real solution to my struggles involved breaking free from the dieting and the deprivation and learning to love and accept myself. It sounds simple, but it wasn't easy. I saw nutrition experts and read books, but they generally focused on yet another "plan" or diet, which was just fueling the problem.
Ultimately, I realized that I had to find my own solution. I traveled all over the world, learning whatever I could about mind and body, focusing heavily on the spiritual. I learned about nutrition, and began regularly incorporating yoga and meditation in my life. My relationship with food started to change as I focused on nourishing my body physically, emotionally and spiritually.
I also began to examine the underlying reasons that I had struggled with food and body image for a sizable chunk of my life. I used EFT, an energy-based technique, to work through the blocks that were keeping me from having the relationship with food that I wanted.
It was this work that enabled me to let go of my destructive eating patterns and listen to my body. I was finally sustaining my ideal weight naturally, but more importantly, I had discovered my self-worth and dignity, and it had nothing to do with the number on the scale. This was the most profound transformation of my life.
The crazy thing is that overcoming my own personal battles helped me to find my purpose in life. I had been a lawyer for many years, but realized my true calling was to help others with struggles similar to the ones I had overcome.
The key to conquering a negative body image isn't punishing, shaming or hating yourself. In fact, it's the opposite. The real solution is learning to love and accept yourself just as you are.
Here is a great place to start...
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What do you think about Jennie's story? Can you relate? What changes have you made in your life to create a more loving environment for yourself?
The post Treat Yourself Like A Child: 7 Beautiful Practices for Better Body Image appeared first on The Chalkboard.
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