Outline:

• Body Image Today
• Your Brain on Facetune Apps
• Eff Beauty Standards

Body Image

Body image is the perception a person has of their physical appearance, including their feelings & thoughts about their body. It’s influenced by various factors such as societal standards of beauty, cultural beliefs, family attitudes, peer interaction, & personal experiences. Positive body images involve feeling comfortable in one’s body, while negative body image can lead to feelings of dissatisfaction, shame, or anxiety about one’s appearance. It’s important to promote a healthy body image by encouraging self-acceptance, practicing self-care, & challenging unrealistic beauty plus health ideals.

Body dysmorphia or body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is a mental health condition characterized by obsessive preoccupation with perceived flaw or defects in one’s appearance, which are often minor or even nonexistent. Individuals with BDD may experience significant distress & impairment in social, occupational or other areas of functioning as a result.

BDD can have a severe impact on an individual’s quality of life, leading to anxiety, depression, isolation, etc. which are at an all time high in our nation today. There is hope & treatment through therapy, lifestyle changes & even medication to improve overall well-being. To help promote BDD recovery, the earlier the intervention, the better.

My intention in mentioning these negative thoughts that people endure every day is not to shame or judge anyone who might be dealing with BDD but to create awareness & hope.

Your Brain on Facetune Apps

Facetune apps have been proven to negatively affect everyone psychologically. Magazines use to get bad reactions from society for retouching their models but now EVERY Instagram photo is fake. In this video, Professor Vincent Walsh, a researcher of the human brain PROVES that the brain is lighting up with PTS/trauma reactions when people look at photos that are touched up on social media.

Please let that really sink in for a minute… It’s been PROVEN that when we look at images that are not real (filtered Instagram photos, photoshopped models, etc.) our brains are actually responding to the images like it’s TRAUMA. Maybe that’s why you hate the way your body looks? What if you’re actually perfect, there is nothing wrong with you & these images are telling your brain lies that you’ve been believing subconsciously for years. Which isn’t something we can really control but there is still hope for change. More about that later.

As a woman in the fitness industry I deal with this topic a lot (almost daily) & I have a lot of opinions about it. It’s been on my heart to share this for sometime because I see the extreme negative impact these beauty standards has had on my clients, friends, & family members & it’s truly heart breaking. A lot like these beautiful women in the video.

Photos & videos on social media are not real. I want women to feel comfortable in their body through a healthy lifestyle but also realize that body image is not your identity. As you scroll, please ignore the fake images. I would love to encourage anyone who struggles with their own body image to please know that you’re made the way you are which is perfect AND you can change you how you look & feel through nutrition & fitness.

EFFF YOUR BEAUTY STANDARDS

There is a social media movement challenging the standards of beauty traditions & encouraging self-love & acceptance regardless of society norms.

Now, I can’t bring this up movement up without also recognizing the #HealthyAtEverySize movement which promotes the idea that health & well-being are achievable at any body size. Refusing the notion that weight determines one’s health. My opinion is that this movement has a great foundation, however the extreme pendulum swing is harmful.

Encouraging individuals to prioritize self-acceptance is wonderful, but to do it while rejecting science is harmful. I believe there is balance in spurning the unrealistic body ideals that social media promotes while managing the facts that having more than 35% body-fat is unhealthy & will lead to hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, gallbladder disease, etc.

Skinny do not equal health just like 35% body fat doesn’t equal health either.

So, what’s the problem?

Social media promotes unrealistic body images & people (women & men) are experiencing long-term mental health issues.

It’s not normal to look perfect. Perfection doesn’t exist. This idea I’m presenting to you isn’t new. Since the beginning of time & across cultures, society has dictated what is considered attractive.

What’s changed in the last few years is social media. Now we can see images, literally at the touch of our fingertips, & trigger a negative brain reaction. We need to do better & we can do better. At the end of this newsletter, I have a list of 8 low-commitment strategies you can start doing today to help redefine pretty.

What’s the solution?

The next time you scroll & see filtered images or a celebrity with fake perfect skin I want to encourage you to stop for a moment. It’s normal to at first feel as if you could never look as good as them, but in that moment I want you to take the backseat & look at yourself in the driver’s seat & realize that you’ve just compared yourself to something that doesn’t. even. exist. It’s not real or achievable. It’s a lie. Then remind yourself of the truth: Those images are not real.

Reminder: It’s crucial to approach your goal with a focus of overall well-being. Other indicators of progress that don’t include how you look on the outside, such as, improved energy levels, better sleep, increased fitness performance, & positive change in muscle mass or body fat should be considered HUGE WINS, not just the numbers on a scale… because let’s face it, you should just toss that bathroom scale out the window! It ain’t doin’ ya any favors!

Lastly, more often than not, most people have a goal that is not healthy or realistic to reach. If you still have a pair of jeans from when you were in high school that you’re determined to fit for some reason, I would encourage you to reconsider… & get new jeans. Being your high school weight is probably unhealthy at this stage in your life. WHICH ISN’T BAD. You’re a grown up so be a grown up in a grown up’s body.

Ask yourself, what does it mean to me to be “high school” size? It doesn’t really make sense when you think about it because you were literally a child. So what if chasing this weight that you were at when you were literally a child might be setting you up for disappointment? Maybe reconsider your goal & try to set your sights on achieving overall health goals & see what happens.

Why do you look at a “flawless” photo on instagram & feel bad right away? Social media has only had the effect on us that it has had because we’ve allowed it to. And for what? It’s not even real. Social media & “flawless” skin don’t even exist.

Low-commitment strategies to contribute:

Promoting Diversity: Encouraging representation & celebrating diverse body types, skin tones, & facial features.  Media literacy: Educate others, especially the younger generation, that the way in which media & advertising perpetuate beauty ideals is unrealistic. Body Positivity: Foster a culture of body positivity by promoting self acceptance & self love regardless of appearance. Inclusive language: Use language that reflects & respects the diversity of human beauty. Community Support: Create a supportive community & space where people can share their experiences, challenges, & successes in embracing their unique beauty. Awareness: Encourage open communication about how society impacts the definition of pretty. Role Models: Highlight individuals who challenge conventional beauty standards & serve as a role model for self-acceptance & authenticity! Personal Empowerment: Encourage individuals to define beauty on their own terms & embrace their unique attributes & qualities. Provide tools & resources (share this newsletter) to encourage others!

By implementing these strategies & fostering a collective effort to redefine beauty, we can create a more inclusive & accepting society where everyone should feel valued & beautiful in their own unique way.

In Conclusion

Your brain is negatively affected by the fake images on social media which may have created a subconscious traumatic stress that has led you to hating your body based on lies through the unrealistic beauty standards. You get to decide to catch that lie when you see an image & then tell yourself the truth: it’s not real. What is actually attractive (to most) is being healthy not perfect. There is a list of eight low-commitment strategies you can start to implement to help create the change around body image because we can’t hate ourselves into a healthier body or a healthier lifestyle.