How to Present a Positive Self-Image While You Try to Lose Weight
Lindsay Knake
| 3 min read
Healthy body weight is associated with better overall health outcomes, including lower risk of diabetes, cholesterol and high blood pressure, better sleep and improved mood.
Cultivating a positive sense of self while you work on weight loss is an important part of the process as poor body image is associated with anxiety and stress. These feelings can lead to worse health outcomes. Here are ways to build stronger self-esteem and a positive self-image during weight loss.
Focus on your mental health
Stigma, including internalized stigma, around weight can lead to poor body image, depression and low motivation to exercise. This can in turn make living a healthy lifestyle and losing weight more difficult. Creating a practice of mindfulness, writing in a journal or seeking therapy can help you manage any painful emotions through the process of losing weight. For example, list qualities and traits you love about yourself that are not connected to your appearance. Practice daily affirmations or gratitude to counter negative thoughts of yourself and cultivate a more positive mindset over time.
Develop additional goals
Losing weight can be challenging. Developing other health-related goals that are in your control can help you stay engaged and motivated, especially as weight loss is typically not a linear process. Regular exercise and a healthy diet are important for physical and mental health. Consider creating goals around:
- Exercise in a way you enjoy three to five days a week
- Drinking enough water each day
- Sleep and sleep hygiene
- Adding fruits and vegetables to each meal
Try body neutrality
If pressure to feel positive about your body is difficult, body neutrality could be a different approach. This is a movement that focuses on the functions rather than appearance of your body.
Body neutrality involves being mindful of negative self-talk and thoughts about your body and allowing those thoughts and feelings to pass without engaging with them. When you do have negative thoughts about yourself and your appearance, practice self-compassion and try treating yourself like you would a friend. Notice what feels good, such as strength when you work out or the joy of a delicious meal. Then, you can focus on what your body can do, such as allow you to have loving relationships and experience joy.
Limit social media
Comparing yourself to others, particularly through social media, can lead to worse self-image, according to the Cleveland Clinic. In a study published by the American Psychological Association, teens and young adults who reduced social media use for a few weeks by half improved their own feelings toward their appearance and weight.
Additionally, unfollowing or muting social media accounts that make you feel bad about yourself can also help you reduce those negative feelings.
Self-acceptance
Placing happiness and self-esteem on a future goal can lead to disappointment when you reach it. You may think you would feel happier or satisfied than you do, and then you may assume you’ll feel happy when you reach the next goal.
You deserve to feel happy, loved and whole all of the time. That is true regardless of a number on a scale or of any outcome. Accepting who you are right now can improve your mental health and overall health, according to Harvard Health.
Anyone trying to lose weight can be at risk of developing an eating disorder. Being healthy requires eating enough nutrients and calories. Talk to your doctor about weight loss and how to approach it in a healthy way.
Image: Getty Images
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