I will admit that things have started to change in the media and fashion world. Just a decade ago, models were nothing more than emaciated skeletons, and an ideal that wasn’t only unattainable by many, it wasn’t healthy for anyone. Once more, the images that we all looked at weren’t real, pictures of women went through photoshopping and airbrushing, and looked nothing like the original by the time it made the pages of a magazine. Unrealistic ideology about looks has led many to wonder if they are just body conscious or are they body obsessed?
Body Conscious or Body Obsessed, Which are You?
Several brands like Aveno and Dove have started to try to change the face of “beauty” through marketing women who are both real and how the average American woman appears. But there is still a long way to go in changing the minds of millions who aspire to fit into a perfect size 0, as if that is even a size.
It is alright to want to maintain a healthy weight, but there does come a point where you can tip the scales the wrong way and end up not only being way too thin, but hurting yourself. Your body needs a certain amount of calories to sustain itself, and also for the brain to operate correctly. If you are starving yourself for some ideal that isn’t really so ideal, then you need to stop and take a good long look in the mirror. You might not just be body conscious, you might have crossed over into body obsessed.
Signs of Body Obsession
You Don’t Socialize Because you are Avoiding Food
Most of our social time with others revolves around drinking and eating. If you are so worried that you are going to gain weight that you avoid being around others, then that is a red flag that you are taking your size way too seriously. Life is way too short. And if you sit on the sidelines because of what a scale reads, you are missing out. When this ride is over, what do you want to remember?
No Matter What the Scale Reads, you Still see Fat
Body dysmorphia is when you see yourself disproportionately to what you really look like. And also differently than others see you. If people constantly roll their eyes when you say you look “fat” that is because what you feel and what is real aren’t jiving correctly. I know, we all have days when we don’t like the way that we look. But if those days all revolve around you thinking you are too heavy, it is time to stop killing yourself over it.
You Count Every Calorie, Down to a Piece of Gum
Counting calories is okay occasionally, but if you are wasting day after day measuring out food and taking calorie counts, don’t you think that time could be better spent? It is important to pay attention to your nutritional habits for health reasons, but counting calories is not the answer, nor is it anyway to live. How can you possibly enjoy what you are putting in your mouth when you are already feeling guilty about how many calories it is going to cost you?
You Won’t eat in Front of Other People
When I was a kid, I used to take my food into the bathroom at school so that people didn’t see me eat. But what I learned is if anyone judges you for what is on your plate, that is on them. You don’t have to be guided by what people think about what you look like, or your choices about what you eat. You should eat what you want whether people are watching or not, it has nothing to do with them. If they are going to judge you for what you eat, they will judge you period. And those types of people aren’t anyone you want to be friends with.
If you do Eat, you Exercise Obsessively to Work it off
Guilt is not a good way to live your life. If you feel like you have to account for every morsel that you put in your mouth by hitting the bike or going for a run, then you are constantly spending way too much time on negativity. Exercise is both necessary and good for your health, but it shouldn’t be used as a tool to offset what you put in your body. That is way too much stress to put yourself through!
You Limit Your Food Intake to Unhealthy Levels
Keeping weight at a healthy level is a good idea, but if you are eating less than your body needs to sustain, you are killing yourself both mentally and emotionally. Once more, the less you eat, the more your metabolism will slow because your body thinks that you are starving (which you are). So by limiting your calories to dangerous levels, you are actually working against yourself and doing way more harm than good. And you are also setting up a scenario of self-defeat.
Your Fat Jeans are Everyone Else’s Skinny Jeans
0 is a size, but it shouldn’t be. Is there anything else in life where the ideal is to be nothing? Skinny jeans are a fashion choice, not an exemplar of how thin you can be. Yes, there is such a thing as being too thin. And likely, if your fat jeans are skinny ones to everyone else, that is not a good sign at all.
You Hate Pictures of Yourself Because you Always see Imperfections
Not everyone is photogenic, but if you dislike every picture that you take, then you are taking the wrong thing from them. Pictures showcase good times. If all you can see is your own imperfections, you are missing the entire point of taking them. Give yourself a break, there is no such thing as perfection. If you are smiling and look happy, then that is the most beautiful you, regardless of your body shape.
You Step on the Scale Everyday, Sometimes Multiple Times a Day
What the scale reads will fluctuate throughout the day, and from day to day. And weight isn’t really a measure of beauty or even health. Ditch the scale, it is just stressing you out needlessly. Try to see yourself not as a calculation of how much matter you take up, but more about what matters like the goodness of your heart and soul. Those are things that should define your beauty.
There’s no Such Thing as Being Too Thin
You can be, enough said.
You Spend Your Days Thinking About Losing Weight or not Gaining it
If you think about weight at least every day, or more than one times a day, that is a lot of wasted negativity. When you find yourself obsessing about what you look like or how much you weigh, think about the misfortunes of others. It is a quick reality check to see people with disabilities or real problems. What your scale reads is not a “real” problem unless you are obese and really need to lose weight for health reasons.
You Worry Obsessively About What People Think
If it isn’t just about what size you are, you seem to obsess about what people think, then this is about more than body obsession. No matter how hard you try, there will always be people who won’t like what you look like or who you are. In fact, some people might not like you specifically because you are beautiful and kind inside and out. I know it is difficult, but try to focus on your good qualities and forget about what other people think. If you are okay with you, then it matters not what others think!
You Stay Away From Wearing Clothes That are Too Tight
Unfortunately, for some, skinny jeans are about all there is right now in the world of fashion. In the 80s big sweat shirts and leggings to hide it all were not only acceptable, they were all that people had. I hate when my clothes touch my skin because it feels like I am showing too much. And I worry about things like ripples and other problem areas. But take heart, and look around, there is no such thing as perfection. So wear it proud and stop worrying!
Worry Trumps Joy
If you spend more time at the gym than out in the world, then you are wasting your life away in the pursuit of something that will never make you happy. There is never going to be a size that will make you feel fulfilled. And even if you do reach your goal weight, it is probably too low. So you will be fighting to stay there until you can’t anymore. If you are constantly losing at achieving your goal, guess what, it isn’t natural. And your body ain’t having it for a reason — it isn’t good for you.
An Average Sized Person Looks too Large to you
Not only do you have a problem with how you look, you don’t think that anyone else is skinny enough either. We tend to compare ourselves to other people around us. If you find fault with everyone, then you are living in an unrealistic world. Again, no one is perfect, but why take so much time judging how you and others look? Where does it get you, definitely not to your happy place!
Your Health is Beginning to Reflect Your Poor Dietary Habits
When you don’t eat enough nutritious things, vitamin deficiencies can rear their ugly head. Things like hair loss, brittle nails, and dry skin are all associated with not getting enough nutrients. If you notice that you have any signs of deficiency, you are doing a whole lot of damage to your body and your mind!
People Tell you you Look too Thin But you Think They are Lying
It is difficult for some people to take a compliment. Usually, people just don’t know what to say when someone says something nice about them. If, however, you can’t take a compliment because you believe it to be false, then you aren’t thinking correctly about it. Just because you don’t think you are thin enough, the person telling you, you are, does. It isn’t your responsibility to change their mind — accept it and move along. Maybe if you stopped fighting against it, you might start to see what everyone else sees in you!
You are Constantly Comparing Yourself to Other Women in the Room
Everyone has a different body shape and size. If you immediately walk into a room comparing yourself to everyone else to see how you measure up, then that isn’t a fun way to live. It doesn’t matter how anyone else looks, it is about how you feel inside. And measuring yourself against the standards or others is a road to misery. You only need to care about who you are both inside and out, period.
Your Ideal Weight is Well Below a Healthy BMI
Medical professionals pick standards and cut-offs for a reason. And that reason is health and science. Unless you know something they don’t, take their advice. An unhealthy BMI that is too low is just as unhealthy as one that is too high. And it could likely end in some significant chronic health issues down the road.
You Have Worried About Your Weight for as Long as you Can Remember
If you can’t remember when your obsession with food started, it has been too long. Make a conscious choice to focus on things other than what a scale reads. Choose a life goal that has nothing to do with your appearance, and start working toward a betterment goal that doesn’t include a pant size.
Thinking About Food Takes up a Significant Amount of Your Day and Life
When you are worried about your weight, it is a constant struggle of dismissing hunger cues and worrying about how you can hold off. Or, you might be thinking about the least caloric things you can eat to keep your weight low. Either way, obsessing about food is robbing you from experiencing life and joy in your day to day.
You Miss out on Important Events if They Involve Food
Events are about connecting with people and creating memories, if you are avoiding them for fear of gaining weight, then you are wasting time that you can’t get back. If a bus hit you tomorrow, do you think you will be happy you spent your last day alone, avoiding people you love to keep from gaining?
You Find no Joy in Eating – It is Too Stressful
Food is meant to be enjoyable, if it isn’t, that is a real problem!
You Define Yourself by What the Scale Reads
When you gain two pounds do you feel like a complete failure? When you obsess about your body, you define yourself by external things that really have no relation to who or what you are. It is important to pick yourself up, be positive, and speak positively about yourself. If you can’t do that every time you put on a pound, then you are measuring yourself by the wrong parameters.
You Would Rather be Skinny Than Successful
If you would rather be skinny than anything else, that is a huge red flag that something is amiss!
You are Always on a Diet but Don’t Need to Lose Weight
Statistics tell us that 80% of Americans are on a diet on any given day. That is a whole lot of people dieting. If you are already healthy and look good, then you don’t need to lose weight. Five pounds isn’t going to make a bit of difference to anyone besides you. So stop killing yourself for something that only you see, notice, and care about!
Your Weight Issues are Tied to low Self-Esteem
Being secure is an entire package of being okay with you regardless of what you look like. Self-esteem is all about being able to accept yourself, that means at any size. If you can’t do that, then you might have bigger issues than just body obsession. There might be some deep-rooted problems that you need to address outside of a gym or scale.
There is a big difference between being body conscious and body obsessed. Weight is tied to health, but only in the respect of being obese and unhealthy. Losing five pounds will not affect your health, nor will people around you notice. But if what you weigh and look like is consuming you, then it is time to focus on other things and try to accept who you are.
When everyone in your life is saying one thing, but you refuse to hear or accept it, there is more going on inside that needs to be addressed. Life is too short to stress about external things like weight. When all is said and done, you aren’t going to wish that you had been a perfect size 2. You will hope that you made a positive impression on the world, not just through your external beauty, but rather your internal one.
