Body Image and Confidence

15 Dec Body Image and Confidence

There’s nothing sexier than feeling confident about your body – how it moves, the way it feels, and especially how it looks. But developing and maintaining body confidence can be elusive and is often associated with weight.

Body Image

Body image is how you perceive yourself when you look in the mirror or see yourself in your mind’s eye.

It’s how you think other people perceive you as well. It has to do with:

• What you think or feel about your appearance
• How you regard your weight, height, and shape
• How you feel in your body and well as about your body

Characteristics of a negative body image include:

• A distorted perception of how you think you look vs how you really look
• You believe that other people are more attractive than you and that size and shape of your body is a sign of personal failure
• You are anxious, self-conscious, or uncomfortable in your body and about the way you look

The Media and Body Image

More than 90% of women are unhappy with their bodies and diet to try and achieve their ideal body shape. 80% of women say that the images of women in the media make them feel insecure.

While it’s great to lose weight for both mental and health reasons, going overboard to achieve unrealistic results can lead to trouble. In the western world, body image is considered one of the most important aspects of beauty. You see it all the time in magazine advertising, on television, and in the movies, particularly in the case of women – slim, size 4, perfect shape. To achieve the “ideal” body image so often portrayed in the media, individuals will often seek shortcuts and spend a lot of money on diet pills, trendy weight-loss programs, and strenuous work out routines. The problem with this approach is that it often leads to failure.

Why?

What most people forget is that you cannot diet like crazy for six weeks, lose weight, go off the diet and then expect the weight to stay off. Most of us just resort back to our old bad eating habits, gain back the weight, and feel bad about ourselves. Instead of developing body confidence, we end up suffering. To lose weight and keep it off, you must commit to a new and healthy lifestyle. There are no shortcuts.

Will it be hard?

Yes and no. Yes, it will be hard to stop eating sugar, fat, starch and other delicious foods that you’ve always enjoyed. Yes, it will be hard to begin and maintain a regular healthy exercise routine. But, if you explore the meaning of food in your life and examine the underlying cause for eating the way you do, you may find that creating the body you really want is easier than you thought. You’ll come to understand and appreciate your natural body shape. And you’ll be surprised at how dramatically a lifestyle change can raise your body confidence level.

Hypnotherapy and Real Change

Hypnotherapy may be able to help you manage this lifestyle change process more effectively than nutritionists and personal trainers. The truth of the matter is you will not permanently lose weight unless you change your way of thinking about food and eating. Hypnotherapy addresses issues in the subconscious mind – the ruler of us all – that hold us back from making lasting lifestyle changes that help us live fuller, healthier lives.

Why aren’t you happy with your body? Why are you having a hard time getting rid of the weight? If you’ve been on the dieting roller coaster and are ready to get off, we can help. Gaining greater confidence in your body image will make your life better. For more information about our hypnotherapy services in Beverly Hills and Los Angeles, contact us today for a complimentary consultation at (310) 994-9532 or info@mytestbox.com. You have nothing to lose but the weight and everything to gain in body confidence!