How to improve your body image: 5 ways to love and accept yourself

Keyword: Improve…your body image. I know this is an ongoing journey. 

How often do you criticize what you see in the mirror? And pick apart every flaw and believe you’re either unworthy or unattractive? You’re not alone. In fact, nearly 70% of women experience body image shame and withdraw from activities because of how they think they look. This statistic shows how you perceive yourself impacts far more than how you view your appearance. It affects how you treat yourself, interact with others, and live your life. Therefore, it’s critical to learn how to improve your body image and increase your self-love. Let's dive in. 

What is body image?

In a society where blurred filters are the norm and the pressure to achieve “The perfect body” dominates our social feeds, many of us feel unhappy and strive to look and feel better. While body positivity and neutrality movements are increasing to override the negative aspects of media, body image is a deeper and more ingrained mindset. It refers to our combined beliefs, attitudes, and perceptions of our bodies and contains four aspects;

• How we see our bodies, which is not always a correct representation 

• How we feel about our bodies, including weight, shape, height, etc. 

• How we think about our bodies 

• And how we treat our bodies - our behaviors 

Body image, therefore, isn’t a minor psychological problem - it can cause severe emotional and physical implications. When you learn how to improve your body image, you learn to value yourself beyond your appearance and care for yourself that serves your overall well-being. 

How to improve your body image: 5 ways 

1. Challenge your self-talk

The first step to improving your body image is to bring awareness to your self-talk. Whenever you notice yourself speaking about your body image, pay attention to the context. Are there certain situations where you criticize more than others? For example, while looking in the mirror or trying on clothes? At times, we tend to think in terms of being good or being bad. When we put on our clothes and they feel tight, we’ve been bad. When we put on our clothes and they fit or are maybe loose then we’ve been good. We are tying an emotional perception to a neutral thing - clothing. While our thoughts are real, they are not necessarily always true. And if we don’t challenge them, they can become mantras and a part of our personality. Therefore, observe your thoughts from the outside looking in. Are your thoughts true, or do they feel true? What evidence do you have that supports their claim? Is your view realistic, or could it be based on trauma? Observing your self-talk allows you to challenge them and change your behavior - a double win for learning how to improve your body image. 

2. Take a neutral stance

Another tip is to see yourself through a neutral stance - body neutrality. This exciting movement believes it's okay to neither love nor hate your body. It focuses on building acceptance and respect for yourself and shifting your mindset to what your body does for you rather than how it looks. For example, ask yourself, what does my body do for me? It keeps you alive and allows you to experience life. Body neutrality is about appreciating these non-physical traits and valuing who you are beyond your appearance. It encourages self-love while providing realistic days and a middle ground about the times you may not like yourself. And trust me, we all have these days. 

3. Limit social media intake 

Social media plays a BIG role in how we view ourselves. It’s a trigger for most. By exposing you to the "mythical ideal body type" and constant filters that blur reality, you may think this is the norm, but it’s not. Filters are false representations of what people look like in face-to-face reality. Real skin has pores, lines, acne, and pigmentation and real bodies have cellulite, fat, and imperfections. No matter how often influencers work out or get a facial - everyone has flaws. The more you understand this, the easier it will be to cultivate self-love and remove yourself from the comparison trap. 

4. Focus on your health 

When we're unhappy with our appearance, we use exercise as a punisher to try to spot fat or to feel better about the cake we ate the night before. And if we don’t achieve our desired results, we lessen our caloric intake and deprive ourselves of treats. But these motivators create an endless cycle of self-criticism. Instead, try to shift your mindset to what feels good. For example, think about how exercising makes you feel and use that as a motivator. Maybe it helps you to de-stress, or it gives you more energy?  And rather than worrying about how your cravings will change your appearance, indulge! You deserve a life of pleasure, including eating all your favorite foods! 

5. Define the positives 

Similar to body neutrality, this tip focuses on what you like about yourself and increasing self-forgiveness along the way. A concrete step to putting self-love into action involves journaling what you appreciate about your body. Maybe you love your arms because they allow you to give hugs, or perhaps you love your legs because they let you swim, explore, walk, or run around with your children. Focus on what you’re grateful for instead of criticizing yourself for what you wish you had. 

And as a self-love bonus tip, remember to be kind to yourself. Improving your body image is a long journey and not something that changes overnight. What’s most important is that you practice accepting and respecting who you are. Each step, whether big or small, will help you achieve that goal. 

There you have it. 5 ways that help you learn how to improve body image. BUT here’s another way to honor your body, build confidence and change the way you see yourself and that is through boudoir photography.

Celebrate yourself with boudoir photography 

As a photographer, I meet a lot of men and women who suffer from negative body image or body dysmorphia. Whether they hate a body part, wish they were a different size, or don’t accurately see themselves, we all experience problems with our body image. 

Boudoir helps you to celebrate your form as it is and build confidence from within. It shifts the mindset around body image to create self-love by boosting your confidence and helping you see yourself beyond societal expectations or anything you wish to change. You learn to celebrate yourself as you are right now. It may sound challenging or slightly frightening, especially if you don’t like how you look right now, but it does help. And these are often the favorite images from our session.

Feeling sexy builds confidence, and boudoir photography elevates how you see yourself by taking photos on your terms. You have complete control over how you are portrayed - with a few suggestions and guidance from your photographer, of course :) And this allows you to create self-esteem by empowering you to embrace your beauty in a comfortable environment. 

Boudoir photography can be for women, men or couples. Aren’t you tired of all the negative self-talk. Let us show you a different way. 

If you’re interested in learning more about boudoir photography, schedule a discovery call with me. I will walk you through the process, and you’ll discover the benefits that boudoir creates beyond the studio. Plus, you’ll have a memento that reminds you of how powerful and beautiful you truly are!