Body Image: Slaying Them

Ashley Graham, Beyonce, Iskra Lawrence, Meghan Trainor, Serena Williams, and the elegant First Lady of the United States (FLOTUS)...Michelle Obama!

They are all slay'em out there!

All of them have been unfair targets of negative body image portrayals at some point. All of them of done something to combat the labels. They are fierce!

Body image should not be a constant, but society positions it that way. To put math on your mind, if body image (BI) equals x and x equals "2" in the equation ax=b, where "a" is nutrition and "b" is exercise, then as you decline in "a" or nutritional health you also decline in "b" or fitness level and vice versa.

What?

Simply to put it in plain words: if individuals body-shame others less or at a slower rate, then may be two other important aspects like nutritional health and fitness level will improve. Be careful of the words and standards you set or fall victim to. Michelle Obama has really helped the nation out with her Let's Move initiative in this aspect! Continue to like yourself. Respect yourself internally and externally. You do not need others to put you in an unlikeable situation.

Getting back to math: when body image is appreciated more widely, its number increases. Plug in an increasing sequence of numbers in to the above equation and watch "a" and "b" increase as well.

A positive sense of body image gets warped in negativity because of standards and words set by an individuals or group of individuals who could be insecure about a profession - why does a runway model have to be very skinny? Trick question. "Have to be"? That is how body image is portrayed because things "have to be" a certain way. Please! The elegant garments look good on curves as well. However, do not get it twisted. I did not say that a model has to be up and down with weight. There is a sense of respect and handwork for your temple. Healthy, confident, and athletic bodies exhilarate a certain external respect that is reminiscent of internal symmetry. So, don what is positively contagious and respectful. Plus, this type of body image is more realistic compared to exceptionally skinny ones.

Imagine good image.

With heart,
Derek

Derek Arledge, MS, CSCS        www.teempt.com         TEEM Performance Training, LLC