Accept Your Body and Learn to Have a Positive Self Image

[nottoogreen]

We belong to one of three body types. For example, my dad, I and youngest sis are endomorphs. My mom and other sister are ectomorphs.

 

I sure like to be a mesomorph.

 

Endomorphs The naturally large person characterised with a round face, wide hips, big bones, slow metabolism and high number of fat cells.

 

 

Mesomorphs The naturally muscular person with wide shoulders, small waist, athletic build, low body fat percentage with an Increase Metabolism.

 

 

Ectomorphs The skinny person with a linear appearance, small muscles, ultra fast metabolism, low body fat, narrow shoulders, hips and waist.

 

Because thin females and muscular males are seen as the ideal in our society and because we have come to believe that body size and shape are totally under a person's control, most people enter diet and exercise programs with unrealistic goals and expectations. If you continually strive to achieve a socially imposed ideal, you will never be free of your insecurities or your self-consciousness. You must truly realize and then learn to accept that we are not all meant to be fashion-model size.

More:

 

... And I have to add that a fashion model's life is not as easy and pleasant as it seems. Many can also also be linked to drug abuse and major mental issues.

 

What is depression? Depression is a mental pain caused by an imbalance between expectations and ability. To make the pain go away, one has to improve ones ability (do better) and/or change ones expectations. In other words, to avoid depression, one ought to balance ability and expectations. Balance is it, as so often in life. From: Wicked

 

As I can't change my body type to mesomorph, had I to accept what type I am, an endomorph. It's logical.

 

No matter what's your perception of yourself, a person consists of more than just a fashionable body shape, big *** or pink eyes.

[skyblue1]

Good post nottoogreen. Very true we can't help the way we are. Thanks for posting this.

[PRSOV]

It's a shame there is so much pressure in our society nowdays for people to be what the generalisation or what people's expectations are... If people could only learn to be more accepting of others.

 

Some good points in there, thanks for posting

[shes2smart]

In addition to the fact that you can't fight your basic genetic make-up, there's also growing evidence that points to a lot of the ideas about weight and health we accept as "facts" are actually based on junk science....or outright lies. 'Cause, hey, when your research is being funded by the weight loss and pharmaceutical industry (that want to sell diet drugs), it's in your best interest to come up with a conclusion that helps your benefactor's cause and puts you in line for more grant money....even if you have to bend the actual results of your research.

 

link removed

 

I'm about halfway through the above linked book right now. It's an eye opener. But don't bother reading it unless you're prepared to have "conventional wisdom" challenged.

 

Good post, nottoogreen....the topic's been on my mind a lot lately.

[Blured]

Good post.

[Süsser Tod]

Makes sense, kinda knew it all along. 4 years ago I managed to lose 40 pounds, and according to the traditional weight charts, I was right on target. However, I still looked as if I were overweight, too large.

[XLiFeLeSs_GaZeX]

I like this post. Its really sad that we look at people like models and body builders and try to become like them by losing weight and damaging ourselves causing depression. I hope one day things will change and all types of body images will be accpted and considered beautiful, not just skinny.

[theantibarbie23]

In hindsight I wish I had learned these things as a teenager. I wanted to be rail thin and yo yo dieted myself into oblivion. I often wonder if I would of ended up as large as I am had I not messed with my metabolism to the extent that I did.

 

Once I hit nineteen I got disgusted with dieting and feeling like a failure all the time. I decided to stop and just accept myself as I was. I've never been happier since I stopped declaring war on my own body. I came to realize that there was a reason that I looked this way. I come from a long line of short stocky people. Almost everyone on my dad's side of the family looks just like me. You really can't fight genetics.

[coollady1957]

Great informational post !

[Lily04]

I agree with the basic idea, although I think there's more than 3 categories. For a girl especially I think there's 2 categories that generally apply: the *really* really thin girls who often look younger than they are (hmm think Avril Lavigne type; often girls with no curves) and then girls who have curves, are more shapely, and have a higher metabolism. I would characterize myself on that scale as being a 'mesomorph' except the female version -- I have wide shoulders & wide hips, but a thin waist and small stomach. I used to be a competitive swimmer and that was the ideal body type for it... I am definitely NOT one of those really tiny model waif type of girls though, and even if I diet I don't think I ever will be, as I have natural curves and bones in certain places that you can't diet away... if I diet, it naturally goes to my stomach so I just become thinner but my waist ratio doesn't change, it's just genetically like that I think....

 

This is basically how I look... I entered my height & weight into this model program off the H&M website, and it modelled my size perfectly...(it should be below.) That is actually how I look like -- even my haircut is the same, and hair colour. And yet I still think the model looks fat -- her hips are a bit too wide, and I don't like the haircut much but whatever. I wouldn't say she is very thin, but "average". I wish I had a different metabolism... but I mean, this is my shape. I am 5'9" and size 6. Many people think I look pretty like this, and I am eventually learning to accept it...

 

Thanks for the post.

[SarahRose]

Great post!

 

Lily, the virtual model you posted is indeed thin.

 

I didn't see the category I fit into

 

Couchomorph!:splat:

[cichlid]

I heard about body sizes a year ago when a friend of mine was taking a course which was one of those social sciences. I had never really looked into the reason I am so skinny. I always thought it was because I don't have as much muscles and fat. He then mentioned that I am an ectomorph. I have a normal amount of fat and muscle for a healthy individual, but because my bone structure is so small for my height...I end up looking thinner than most people. But I have some curves...mostly in the leg/butt region.

 

I often do not get why people perfer to look like twigs. I am straight but I think average girls are more attractive. What do they display in men's magizines? Women with butts and breasts! Most men want some curves on their women. Not attacking twigs, remember, I'm "underweight" too. And those unreal skinny super models, y'know what I always thought they looked like? They look like young boys. Has anyone noticed that? Masculine faces...no hips...etc. Not attractive at all. I often wonder why they do not use more normal women to model.

 

But the world is to bent on the perfect body shape. I have accepted my body finally at age 20. I don't wish that I had bigger breasts or that the little fat on the inner part of my thighs was gone. I work out and keep fit and that is what matters most. I just wish more young people could love their bodies. I wish I had when I was younger instead of trying to achieve something I am not.

 

There are more things to worry about than our bodies.

[Holiday]

Another great post by not-to-green! THANKS!

[FoxLocke]

I'm an ectomorph. My personal trainer told me that I would never get "BIG" as in muscular...I can achieve definition and tone, but as far as Arnold Schwarzneggar is concerned....never gonna happen. So I am happy with my slender bod.

[AntiLove_SuperStar]

I'm a mesomorph - strong shoulders, model - slim hips (Yep, I have compared myself to model measurements...I am that vain, that bored, that self-obsessed - or that curious).

 

I fail to understand how I dislike my body so much. Because ... as I'm 5ft 7ins with vital stats of 36C-26-34, I'm not many inches away from "perfection", surely? If I work out properly for 6 weeks, I'm sure I could get down to 36C-25-33 or something.

 

 

HAHA, I say. HAHA. Anyone can be utterly miserable, even if one can binge eat like mad and stay the same weight as I do. It's all such a headtrip.

[FoxLocke]

I wonder how much time would we all save if we threw all caution to the wind and dared to love ourselves, and our bodies, just the way we are?

 

The beauty industry would cease to exist.

[nottoogreen]

I'm a mesomorph - strong shoulders, model - slim hips (Yep, I have compared myself to model measurements...I am that vain, that bored, that self-obsessed - or that curious).

Age 16 or so I kept measuring down under. Got bored with that quickly.

HAHA, I say. HAHA. Anyone can be utterly miserable, even if one can binge eat like mad and stay the same weight as I do. It's all such a headtrip.

Yes it is all in the head.

I wonder how much time would we all save if we throwed all caution to the wind and dared to love ourselves, and our bodies, just the way we are?

Life would be happier, and if we could learn this wrt others, life would be happy and peaceful.

The beauty industry would cease to exist.

You read this?: Should fame and fashion carry warning labels?

In a way better education would help. Personal growth beginning with primary school. Less fights, substance abuse...

[AntiLove_SuperStar]

I'm tempted to follow FoxLocke's way of thinking.

 

It may be the scariest thing I have ever had to do.

[nottoogreen]

I'm tempted to follow FoxLocke's way of thinking.

 

It may be the scariest thing I have ever had to do.

We all are here for you to encourage you.

[Süsser Tod]

I'm tempted to follow FoxLocke's way of thinking.

 

It may be the scariest thing I have ever had to do.

 

Not liking your body is not the problem. It is just that you don't like yourself, not liking your body is just a way to project that dislike of yourself in something more tangible.

 

From your measures you have a rather nice body, yet you are not comfortable with it, and you know you won't be comfortable with the results if you properly work out. I say this, because I recall from your posts, that you have already done that, and still dind't liked it.

 

 

 

I know I'm not THAT overweight, I know I look fine, I know I can get attention only because of my looks. Yet I feel that I could only stand a chance to an overweight deformed whale in a beauty contest. I know that what I don't like is not my body, but myself. Sometimes, I feel just plain weird, I even freak out myself, and those days I can look up to the mirror and actually like what I see.

 

 

 

Have you noticed that most of the time, the most confident persons are not the most beautiful? And have you noticed that some of the most insecure persons are extremely beautiful?