It Matters
It matters to everyone that women feel good about food.
Yes, it matters to you even if you’re not a woman, or if you’re a woman who already feels good about food. Here’s why.
More than half of the women in America struggle with food and body image. So, let’s say roughly 25% of our adult population. (Kids too, but that’s another post.) You know and love and trust and admire women who struggle with food, although you may not realize it.
Women who don’t feel good about food put anywhere from 10%-80% of their daily thoughts and energy toward the struggle: obsessing about calories, berating themselves for making “wrong” choices (or for even just *wanting* to make “wrong” choices), and believing thoughts like, “Once I lose the weight, THEN I’ll be ready/worthy/attractive/good enough.”
These women—the ones you know and love—experience pain and anxiety every time they FEEL their physical body, catch a glimpse of themselves in the mirror, or think about food at all.
If you struggle with food or body image, you know this story intimately.
If you don’t, put yourself in these shoes for a moment: 80% of your mental and emotional world consumed by self-judgment, anxiety, and an unquenchable desire to lose weight.
Women who don’t feel good about food cannot fully be themselves. They cannot be the friends, moms, coworkers, bosses, neighbors, wives, or daughters they’re meant to be. They cannot be the scientists, artists, teachers, doctors, builders, or politicians they long to be. They’re too busy obsessing about something that shouldn’t matter.
The struggle that women face with food and body image is a TOTAL LOSS for everyone...a heartbreaking and infuriating loss.
How you can help:
Diversify the compliments you give women and girls. Try saying stuff about intellect and creativity instead of beauty. Avoid compliments relating to body shape and size.
Adopt a no-tolerance policy when it comes to self-deprecating comments about food or your body.
Don’t make judgmental remarks about other bodies. Ever.
Stop using the word “fat” as an insult or a dis.
If you’re the one struggling with food, give up the fight. Now is the time. Work with me or work with another food coach, but get better now so you can get your life back and be the woman you’re meant to be.