{via etsy by Kico}

Yesterday I talked about Susan Albers’s book Eating Mindfully: How to End Mindless Eating & Enjoy a Balanced Relationship with Food and featured her valuable idea of committing to a “mindful eating contract.”

This got me thinking about what a body image contract might look like, too.

While I think it’s important to be flexible and curious, I do think spelling out what a positive body image means to you is important.

So, today, I’m including some guidelines for a contract — to remind me and you about our priorities and really what we stand for. (I’ll be using Albers’s same format of “I agree…”)

I agree to engage in exercise that makes me happy.

I agree to nourish myself when I’m hungry.

I agree to acknowledge that building a positive body image is a process. There are good days and bad. But I won’t judge myself during the dark ones.

I agree to surround myself with supportive and positive people.

I agree to remove anything from my home that doesn’t make me feel good, including certain magazines and diet books.

I agree to wear clothes that make me feel good.

I agree not to blame myself when something doesn’t fit. (I don’t need to fit the clothes; the clothes need to fit me.)

I agree to have more fun, whatever that means to me.

I agree to pamper myself once in a while, which could mean getting a manicure, pedicure or massage or something else entirely.

I agree to take the time to think about my boundaries.

I agree to try to preserve those boundaries.

I agree to treasure myself.

I agree to avoid body bashing and dig deeper if I realize that I can’t stop.

I agree to thank my body for all the amazing things it does for me.

I agree to remember that real women aren’t just curvy or thin or muscular. Real women come in all shapes and sizes.

I agree to pursue my passions or learn more about them.

I agree to take the focus away from weight when I work out and focus on how I feel.

I agree to turn to healthy coping strategies when I’m feeling anxious, overwhelmed or upset.

I agree to reach out for help when I need it.

I agree to work toward accepting and loving myself, if I don’t just yet.

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I know this is sort of a long list. But I just wanted to give you some ideas to run with when creating your own contract. So if this seems overwhelming, then consider the top five statements that would make up your agreement.

What will your body image contract say?

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    Last reviewed: 25 May 2012