Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

In her exquisite book This I Know: Notes on Unraveling the Heart, author Susannah Conway features an excerpt from David Whyte’s 2007 poem “Sweet Darkness”:

{the view from Central Park in NYC}

A positive body image goes beyond liking your looks. It encompasses taking good care of yourself and leading a fulfilling life. In this weekly series, I share some of my favorite posts from some of my favorite bloggers on this topic. Hope you find these links inspiring, too!

Mara chatted with life coach Kate Swoboda about self-love in this video, which is part of our Self-Love Series. Next month I’ll be sharing my interview with yoga teacher and writer Marianne Elliott.

Ideas for spending a soothing Sunday. My favorites: “Ask yourself ‘What am I TRULY hungry for?’ Feast,” and “Get quiet and minimize your stimulation.”

Part of building a positive body image is surrounding yourself with positive things and letting go of anything that doesn’t nourish you.

That’s where women’s magazines and so-called health magazines come in. I’m talking about magazines such as Self, Shape, Women’s Health, and even Prevention. The kinds of magazines that glorify thinness, diets and weight loss.

Their advice doesn’t focus on nurturing yourself or building a healthier relationship with food.

It focuses on quick fixes, calorie counts, portion control and losing X inches before bikini season.

And never ever being good enough.

For many of us — me included — these magazines are a slippery slope into a world of comparisons, guilt, shame and misery.

{via etsy by Sophia}

Fat talk has many faces. It’s anything from “I hate my body,” to “I can’t believe I had cake,” to “You think you have big thighs? Umm, hello, look at mine.”

On Monday, to celebrate Fat Talk Free Week, I shared my 10 tips to stop bashing your body.

Today, I’m honored to share the wise suggestions of several experts from the Eating Recovery Center.

These tips are important for building a positive body image and leading a healthy, joyful life. Because the last thing fat talk brings anyone is health or joy.

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts your week on a positive note!

Today I’m celebrating the first day of Fat Talk Free Week by reposting an old piece on 10 ways to stop fat talk for good. (Which I’ve edited and updated a bit.) Fat Talk Free Week was created by Tri Delta sorority. You can learn more about their work here. 

{via etsy by bethberg}

A positive body image goes beyond liking your looks. It encompasses taking good care of yourself and leading a fulfilling life. In this weekly series, I share some of my favorite posts from some of my favorite bloggers on this topic. Hope you find these links inspiring, too!

I’m super honored to be featured on Rachel Cole’s beautiful blog as a “Well-Fed Woman.” Check out my interview here!

Wednesday, October 17th, was Love Your Body Day. In this thoughtful post Anna suggests putting the emphasis not on loving our bodies, but on something else.

{via etsy by Joy}

One of the most powerful realizations I’ve had about our relationship with food is that many of us use food to fulfill a variety of needs.

I definitely used to. I ate when I was bored. When I was lonely. When I was excited. When I craved comfort. When I felt achingly disappointed.

When food clearly couldn’t give me what I truly needed or yearned for.

In part two of my interview with Christie Inge, the creator of The Peaceful Eating Kit – The Tools You Need to End the War with Food, she talks eloquently about fulfilling our needs and truly, truly nourishing ourselves.

Also, don’t forget that Christie is generously offering Weightless readers 25 percent off the The Peaceful Eating Kit. Just enter the word “weightless” for the discount code when you’re checking out.

{via etsy by Sandra Proudman}

For many of us our relationship with food is a complicated one, characterized by a kind of push and pull. We either restrict what we eat and count calories, for example. Or we say the heck with it, and we eat the foods that we once deemed forbidden — without taking our body’s cues into account or paying attention to pleasure.

Either way, we end up at war with ourselves. And we end up with very little nourishment.

Today, I’m honored to present my interview with Christie Inge, who’s recently created The Peaceful Eating Kit – The Tools You Need to End the War with Food. Throughout the years I’ve learned a lot from Christie and her work and this toolkit is no exception.

Below, in part one of our interview, Christie explains what peaceful eating entails and why diets just don’t work.

Also, Christie is generously offering Weightless readers 25 percent off the The Peaceful Eating Kit. Just enter the word “weightless” for the discount code when you’re checking out.

Stay tuned tomorrow for part two!

Every Monday features a tip, activity, inspiring quote or some other tidbit that helps boost your body image, whether directly or indirectly — and hopefully kick-starts the week on a positive note!

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky at gmail dot com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. I’d love to hear from you!

Shoulds are often the foundation of a negative body image. I should fit into a size 6. I should be able to wear skinny jeans. I should lose weight in time for that vacation. I should look flawless every day.

{a photo taken by me }

A positive body image goes beyond liking your looks. It encompasses taking good care of yourself and leading a fulfilling life. In this weekly series, I share some of my favorite posts from some of my favorite bloggers on this topic. Hope you find these links inspiring, too!

On Friday I interviewed Debra Gonsher Vinik about her website, which offers a simple but wonderful way to practice gratitude. Christina writes beautifully about the handful of moments she’s thankful for, even though her to-do list is still overflowing and she hasn’t gotten much sleep.

Writing down what you appreciate is such a powerful idea. (And one that doesn’t time much time at all…another bonus.) Just jot down one or two things that make your heart sing — or it doesn’t even have to be that big.