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!

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On Saturday night we saw Elton John in concert. My boyfriend, Brian, and I grew up listening to him. My mom and dad even had his records in Russia.

In a word, the concert was amazing.

But what does Elton John have to do with body image?

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!

How many times have you felt that your body has betrayed you? Maybe you haven’t said it in those exact words, but how many times have your cursed your body or resented it?

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!

For some of us, negative thoughts are as natural and automatic as breathing or brushing our teeth. They’re part of our daily routine. They’re with us when we wake up, when we have lunch, when we go to bed.

My critical thoughts would roll off my tongue oh-so easily. I’ve mentioned before that my friends in grad school picked up on it right away, and it really bothered them. They didn’t understand how I could be so critical.

I used to say that I was simply being realistic. That I was realistically assessing myself.

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!

{via etsy}

Body image goes beyond loving your body to really loving yourself. Like anything else it’s a process, and I know that self-love can sound intimidating and maybe even abstract.

That’s why I love photographer and blogger Vivenne McMaster’s current series, “14 Days of Self-Love,” on her beautiful blog. For 14 days, a different contributor offers their take on self-love along with an activity for learning and practicing self-love.

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!

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Self-care is a pivotal part of a positive body image. But many people neglect to take good care of themselves because they don’t think they have the time in their already hectic schedules. Their days involve hopping from task to task with very little downtime.

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!

{via etsy}

Last Friday, we talked about how magnificent our bodies truly are. These facts came from Glenn Schiraldi’s book 10 Simple Solutions for Building Self-Esteem. As he writes, “The way we experience our body typically corresponds to the way we experience our core selves.”

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!

{via etsy}

Do you ever think that you have several different bodies? The one you’re in right now, and then your real body, the one that’s leaner, more muscular, has better skin?

Last week freelance writer and blogger Kate, who blogs at “Eat the Damn Cake,” wrote a brilliant post about these several bodies. Your real body, she writes:

… might be from the past or the future. It’s mysterious, but thoroughly detailed. The real body gets obscured by the obnoxious, floppy, hungry, unflattering  current one. The real body is like a place you really, really want to go. Where life makes more sense. Where it’s sunnier and you can wear a bathing suit without even thinking about it.

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!

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I can’t tell you how many times I’ve avoided wearing my prettiest clothes because I was saving them for a nicer occasion. Or avoided spraying my favorite perfume because I was just staying home or running an errand. Or avoided using any other nice products until some special moment arrived.

I’d let these items gather dust like fine china in a dining room cabinet. Because everyday occasions just didn’t make the special list.

I caught myself doing this last week when I contemplated putting on perfume. I’m just going to the store and will be spending the entire day at my parents’ house. I’d just be wasting it.

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!

{via etsy}

Building a positive body image is more than gaining a genuine appreciation for and acceptance of your body. It’s learning to love yourself as a whole. For many of us, this might seem like an overwhelming concept. But like I always say, it’s one step, one strategy, one tool at a time.

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!

{via etsy}

The New Year is a great time to reflect and start anew. And reflecting on the past year can bring about important insights for moving forward.

Author, speaker and blogger Patti Digh recently asked several powerful questions about 2011 on her blog. Along with author Susan Piver, Digh hosted “The Week of Inward Looking” during the week between Christmas and the New Year.