{via etsy by Lisa Russo}

So many of us are scared to gain weight. And so many of us become disgusted with ourselves when we do.

It’s this fear and disgust that drives our desire to diet, engage in punishing exercise and hate our bodies unless the scale says a certain number. They can also color how we see ourselves at the core: as failures.

{via etsy by BLintonPhotography}

April is National Stress Awareness Month, so today, I’m highlighting ways we can soothe and stave off stress in our lives. While stress is inevitable — it’s life, after all — it’s important we have tools at our disposal to cope with it effectively.

Stress can negatively affect how we feel about our bodies and ourselves. It can trigger emotional overeating and anxiety and sink our mood. In short, it can be really overwhelming. It also doesn’t help if the strategies we turn to are detrimental to our health and well-being.

{via etsy by Katia Zhukova}

One of the biggest lessons I’ve learned since writing Weightless is that you don’t need to chain yourself to a scale in order to be happy or healthy. You can feel better and boost your health by focusing on habits, not weight loss.

What’s the problem with focusing on weight?

{via etsy by April}

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!

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!

Mindfulness can be helpful in improving our body image. It can remind us to savor the here and now (and stop chasing thinness). To tune out the noise of women’s magazines and other unhelpful media — and tune into ourselves. To savor our food and tiny moments. To observe our bodies, thoughts and feelings without judgement. These are incredibly powerful things.

A few years ago, professor and author Michelle Lelwica, ThD, explained the benefits of mindfulness in an interview here on Weightless.

{via etsy by Linda Raymond}

I was inspired to write today’s post by this powerful piece from Kate Fridkis on why she writes about body image.

I write about body image because every day we’re told we’re unworthy unless we weigh a certain number or look a certain way. Every day many of us feel a palpable pressure to focus on our physical appearance at all costs.

Our lives are filled with worries over eating dessert and not working out enough.

{via etsy by Elle Moss}

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!

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!

I’ve always been afraid of feeling too much pleasure, joy or comfort.

For instance, I’ve believed that work must be arduous, even miserable, at times. It’s work, after all.

If it’s easy and enjoyable, then clearly you can’t do a good enough job. Clearly, in order to submit good work, you must feel the difficulty, the rigor, and barrel through it.

{via etsy by Anita Waters}

People often ask researcher and author Brené Brown, Ph.D, “Where is the line between pleasure or comfort and numbing?”

This is a powerful question to consider when thinking about how we tend to our needs, process our emotions and truly soothe ourselves.

In her newest book Daring Greatly, Brené cites Jen Louden’s term “shadow comforts,” which refers to the various devices we use to numb ourselves.

Brené writes, “When we’re anxious, disconnected, vulnerable, alone and feeling helpless, the booze and food and work and endless hours online feel like comfort, but in reality they’re only casting their long shadows over our lives.”

{via etsy by Debbie}

One of the biggest reasons we turn to food for comfort is disconnection. We’re disconnected from ourselves. 

As author Julie M. Simon writes in her book The Emotional Eater’s Repair Manual, “You’re cut off from your most basic signals, your emotions.” In her book Julie shares a helpful strategy for reconnecting to ourselves.

{via etsy by Melissa Ganey}

Today, in the U.S., we honor Martin Luther King, Jr., who had an incredible dream and helped make it a reality.

I was inspired to share my dreams by his powerful speech and Therese Borchard’s achingly beautiful piece.

I have a dream that our society will stop judging, shaming and bullying people because of their size, shape and weight.

I have a dream that we’ll focus on cultivating healthy habits instead of remaining chained to the numbers on our scales (or calipers).

{via etsy by Margaret Woods}

Knowing what you don’t want, need or enjoy is just as important as knowing what you do. In fact, healthy boundaries often start with knowing what we refuse to tolerate.

The same can be said for our resolutions or intentions. A few years ago, I shared 11 body image practices to pitch. Today, I’m sharing five perspectives and practices to release in 2013.