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I have a big problem with both women’s magazines and health publications  because of their shaming and dangerous messages. But I have an even bigger problem with weight-loss and diet commercials — mainly because there’s no escape.

Yes, you can turn off the channel. But lately, these commercials are everywhere. Clearly, these companies have bought more airtime in the hopes of making big bucks over shaming viewers for the New Year, a time our society likes to equate with deprivation and restriction.

That’s why it’s critical to discuss and dissect them. Because instead of questioning ourselves — whether we’re thin enough, whether we need to go on a diet, whether we need to kick up our workouts for weight loss — we need to question these companies and the manipulative, detrimental messages they send.

{A hilarious and oh-so true illustration from the amazingly talented Elizabeth Patch!}

On Monday I talked about fighting for a better body image and shared five ideas on how to hold on. One of my tips was to make things easier on yourself and get rid of the items that essentially make you feel like crap. One of those items: women’s magazines.

Here on Weightless, sometimes I like to call out these publications for their ridiculousness. These magazines are very much part of our culture. And so many women rely on them for their “healthy” food and fitness advice. Advice that in actuality is misleading, shame-inducing and downright depressing.

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Now is the time when women’s magazines crank out a slew of articles about the horror of overeating during the holidays, the tragedy of high-cal “sinful” foods and the shameful weight gain that will inevitably result.

Reputable health websites also add their two cents, churning out slideshows that offer lists like “Frighteningly Fattening Fall Foods.”

Some of this is hit-you-over-the-head bad advice. But other suggestions may be more subtle. What about articles that share supposedly healthier substitutions that you can make during the holiday season?

{via Beautiful You by Kate Burns; I LOVE this!}

I’m sure that many of you have already read or heard about Jess Weiner’s article in Glamour magazine entitled “Jess Weiner’s Weight Struggle: ‘Loving My Body Almost Killed Me.’”

(By the way, before you think that horrific headline was concocted by some attention-hungry editor at the publication, let me be the bearer of bad news: It was inspired by an entry from Weiner’s diary, which she explains in this week’s Today Show segment. So she was the one who suggested it. )

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Welcome to the worst opening lines for an eating disorder article ever:

Eating disorders often begin with the best of intentions — a desire to lose weight and control eating. But in some people, those good intentions go badly wrong, resulting in anorexia nervosa, bulimia, binge eating, or other disorders.

Sadly, very, very sadly, this article didn’t appear on some shoddy website viewed by several people.

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It’s been a long time since I’ve written a post about so-called health magazines. But every time I pass by the magazine shelves at the grocery store, I just want to scream.

One of my biggest gripes is that most info in health magazines is about weight loss. There’s rarely any mention of foods that actually nourish our bodies, workouts that make you strong and clear your head and are simply, purely and happily fun. (Gasp! Exercise can be joyful, and people would benefit so much more from this knowledge than the usual fear-of-fat or belly-bulge shaming.)

Instead, what readers get is either a sprinkling or a stockpile of weight loss talk.

So it isn’t anymore about running for fun, endurance, strength or competition. Now it’s how to run for weight loss.

It isn’t eclectic, nutrient-rich and yummy foods to try. Instead, it’s low-calorie foods that taste better than cardboard. Or eat this boneless, skinless chicken with steamed veggies, but don’t dare put pasta or pizza in your mouth.

Even Prevention, a magazine that I thought truly focused on health, has disappointingly gone over to the dark side.

I’ve written before about the travesty that is airbrushed images. The Ralph Lauren debacle particularly sticks out in my mind.

And apparently “Photoshop” goes way back – about 25 centuries to be exact. Just the other day I read an article in Psychologies about how the ancient Greek artist Zeuxis created an image of Helen of Troy by combining the features of five different models.

The writer referred to this as a “primitive form of Photoshopping,” writing that “our culture has become fixated with an ideal of physical faultlessness so detached from reality that reality itself has begun to look peculiar.”

Yesterday, I read a post on The Cut that defended airbrushing images. The writer, Amanda Fortini, says that our concerns with Photoshopped images are less about self-esteem and the potential harm these images are doing to girls and more – lots more – about knowing that celebrities are just like us: imperfections, and all. And do any of us really believe that they’re real images in the first place?

It’s been a while since I’ve written a “Minding the Magazines” post, where we examine the damaging messages that women’s magazines perpetuate. And, with all the usual suspects – articles on bikini bods and hawk-like watching of your diet this summer – it’s certainly about time.

Every Monday features a tip, exercise, inspiring quote or other tidbit to help boost your body image. For many of us, Mondays are tough. We may feel anxious and stressed out, anticipating an arduous week, especially if we didn’t get much rest and relaxation during the weekend. These kinds of feelings don’t create the best environment for improving one’s body image. In fact, you might be harder on yourself and easily frustrated. You might even feel like you’re walking on egg shells – with yourself! With these posts, I hope you’ll have a healthier and happier body image day, that’ll last throughout the week.

Got a tip for improving body image? Email me at mtartakovsky@gmail.com, and I’ll be happy to feature it. It can be anything you do that’s healthy and helps boost your body image. I’d love to hear from you!

Many of us are all too familiar with the message that thin equals health and happiness. We’ve yo-yo dieted. We’ve worked out really hard. We’ve starved. We’ve tried crash diets and detoxes. We’ve tried diet pills, and so on … all in the name of this message. But the one message that gets lost amid all this is that of self-acceptance.

Women’s magazines love to use the word “willpower”:

“It seems there are two kinds of women: those that have willpower of steel and can somehow manage to avoid a taste (or two or three) of dough when making cookies, and the women who not only have a taste, but also lick out the bowl! Given that holiday baking season is on our doorsteps, I have to know: How many of you have been known to partake in a little cookie dough?” ~ Glamour.com

“In a world where you can inhale half your daily allotment of calories as you turn left out of the drive-thru, often the only thing standing between you and a few extra chins is willpower—that oh-so—elusive ability to halt the urge to indulge. …

These four tactics target the most common resolve busters. Put them into practice, and pretty soon that cheesy Sicilian slice or glazed doughnut will be no match for your mental strength.” ~ Women’s Health