We are constantly bombarded with images of the perfect body and youthful appearances. Thanks to Hollywood and the unrealistic standards that they market, many plus size women and big and tall men feel deeply insecure and uncomfortable with their bodies. How many stories have we heard and seen of stick-thin models, binge-eating, anorexia, and even deaths of models who drastically diet? Although this type of news have often made headlines, we simply never learn from their stories as many plus size and overweight individuals still resort to rapid weight loss and unhealthy dieting.

We all crave the latest gossip and what Hollywood reinforces as the perfect body. This reinforces the bad feelings that we already have of ourselves as overweight individuals, adding to a negative body image. Simply put, a negative body image is characterized by a distorted perception of how we really look. Many obese and overweight individuals actually feel this way; and this does not in any way make them confident and proud of themselves as a whole. What plus size individuals should strive for is a positive body image. We must recognize our flaws but overall, we should still love who we are and appreciate our appearances: fats, sweat, snots, and all.

Uplift your body image! Here are a few tips on how to build a positive body image:

1. Focus on your strengths and positive qualities. Create a list of what you love about your body. Focus on your best aspects and dwell on your strengths.
2. Limit the amount of time you spend with people who comment on your flaws. Moving on from a negative body image is difficult if you have the persons around you commenting on your flaws constantly. This also contributes to a decreased self-esteem. Change this in your favour and spend more time with positive thinking people.
3. Concentrate on your ambitions, dreams, and aspirations. Don’t spend your precious time worrying about superficial things like your plus size appearance, being overweight, or your extra large size clothes. There are a lot of positive things to think of that can even boost your personality.
4. Be fit and healthy. Exercise and physical activities trigger the release of endorphins, the body’s endogenous “happy hormones”. This will leave you with a natural high. Of course, a healthy diet also contributes to your general well-being.
5. Be comfortable especially with your plus size body. Learn to love your body and see people admire you for what you offer overall regardless of your size or size ideals.

Remember that no one is perfect especially when it comes to body image. Of course there are countless of stuck up, brainless, self considered beautiful people that fret over overweight bodies and extra large clothing. However, don’t forget to notice that there are more people who are realistic about their size and image in today’s society. Take that as an initiative to show who you really are, personality, talent, and more!