Do you think you see your body the way others do? The other day on my walk home, I stopped at a market where I overheard a thin, healthy looking woman tell another, “I feel so fat!” Unfortunately, the negative body image talk we hear out loud is probably a fraction of what most people say to themselves without speaking. And it’s not just women. I’ve worked with both male and female athletes for years and I’ve heard countless men complain about not being “big enough” or obsessing about a minute amount of belly fat.
Here are some stats:
* Out of one in four women who are overweight, three in four think they are.
* Four out of five U.S. women are dissatisfied with their appearance.
* Women overestimate the size of their hips by 16% and their waists by 25%, yet they can correctly estimate the width of a box.
* One third of women chose an ideal body shape that is 20% underweight and 44% chose one that’s 10% underweight.
* When asked to rate photos of differently shaped male bodies, nearly 80% of men favor a very muscular physique.
* Studies show that when men are exposed to more images of muscular male models, they report feeling more depressed and less satisfied with their own bodies.
Distorted body image becomes a nutrition issue when women or men act on it in ways that harm their health. For example, strict dieting followed by rebound binge eating can wreck havoc with strength, endurance, immunity, muscle mass, and bone density (not to mention mood and energy). And taking harmful types or amounts of protein powders or dietary supplements can lead to short-term and possibly long-term kidney, liver or heart damage.
A great deal of my work has involved helping women and men let go of these patterns and embrace a balanced, healthful, nourishing way of eating that best supports both athletic performance and health. To me, balance means no extremes – it’s not about NOT paying attention to what you eat, and having whatever you want, whenever you want, regardless of what your body is telling you – but it’s also not about depriving yourself or adopting behaviors you can’t possibly maintain long-term.
To me, an example of balance is enjoying stir-fried veggies with chicken and brown rice for dinner and stopping when full instead of a) skipping dinner and feeling hungry, tired, distracted, and cranky all night (and going to bed without the nutrients you need to recover from training/performing), b) frantically eating dinner plus a box of cookies or pint of ice cream until you’re stuffed because you under-ate all day (and not sleeping well because you’re so miserable) or c) eating a massive amount of chicken with no rice or veggies in an attempt to “bulk up” (you won’t build muscle as efficiently with this meal because protein isn’t the only nutrient needed to heal and strengthen muscle, and you’ll seriously downgrade your endurance capacity). The middle ground of balance is what feels best, both physically and emotionally.
So here are my questions for you today:
Do you struggle with body image?
If so, how do you tend to act on it?
What does “balance” mean to you?
Do you think body image issues are a particular concern in your sport?
Please share your thoughts and experiences!