Ep 112 - Do you Body Check?

Welcome to How to Love Your Body - on today’s episode we are going to be talking about body checking. 

Before we dive in - we wanted to remind you that the 21 Day Body Image Intensive is closing Today - EOD - June 30th. We’ve been getting great feedback from women who have been currently taking the intensive.

If you want to dive deeper into healing body image this intensive is for you. Go to www.thebodylovesociety.com/bodyimage to get started on day 1. 50% of the proceeds are going to The Loveland Foundation, an amazing cause we are passionate about as it’s all about mental health. 

Okay so. Body checking.

First, what is it? 

An obsessive behavior in which one focuses on a certain body part/s while looking in the mirror/ at their reflection multiple times a day.

Behaviors include: 

Looking in the mirror multiple times a day checking the size of x body part. 

Obsessively weighing yourself 

Obsessively taking measurements of your body 

Constantly focusing on how your clothes fit/ feel tight etc 

Always comparing your body shape to another’s 

Checking your reflection in places other than the mirror 

Body checking could be something that is on your mind A LOT throughout the day, everyday. 

Now that you know what body checking is - you may now be aware of how much energy goes into this and how much attention it takes away from your daily life. When your mind is ruminating it truly does feel like there is no room for anything else in your life and let’s be honest we don’t want our lives to ONLY be about our bodies and how they look. 

One of the things that we really dive into when working on body image is mindset but one of the best tangible things you can do to improve body image is STOP body checking!! 

When you commit yourself to purposely not body checking you’ll see how much clearer and peaceful your mind becomes - how much energy you save to think about other things that actually matter to you. 

We are not making you wrong or bad for body checking nor do we want to make you feel bad for putting so much energy into it - we did this ALL the time! Food and body took up our thoughts 24/7, so we get it! 

We want to support you in freeing yourself! 

Here’s an activity to do if you choose to accept! 

Of course we want this to go beyond a day but for the sake of the activity- For one FULL day - No body checking - this means no mirrors, no looking at your reflection, no zero-ing in on body parts and judging them.

Bad body image days are created in our minds - it's our thoughts that make it so hard! So in order to keep your mind from creating all the mean thoughts about yourself - simply do not give energy to them.

Avoiding the mirror and choosing not to body check will give your mind a break. It won't trigger all the thoughts that come along with the tough body image days.

When you notice yourself wanting to look in the mirror to see how your arms look in your shirt or what your legs look like in those pants or wanting to assess your body to see if you approve or disapprove of it - let that be a signal to tell yourself....

"I really want to body check right now and I am choosing not to. I know this is the self honoring choice right now. Instead of berating my body I am going to not give attention to those thoughts."

At the end of the day - reflect on how it was to not body check. Did it make a difference in your thoughts about your body? Did it seem helpful? How did not body checking serve your highest good? Is this something you will do daily?

You can also reflect on what you feel body checking gives you? You wouldn’t do it if there wasn’t some sort of pay off. Does it feel like you have more control over your body if you're always looking it over? When you feel the urge to body check remind yourself of the real reason you’re doing it - one that isn’t helping you build a healthy body image.

If this activity seems helpful to you - take it on! 

Also, consider taking on the 21 Day Body Image Intensive! For 21 days you’ll