There are lots of ways to combat bad feelings about your body. With a healthy body image, you will be able to focus on important things in your life and to feel more confident about yourself, not to mention have more fun!

Some ideas for helping to feel good about how you look include:

• Focus on the positive – Think about all the great things your body does for you, from breathing to digesting dinner. Appreciate your body for all of the work it does to keep you alive.
• Give yourself compliments – Realize the positive things about your appearance. When people give you compliments, think about them. Remind yourself everyday that you are happy with your eye color, your bicep muscles or the color of your hair.
• Be a fashion icon – OK, so maybe that’s going too far, but how you feel about how you look has a lot to do with what you are wearing. Find clothes that flatter your body and that you feel good wearing. You might sometimes even splurge on something really nice (but don’t go into lifelong debt just for a pair of shoes!)
• Be a critical media consumer – When you are watching TV or reading a magazine, think about the images you see. Question the motives of the advertisers and realize that many images probably aren’t realistic. Have a sense of humor, and laugh at some of the crazy things society does to sell stuff.
• Put your energy to use elsewhere – If you spend half of your day worrying about how people see you, or about how your butt looks, stop. Think about how much you could accomplish if you put that time and energy to use on your science project, in community service, or in planning a party!
• Don’t be so superficial – Try to stop letting how you look dictate how you feel. It’s nice to feel attractive, but don’t let your looks rule your world. There is much more out there than you see in the mirror. Most of us think what’s inside a person—kindness, friendliness, respect for others, a good sense of humor—is much more important than what we see on the surface anyway.
• Enjoy a healthy lifestyle – Through exercise, nutrition and relaxation you can balance your life so that you optimize your health. This website provides lots of great tips on how to get you started on the right track. And don’t forget that healthy DOES NOT mean skinny!