The very first thing you should do to improve your body image
When you're swimming in the sea of diet culture, it is really easy to take what you're seeing for granted. Our brains say to themselves subconsciously, "Of course all the women I see everyday wear size 0! And of course all the men I see have six packs! That makes perfect sense to me!"
Honestly, when we are swimming along like obedient little fishies doing our best to conform to the Western beauty ideal, it's really easy not to give it a second thought. But the fact is that only a tiny percentage of the images we see on a regular basis feature fat people.
When your brain sees the same images over and over again, it starts to assume that those images are normal, and other images become abnormal. This is why the number one tip I have for you to improve your body image is to start to expose yourself to a much wider set of images: not just tall, white, lean models, but also medium-sized people and fat people. People of absolutely all shapes and sizes, all ages, all races and ethnicities, all sexual identities, all gender identities, all abilities.
The more you take in images that represent the full range of humanity, more normal your own size and shape will be to your brain, and the easier it will be for you to begin to accept your body. Promise.
What does this look like in reality? A few suggestions:
1) Reduce imagery of very small people and/or very muscular people in your media diet.
Think of all of the sources of images you have in your life. Do you read a lot of women's magazines or men's magazines? Think about whether these are helping or hurting your efforts to accept your body. Do you follow thinspiration posts on Instagram or follow outlets on Facebook that promote dieting or weight loss? Unfollow them. Think carefully about all of the places you take in these images and cull, cull, cull.
2) Follow wonderful fat people online. Get to know them and enjoy their self-portraiture.
There are so many people sharing their lives online these days. Find some rad fatties and get to know them as people, while enjoying the art they produce of their lives. If you are fat, try to find at least one person who has the same size and shape body you do—it is magical to appreciate someone else’s body and to realize you are simultaneously appreciating your own!
And similarly, be sure to follow lots of people who also look nothing like you. Take in each human’s unique beauty.
3) Set aside time each day to enjoy diverse imagery.
Make sure you're exposing yourself to these cool people on a regular basis! The more you enjoy their images, the more your brain will expand its notion of human beauty.
It's about balance
I want to be clear: it is absolutely fine to still follow small people online! Plenty of people are naturally thin and their bodies are completely acceptable and lovable. The goal here is not to demonize small bodies; it is to make your media intake more balanced and representative of society as a whole.
For a while you may even want to swing towards unbalanced (only looking at images of people your size and larger). I found this very healing myself, but again, the idea is to develop an appreciation of all sizes and shapes of bodies, most of all yours.