Self-Image Makeover:
Be Confident in the Nude in Just One Week
Get Beach Body Confidence Just in the Nick of Time!
by www.SixWise.com

On the first day of summer the first thought that comes to many women’s minds (and some men’s minds too) is “how am I going to put on a bathing suit?” The fear of having to don revealing clothing in warm-weather months can trigger some women to adopt extreme diets, dangerously intense exercise routines or even prompt them to become depressed and unwilling to participate in fun summer activities with their friends and families.

What Causes a Negative Body Image?

Feeling unhappy about the way you look can start at a very young age. In fact, a recent study by University of Central Florida researchers found that nearly half of 3- to 6-year-old girls surveyed said they worry about being fat, while one-third said they would change an aspect of their appearance, such as their weight or hair color.

Often, children learn to feel critical of their bodies if they see their parents being critical of their own bodies. If a mother is unsatisfied with her body image, her daughter is more likely to be as well. In fact, mothers who diet are nearly twice as likely to have a daughter that suffers from an eating disorder.

Criticism from peers, siblings and parents can also engrain a negative body image into a child’s mind from a very young age, and often this struggle continues into adulthood, as both men and women struggle to keep up with celebrity and model ideals of what a “perfect” body should look like.

Studies have revealed that up to 85 percent of women worry about their body shape or size every day, and a report by Girlguiding UK found that 95 percent of women between the ages of 16 and 21 want to change their bodies in some way. The top “goals” were:

• Be thinner (33 percent)
• Get cosmetic surgery (25 percent)

The Toll a Negative Self-Image Takes on Your Life

Among adolescents, feeling very unsatisfied with their appearance increases the likelihood of depression, anxiety and suicide, compared to peers with a healthy body image. Being unhappy with your body, at any age, can also lead to:

• Emotional distress
• Low self-esteem
• Unhealthy dieting habits
• Eating disorders

If you constantly obsess over your appearance, it can also manifest as a fear of intimacy and interfere with relationships. People with a negative body image may sabotage new relationships long before they ever become serious, or isolate their spouse, becoming withdrawn and unable to share intimacy.

How to Get Bikini-Ready in Just One Week!

No, we’re not talking about some fad diet or plastic surgery … we’re talking about addressing the psychological factors that are distorting your body image. Everyone, no matter their weight, height or hair color, is beautiful, and it’s only a matter of time before you realize that about yourself.

When you change the way you think about your body, you will become happier and more confident … even if your body is the same size it’s always been. So how do you get to this point?

• Forget About the Scale: Rather than obsessing over the number on your scale, forget about your weight and focus instead on exercising regularly and eating foods that will nourish your body.

• Be Realistic: It’s great to set goals and standards for yourself, but make sure they’re attainable. For instance, if you need to lose weight, resolve to lose one pound a week, not 10, and if you’re naturally a curvy lady, you may never be a size 2 … and that’s perfectly fine!

• Focus on Your Good Points: Do you have long legs? Cheekbones to die for? A killer sense of humor? Whenever you find yourself thinking something negative about your body, force yourself to match it with at least one good point about yourself.

• Ditch the Fashion Magazines: Studies show that when women view skinny models in fashion magazines and advertisements, it makes them feel worse about their own bodies. This is true whether the women themselves are thin, average or overweight. So do yourself a favor and try to reduce your exposure to the unrealistic images of women’s bodies in the media.

According to Science Blog, “ … the average woman model weighs up to 25% less than the typical woman and maintains a weight at about 15 to 20% below what is considered healthy for her age and height.” So give yourself a break and realize that most women do NOT look like the ones in magazines. Even the women in magazines look totally different in real life than they do on those airbrushed pages.

• Think Only Positive Thoughts About Yourself, Your Life and Your Value for Others. If negative thoughts enter your mind, stop them, let them go, and instead allow yourself to feel good.

A good rule of thumb is, if you wouldn’t think it about your own best friend, then don’t allow your mind to think it about yourself!

Practicing daily affirmations after you wake up, before bed or anytime during the day can also help your thoughts to focus only on the bright side. When you feel stressed out, affirmations can also help you to relax. The Pure Relaxation CD, which uses guided meditations and music that will calm your mind, soothe your emotions and create a state of deep relaxation in your body, is a also an excellent tool to help you stay positive.

These keys can help you to get your mind in the right place about your body. Remember, life’s too short to worry about a few extra pounds or some cellulite. Embrace your body, no matter its shape or size, and focus on living your life to the fullest.

Three Lifestyle Tips to Boost Your Body Image

Battling your mind is more than half the battle when it comes to body image … but there is more to it than that. In fact, the lifestyle choices you make can also make or break your body image. Following are the top lifestyle habits to give your body image a major self-esteem boost:

Exercise

Exercise will not only relieve stress but also helps you feel sexier and increases your self-esteem. This is why we recommend you engage in the SheaNetics mind-body fitness program from MySheaNetics.com. SheaNetics is a unique fitness and self-help philosophy dedicated to providing you with life-improving ideas and the inspirational motivation needed to achieve complete well-being.

Each nearly one hour workout is a new blend of the-best-of-the-best from Yoga, Pilates, Tai Chi, Martial Arts, Gyro-Kinesis, Dance and MORE -- guiding you through unique sequences of movements that strengthen, sculpt, build core, increase flexibility, and boost your mental well-being!

We found that the best exercise programs out there from our research, which combines not only the physical aspect of fitness but also the mental, is SheaNetics from MySheaNetics.com -- developed by Shea Vaughn -- fitness guru and mom to Hollywood celebrity Vince Vaughn.

Shea maintains that “to continue to grow and thrive and to achieve well-being is really a journey for both the body and the mind.”

SheaNetics is based on the following Five Living Principles, which creator Shea Vaughn says “are an inspirational force in helping me create a positive lifestyle with a healthy body and the supportive mental and emotional paradigm to deal with changing and demanding times. One encourages the other and together they help you find balance, self-confidence and a personal state of well-being.”

Each principle is designed to bring a unique benefit and level of meaning into your life.

	1. COMMITMENT is a promise to do something, whether it is to workout, seek better health, find a new job or just be a better person. The Scroll represents a binding contract you have signed to honor your promise.
	2. PERSEVERANCE is the perpetual belief that “If I try, I will succeed.” The Pyramid reminds us that the pathway to well-being is continuous and you build toward your goal one solid step at a time.
	3. SELF-CONTROL is the realization that you are responsible for everything you do. When you stop to think about it, how you react to the events happening in your life is the only outcome of any event that you can consciously determine. The Crane represents the balance and grace to be found in life when you have found a way to control your emotions. Control your emotions and your body will follow.
	4. INTEGRITY does not examine the result -- only the effort made. It is the level of honesty in the quality of effort you give to the execution of whatever you strive to do -- it has to be the best you can do. The Shield represents trustworthiness and one’s steadfast adherence to a strict code of moral or ethical behavior.
	5. LOVE is openness and respect for yourself, others and what life has to offer. It is the willingness to explore and interact with people, to listen, learn, share and to always set the best example possible. The Crossed Arms symbolize universal love.

Stretching is also a key way to build your core muscles, increase flexibility and tone and shape your body, which in turn will give your body image a major boost.

To learn 15 important stretches that stretch all the key muscles groups throughout your entire body in only 15-20 minutes a day, Sixwise.com highly recommends the "Stretching Toward a Healthier Life" DVD.

Practice Good Nutrition

As The China Study, one of the most comprehensive looks at how your diet impacts your health, bore out, “a good diet is the most powerful weapon we have against disease and sickness.” It’s also one of the most powerful ways to support your body an a physical level, and keep you feeling good mentally and physically.

But what you may not know is that eating a diet solely of processed foods or cooked foods, even healthy cooked foods, will leave a major nutritional gap in your body because they contain no enzymes.

Raw plant and animal foods (such as raw milk) are loaded with beneficial enzymes for your body. (Enzymes are actually special proteins that act as catalysts for the chemical reactions that occur to keep your body functioning.) However, enzymes begin to be destroyed at temperatures above 110-115 degrees. So if your food is cooked, pasteurized or processed, it will contain no enzymes whatsoever.

Your body contains 2,500 or more different enzymes, and they are very important. Enzymes in your saliva, for instance, help break apart starches, while those in your stomach help break down protein. Enzymes in your intestines, meanwhile, are responsible for breaking apart all of your food, whether fat, protein or carb.
            
Many people find that switching to a predominantly raw food diet gives them more energy, slows down aging, improves your skin, boosts your mood, and fights a host of chronic diseases including fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, Crohn's disease and even cancer. It will also help you to slim down naturally so you look and feel your best.

For some delicious, enzyme-rich raw food recipes, try out the book "Alive in 5": Raw Gourmet Meals in Five Minutes.

Have More Sex

If you’re holding out on being intimate with your partner because you’re ashamed about your body, you’re doing yourself a great disservice. Remember that your partner does not see your “problem areas” the way you do … he probably doesn’t see them at all. Instead, being intimate actually raises levels of self-esteem in both partners, and during sex the hormone oxytocin helps to increase your bonding as a couple, so it’s a win-win situation.

We encourage you to embrace the emotional and lifestyle strategies above and, starting today to accept and love yourself as others do. Begin and continue to make daily efforts to grow more confident emotionally and physically by the strides you take each day to improve your heath and well-being. Plus forgive yourself for those things that you’re not yet able to do but work toward loving yourself for the unique qualities that will always be you.

With this new beginning, one week later, in the nude see yourself in the mirror and be 100% confident and accepting. Love and appreciate your self image for where you are and where you are headed with weekly efforts, then revisit your mirror in the nude and give yourself kudos each week for the small but important progress you’ve made to be more beautiful inside and out.

Repeat to yourself the many phrases Shea Vaughn will have stated to you in your new DVD videos each day about your inner beauty, your self image and improvement as she both challenges you and complements you on your progress from one level to the next resulting in noticeable improvements.

If you truly commit and follow this advice, we bet you too will be feeling exponentially better about what you see in the mirror as we did ourselves. The days you feel you’re not quite where you hoped to be, focus on your progress to date, stay true to your goals and intention and certainly don’t give up!

Keep positive focusing on your inner and outer beauty, and soon it will shine so bright you too won’t be able to ignore it!

SixWise Says ...

“Beauty is no quality in things themselves. It exists merely in the mind which contemplates them.” -- David Hume

 

Recommended Reading

Aging Gracefully: Enjoy a Vital, Fulfilling Life Regardless of Age

How to Stay Active, Even More Important From Age 50 On and After You Retire ... Plus Why You Should

Sources

British Journal of Developmental Psychology 2010 Jun;28(Pt 2):413-26.

EurekAlert.org November 24, 2009

The Independent October 23, 2000

StyleList.com November 4, 2009

Science Blog November 6, 2008

Suite101.com September 13, 2007

ScienceDaily.com March 27, 2007

ScienceDaily.com June 6, 2006