Love who you are

Poor body image is something that is often associated with teenagers with eating disorders – adult women are supposedly “over it”. Not true it would seem – most of my clients are accomplished, intelligent women and yet they don’t like what they see in the mirror. I guess the constant bombardment of the perfect bodies of celebrities in magazines provides a benchmark that real women can’t live up to. Consider the life of a celebrity: Katie Holmes is apparently pregnant because the poor girl had a lunch and forgot to hold her tummy in when she was photographed recently!

For what its worth: I’ve worked with literally thousands of women and I could count those with the “perfect” body on less than five fingers – we all have things we don’t like.

So, I’d like to start a revolution! Let’s celebrate what our bodies do for us rather than worry about the bits we hate. For every woman out there who laments the loss of her trim waist or pert bust due to having babies consider those who can’t have children but would love them. Complaining about your dimply thighs or short legs? Think about the women for whom life is spent in a wheelchair. Every day take time to be GRATEFUL for what you have, and what your body represents.

Focus instead on your best features and show those off. If you’re under 80 and you are in despair about your upper arms – get them out there on display: it’s natural for a woman to have arms like that. Imagine being 80 and saying, “Gee, I wish I’d known what I had when I was 40…” the same way we do now about when we were 18!

If you really do loathe your wobbly bits get busy: get out there walking, do tricep dips in front of the telly…just stop beating yourself up! And for the things you can’t change – you can’t change them, so don’t waste any more time hating them.

To make the most of what you’ve got, get learning: have your colours done and wear only those that suit you - rather than what’s in fashion or hiding in black to look slimmer. Work out which styles of clothing are most flattering to your shape – learn what balances your figure and work with your own proportions. Find a hairdresser that understands your colouring and cuts your hair to suit your face – not the latest style.

Knowing yourself is key – loving yourself might take a little longer.