Time To Get Healthy: Body Image & the Media

I have recently found that no matter where you are, or who your normal social group is, you can connect with so many different types of people on a variety of subjects. My most recent connection was with a group member of mine, and the topic was body image and health.
Her and I have both gone through our troubles with food: mind games, dieting, eating problems, and body image issues. And the funny thing is, after about an hour of talking about ourselves, we both related back to the media: magazines, TV, fashion. I'm not saying the media caused the problems my friend and I shared, because they didn't. But in realizing what we were striving to be, we looked at the media and found assurance in what we had been doing.
Magazines such as Health and Fitness, which I love to read for recipes and for fitness tips, can also lead young girls and even women to think in a different, sometimes negative way, about their body and how they fuel their life. Because even though these media outlets are promoting a healthy diet and active lifestyle, your still looking at a 20-something with perfect abs in a bikini you'll probably never wear, tanned and beautiful starring at you on the cover. And SHE is the one telling you to love your body? Personally, I think a lot of us would rather look like her.
So that was our dilemma. Should the media show women and men realistic role models with real curves and problem areas? Would that even sell? I recently picked up a copy of a magazine and saw a more realistic image of a women on the cover. It took me a while to figure out what was different, but when I did, I didn't like it. Amazing how we have been trained on what appeals to us and what doesn't.
If you have issues with how your body looks, take a moment to think about what you are comparing yourself to. If it's some unrealistic, airbrushed women who you think you should look like, get real. The only reason you should want or need to change your body is if your lifestyle is unhealthy. Want to feel better fast? Drink more water, walk outside more and eat more fruits and veggies and laugh. Laughter has been shown to burn a significant amount of calories and everyone looks better when their smiling.
Our conversation ended on a fairly unanimous thought. Don't let the media tell you how you should feel,what you should look like and how you should live. Figure it out on your own, get educated, laugh and love life. If you don't love it, change it so that you do. Life's too short to not enjoy who you are and what you have.