Five Tips for Developing a Healthier Body Image

How we view our bodies has a huge impact on our health and wellbeing. Men and women with a positive body image often enjoy better health, self-confidence, and emotional wellbeing than people who feel shame and disgust about their bodies. Developing a positive body image doesn't mean complacently accepting being out of shape, however. To develop a healthy body image, you must develop a healthy and realistic ideal of what a healthy body means for you and take steps to attain that goal. A healthy diet including fruits and veggies and protein bar supplements combined to a good fitness routine can help you accept the body you have by improving it.

• Practice positive affirmation – Find things that you like about yourself and focus on these things. Make a list of 10 positive attributes and recite them when you're feeling down.
• Commit to healthy eating – Adopt a healthy diet and stick to it. This doesn't mean adopting a ridiculous diet supermodels use to starve themselves. It means taking up a diet that provides the nutrition you need without going overboard on calories. Working with a trainer or nutritionist can help.
• Set an exercise plan – There's nothing that succeeds like success. By setting and reaching realistic fitness milestones, you bolster your self-confidence by demonstrating your competence at achieving goals. While you may never have the body of an Olympic athlete, there are improvements and changes you can make to be healthier and fitter.
• Get rid of negative influences – Distance yourself from people who give you grief about your body. This doesn't mean to take offense at everyone who invites you to the gym; it means weeding out toxic people who constantly and maliciously criticize your weight and appearance. Find positive individuals who encourage you to reach your fitness goals without snarky or hateful comments.
• Accept that bodies come in different shapes and sizes – Beauty is found in a variety of packages. Some of us are tall, some are short, and some are rail thin, while others have more ample bodies. The size or shape of a body doesn't matter – the health of that body and the emotional wellbeing of its owner are what matters.

Today's society promotes an unrealistic standard of attractiveness for both men and women, and this standard is harmful to all genders. A recent TODAY/AOL Body Image survey found that the only thing men worry about more than their appearance is their financial situation. The poll found that 53 percent of men are so concerned about their looks they don't like to have their picture taken. Glamour found that 54 percent of women are unhappy with their bodies, and 80 percent say just taking a look in the mirror makes them unhappy. Taking affirmative steps to embrace the body you're in and improve it will drastically improve your life. Take action today to shed your old negative body image and replace it with a positive one. Promax Nutrition helps men and women achieve their fitness goals with quality nutritional products. Promax offers healthy, vegetarian energy bars and other nutritious snacks that help people eat healthfully in order to build better bodies. Sources:

1. http://www.today.com/health/six-pack-stress-men-worry-more-about-their-appearance-their-2D12117283
2. http://www.glamour.com/story/body-image-how-do-you-feel-about-your-body