Vickyandjen.com -#66 Making Peace With Your Body

Jessica's Books

Life Doesn't Begin 5 Pounds From Now

Jessica writes perceptively about how girls and women bond over expressions of self-loathing for their bodies and argues that the simple words "I feel fat!" mask an internal world of insecurity and pain. While the book is full of advice, tools for change and action steps toward healthy self-acceptance, it's also clumsily written, studded with clichéd subheadings and random upbeat quotes. However, Weiner's style could work well for young women ages 15 to 25, who have barely begun to question the negative messages being hurled at them by their families, boyfriends, the media and other women—and who believe, as some have said to Weiner, that their lives won't begin until they are thin.

Do I Look Fat in This?

Spending over 10 years on the road listening to the real life issues of women and the language they use to describe their body image helped to fuel Jess's second book, Do I Look Fat in This? which attempts to decode the 'language of fat' and explores how body image controls the way women think about all aspects of their lives: health, wealth, family, career, and relationships. This book, recently re-released in January 2007 as a paperback with updates and a new introduction under the title Life Doesn’t Begin Five Pounds from Now, is a step-by-step guide to loving your body and developing the attributes of Inner Style™: self-confidence, self-knowledge, and self-acceptance.

A Very Hungry Girl

Jess chronicles her own self-discovery and ultimate recovery from a teenage eating disorder in her first book, A Very Hungry Girl. A champion of women’s rights, Jess is currently a board member for the Eating Disorders Coalition (EDC) and a media ambassador for the National Eating Disorders Association.

Source: jessicaweiner.com

I’ve been fortunate to meet so many amazing people over the past 15 years. Whether it’s been school principles or guidance counselors, moms or daughters, celebrities or celebrated heroes, one thing has always stood out to me when I first meet someone: their sense of Inner Style™. They could have all the money in the world, be wearing the trendiest clothes, or live in the right neighborhood, but I would be most impressed when they shared their Inner Style™, that special spark that made them unique. What are the core components that make you . . . you?

Do you have?

Self-confidence	Self-awareness
Self-knowledge	Tolerance
Acceptance	Sense of humor
Resiliency	Courage
Integrity	Passion

These are all elements of Inner Style™ So how do you find yours?
Start by asking yourself some of these questions:

What are your likes and dislikes?	How do you feel when you tell the truth?
What trends are you influenced by?	Who holds the most power in your life?
Who are you trying to impress?	Can you be true to yourself no matter what?
What do you value?	What are you going for in the world?
What mood are you typically in?	What seems to make you happy?

The more you journey toward your own self-discovery and self-development the more you can truly answer these questions. The good news is: there is no right answer. Our Inner Style™ will change as we do. Grow as we do. Expand as we do.

Three elements of Inner Style™ that I love are: humor, resiliency, and courage.

To be able to laugh at life and have a sense of humor helps you move through hard times and keeps things in perspective. Being able to bounce back from situations that don’t always go your way with resiliency not only helps define your character but is one of the best coping tools I know. And lastly, we often think of courage as being the absence of fear. But I define it as having fear and stepping through it anyway. Do you buckle under fear or do you charge through it and take risks? That’s Inner Style™.

Exactly what is "Body Image"? Click here.

Other Interviews With Jess

Boosting Body Image: An Interview with Jess

Lust For Life by Lola (Interview with Jess)

Remember "Love Your Body Day" is October 15, 2008.

Helpful Resources

Improving Your Body Image
There are ways to help boost your body image: what you can and can’t change, shifting your attitude, and getting help.

Love Your Body
What can you do? Dangers of cosmetic surgeries, eating disorders, how advertisers and the media enforce unrealistic beauty standards and much more.

Loving Yourself Inside and Out
Learning to love what you see in the mirror. Read how to positively influence your child's body image. Get additional links to publications and organizations here.

Girls Only Interactive Self-Esteem Zone
Tools to help teens conquer and confront their biggest beauty hangups, quizzes, ask the expert (including Jessica Weiner) and more, brought to you by the Dove Self-Esteem Fund. Click here for ideas for Moms and Mentors.