Nurture your relationship with you
When we nurture a healthy relationship with food, eating, our bodies, and ourselves, we free up time and energy to more fully engage with life. Surround yourself with opportunities to feel good, inside and out. Professional help is often necessary for eating disorder recovery, but you can still incorporate these tips into your self-care and recovery plan.
Start here:
Choose Empowerment
A number doesn't define you, it limits you. Focus on what empowers you instead.
Try the no "fat talk" experiment
If you and your friends tend to complain about your weight or bodies, gently suggest a fat talk ban. Try it out for a week or more. Notice what happens when the conversation shifts away from dieting, weight, calories, clothing size, or body shaming. During that time, you might also choose to build up the positive talk about other aspects of yourself, such as your strengths, values, goals, and what you appreciate.
Need some encouragement? Give your social media feed a makeover with these 53 Body Positive Influencers You Should be Following
More ways to choose empowerment:
Mindset
Choose thoughts, statements, and actions that provide encouragement and empowerment.
Nourishment
Choose foods that leave you feeling nourished and energized.
Movement
Choose physical activities that are fun and leave you with a sense of life-affirming vitality.
What would you do differently if your goal was to feel empowered? Write it down and give it a try.
CHOOSE TO FEEL GOOD
Know what makes you feel good
How do you want your life to feel? Take a few minutes to identify the good feelings you want to cultivate in your life. Then, make a list of activities, people, or places that help you feel that way. How can you work them into your daily life?
Wear what makes you feel good
Wear what expresses who you really are and makes you feel confident. Don't force yourself into trends that make you feel insecure or don't match who you are inside. And let the size be irrelevant. Focus on feeling good when you get dressed.
Prioritize feeling good
Make feeling good your priority in all areas of your life. You're worth it.
Try these to start:
choose sustainability
Choose sustainable actions and expectations. If you're not sure if a part of your life is sustainable, ask yourself how long you could healthfully keep this up. Would there be negative consequences of trying to sustain this activity or habit for a prolonged period of time? If so, what changes could you make to create a healthier habit? And who are your supporters in making this change?
Support for sustainable nutrition:
Nutrition Navigators give you the facts to enhance your nutrition knowledge and help you navigate nutrition and wellness while being a college student!
Body Positive Arizona is a student-led program with the mission of enhancing self-worth and positive body image among all UA students. They provide the programs and events throughout the year.
Cooking on Campus is a hands-on culinary crash course for college students. They provide cooking classes, delicious recipes, and more!
START WHERE YOU ARE AND REACH OUT WHEN YOU NEED HELP
NOT SURE IF IT'S AN EATING DISORDER?
Campus Health and CAPS offer a wide range of services and resources tailored to meet the needs of a student who falls anywhere on the continuum of eating and body image concerns.