Improve Your Body Image

If you're unhappy with your body, you're not alone. Eighty-four percent of American women either want to lose weight or feel they are too fat, and 52 percent of men gave the same answers, according to a 1987 study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.

"Learning to think and feel the way we do about our bodies takes time -- a lifetime, actually," says Simona K. Reichmann, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and associate director of research and clinical programs at Structure House Center for Weight Control and Lifestyle Change in Durham, North Carolina.

When a woman reaches 40, maintaining a positive body image often becomes a daily dilemma. "After 40, your metabolism is slowing down, you're losing one-third of a pound of muscle per year and if you're not exercising, you're looking less toned," says Deirdra Price, Ph.D., a San Diego clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, depression and body image issues.

"A pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns 2 calories a day," explains Price. "Studies have shown that women who weight train twice a week for half an hour can build enough muscle so that their metabolic rate increases by 25 percent," she says. This means they can burn 25 percent more calories.

Doing twice-weekly weight training and some calming exercise such as yoga can help upgrade body image by making women look more toned and feel more resilient, says Price.

url:

/news/archive/010413-01.html

raw:

<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"><html><head><title>ThirdAge - Daily News Newsletter - Improve Your Body Image</title><meta content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"><meta name="keywords" content="diet, weight loss, "><meta name="description" content="If you're unhappy with your body, you can do something about it. Here are three tips to get you started."><meta name="language" content="en"><meta http-equiv="content-language" content="en"> <meta name="robots" content="index,follow"><script type="text/javascript" src="/includes/javascript/base2.js"></script><link rel=stylesheet href="/includes/css/seo02.css" TYPE="text/css"></head><div align="center"><table border="0" cellpadding="1" cellspacing="0" width="760" class="bgtablemainborder"><tr><td><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="758" class="bgtablemain"><tr><td colspan="6" align="center"><div style="padding-top: 5px;"></div></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" height="10"><spacer type=block width=1 height=10></td></tr><tr valign="top"><td></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2" class="body"><div style="padding-top:1px;"></div><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" align="right"><tr><td width="5"><spacer type=block width=5 height=1></td><td></td></tr><tr><td height="10"><spacer type=block width=1 height=10></td></tr></table><font color="#333333" class="hed">Improve Your Body Image</font><br><font color="#333333"><br> <span class="byline02">By Kyle Roderick</span><BR> ThirdAge Staff<BR><BR> If you're unhappy with your body, you're not alone. Eighty-four percent of American women either want to lose weight or feel they are too fat, and 52 percent of men gave the same answers, according to a 1987 study published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research.<BR><BR> "Learning to think and feel the way we do about our bodies takes time -- a lifetime, actually," says Simona K. Reichmann, Ph.D., clinical psychologist and associate director of research and clinical programs at <a target="window" href="http://www.structurehouse.com">Structure House Center for Weight Control and Lifestyle Change</a> in Durham, North Carolina. <BR><BR> When a woman reaches 40, maintaining a positive body image often becomes a daily dilemma. "After 40, your metabolism is slowing down, you're losing one-third of a pound of muscle per year and if you're not exercising, you're looking less toned," says Deirdra Price, Ph.D., a San Diego clinical psychologist who specializes in eating disorders, depression and body image issues. <BR><BR> "A pound of muscle burns 35 calories a day, while a pound of fat burns 2 calories a day," explains Price. "Studies have shown that women who weight train twice a week for half an hour can build enough muscle so that their metabolic rate increases by 25 percent," she says. This means they can burn 25 percent more calories.<BR><BR> Doing twice-weekly weight training and some calming exercise such as yoga can help upgrade body image by making women look more toned and feel more resilient, says Price. <BR><BR> Reichmann suggests these additional ways to enhance your body image:<BR><BR> <li> Understand how you feel about your body by asking yourself, "What do I see when I look in the mirror?" Reflect on your life and identify the experiences that have shaped your body image beliefs and expectations. After that, you can say, "Now I know why I feel this way." Now decide to stop feeling that way by working toward change.<BR><BR> <li> Along with exercising and eating healthily every day, learn to meditate and enjoy inner calm. Use self-help books such as <a target="window" href="http://shop.barnesandnoble.com/booksearch/isbnInquiry.asp?userid=2NUG6J9LMZ&mscssid=ESW8RC5CCVRF8NR1DP6ET1U18J9ACUH9&isbn=1567312713">The Body Image Workbook </a> (Fine, 1998) by Thomas F. Cash, Ph.D.<BR><BR> <li> If you have an eating disorder or depression, see a therapist who uses a cognitive or cognitive-behavioral treatment approach and who has experience treating body image distress, eating disorders and/or depression.<BR><BR> - - - - - <BR><BR> Plan low-fat, elegant meals with our <a href="http://thirdage.foodfit.com/recipesearch.asp">Recipe Finder</a>.</font><br clear="all"><div style="margin-top: 15px;" align="center"></div><p><p><p><table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" width="424" class="bgpullquotes"><tr><td height="2" colspan="4" class="bgpullquoteline"><spacer type=block width=1 height=2></td></tr><tr><td height="3" colspan="4"><spacer type=block width=1 height=3></td></tr><tr><td><spacer type=block width=1 height=1></td><td colspan="3" class="pullquotehed"></td></tr><tr><td height="5" colspan="4"><spacer type=block width=1 height=5></td></tr><tr><td width="7" height="10"><spacer type=block width=7 height=10></td><td width="14" height="1"><spacer type=block width=14 height=1></td><td width="383"><spacer type=block width=383 height=1></td><td width="20"><spacer type=block width=20 height=1></td></tr></table></td><td rowspan="2"></td><td rowspan="2"><div class="uli"></div><p><br></td><td rowspan="2"> </td></tr><tr valign="top"><td class="bgleftcol"><div style="padding-top: 10px;"></div><p><p align="center"></p><p align="center"></p></td></tr><tr><td colspan="6" align="center"><div style="padding-top: 10px;"></div></td></tr><tr><td width="134" height="10"><spacer type="block" width="134" height="10"></td><td width="15"><spacer type="block" width="15" height="1"></td><td width="424"><spacer type="block" width="424" height="1"></td><td width="15"><spacer type="block" width="15" height="1"></td><td width="160"><spacer type="block" width="160" height="1"></td><td width="10"><spacer type="block" width="10" height="1"></td></tr></table></td></tr></table><p><br><br></div></body></html>

Improve Your Body Image - Health