Have you ever noticed that some days you feel fat and other days you feel slim? These feelings have nothing at all to do with the actual size of your body. It’s possible to feel slim when you’re still carrying extra weight, or feel fat even if you are skinny.
Most of the time, it’s your own self-image that triggers these feelings. When you feel good about your body, that’s a “skinny day” – you feel slim, or at least you feel accepting about your body even if it’s not yet slim. When you feel bad about your body, that’s a “fat day”. Changing your outfit, shoes, or hair isn’t going to make you feel better because your self-image is stuck on the “negative” setting. Your self-image can fluctuate quite a lot from day to day, or even from minute to minute, depending on what else is happening in your life.
In fact, you might have experienced a dramatic shift in your self-image before. Perhaps you were having a great day, feeling good about yourself and then some teenagers passed you on the street and started laughing. You immediately thought they were laughing at you, and your confident mood took a nosedive. For the rest of the day you felt fat and self-conscious and wondered if everyone was laughing at you or thinking badly about you.
Sometimes it can happen in more subtle ways; you suddenly start feeling fat and unattractive and you aren’t sure why.
No matter how it happens, it’s important to recognize that feeling “fat” or unattractive has NOTHING to do with your body and everything to do with your perception of your body.
You can turn this around in just a few minutes by changing your mental outlook, which triggers better feelings, which then improves your self-perception.
Start by recognizing that the problem is stemming from inside, not outside. The size of your body isn’t the issue; it’s your own attitude toward your body. Once you recognize this, it’s much easier to start feeling better.
Next, deliberately reject negative thoughts and feelings about your body. If you just heard yourself thinking something like, “I’m so gross,” reject it by saying, “I’m NOT gross. I may not be completely happy with my body but I refuse to belittle myself with insults.”
Finally, start thinking kindly and compassionately about your body. Find something nice to focus on – you definitely have at least a FEW things you like about your body. Focus on them with all of your might, and keep focusing on them until you feel those heavy, negative feelings lifting.
It may take a few minutes but you’ll feel much better afterwards.
This little technique gives you the power to make every day a “skinny day,” even if you aren’t yet as skinny as you plan to be.
HealthStatus Team
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I want healthy body
Not sure I agree…for me, a “fat day” is one where my clothes feel tighter…I feel the elastic round the top of my tights and/or slip cutting into my middle, my sleeves feel restrictive, even my shoes feel tight on those days. Maybe it is to do with water retention or blood pooling in certain body parts. I’ve noticed I often feel that way when the office temperature goes up a few degrees when I wasn;t expecting it and I’m dressed for a cooler day (I almost NEVER feel fat when it’s cold).
The temperature in your area defitenly contributes to your body fat..i live in a hot area and when i go to the snow in the mountains my body fat shrinks. Really. It takes a couple hours but it really does shrink up.
im 13 and i am not actually sure that im fat.Some days i look in thee mirror and think “hmm i look hot” but ssome days i wake up and i feel like shit. I have worked this out that im eating under the amount of calories i should consume per day but yet i still look fat.
Same, I’m 13 too. Some days I hate myself, tell myself I’m fat, ugly, nasty, that nobody likes me etc, etc… but then I can wake up the next day feeling like Beyonc? ?? It’s so confusing but I just try to ignore it
I still feel fat
I am 12. Sometimes in the morning my stomach is flat and I feel fantastic and confident. Then other days it is more rounded and flabby and I just feel disgusting.
I am twelve and I came here for the same exact reason as yours . my older sister tells me that it is just the water in my body that makes me look more rounded and that I should drink more water to drain it out . it also may be just a bloated stomach . It will go sometime and it won’t last forever . Don’t worry about it
Same, I’m the same age and I have the same problems
Ever think it’s an allergic reaction to a certain food? I do
I am 59 years old and I sitll have days when I feel fat. My clothes feel tighter and I generally fit like crap about my body.
That is when I stop and think about how healthy by body is and how no one’s body is perfect no matter what the media protrays.
I get up and take a walk or excercise then I know I am doing what I can to take care of my body., The rest of it I have to just work out in my head.
So sad to hear girls as young feeling bad about themselves rather than knowing how loved they are and how precious they are
DEFINITELY disagree. As a woman, my BMI fluctuates. There?s a lot of factors involved: gas, water retention, change in hormones, et cetera. I?m not crazy nor is my perception altered. My concerns of small weight gains are valid, not an illusion.
This is such a stupid article. Do you really think that someone who has body issues will simply feel better because you tell them they should focus on the “good” parts of their body? What’s the science behind your recommendations really? Seriously this is pretty much insulting to people who have body issues, minimising it as if it was so easy to change.
Typically you can expect a 5 lb weight swing up or down on the scale depending on how your body is dealing with water weight. Water weight can give you that bloated feeling. For more information on water weight bloating see this Webmd link: https://www.webmd.com/diet/features/whats-water-weight#1
Negative self talk can be a problem for many in having a correct perception of their weight and body image. We all need to avoid negative self talk. For more information please see this Psychology today article: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/living-forward/201603/4-ways-stop-beating-yourself-once-and-all
I really like this quote “Your value is not based on the size of your body, but rather the experiences you have and the people you connect with……It’s time to start valuing and celebrating bodies for our variety and uniqueness.” Link: https://wellseek.co/2017/10/22/3-ways-transform-body-image-perception/
This article is not intended to make light of those struggling but to point out how our thoughts can shape our world.
Hello,I am Janine..41years old..i ve battled with body image since my teens,I am still having problems,I only eat a bowl of cereal a day,I worry about getting fat,I was abused as a child,beaten..probably does mt help