A Body Image Reality Check

Marilyn Monroe

There are a lot of reasons to doubt yourself out there. It's not always easy to watch an episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer and not notice that Sarah Michelle Gellar weighs maybe a little more than a loaf of bread. Okay, so I exaggerate but it can feel like that, can't it? And then there are the fashion magazines and the supermodels who should really be called the stickmodels. Well, here's a little reality check when it comes to body image. It just might make you feel a whole lot better about the skin you're in.

A Little Food For Thought

Did you know that if female mannequins were real women they'd be too thin to have babies?
There are 3 billion women who don't look like supermodels and only eight who do.
Marilyn Monroe wore a size 14, and she is still considered beautiful.
If Barbie was a real woman, she'd have to walk on all fours due to her proportions.
The average woman wears between a size 12-14.
The models in the magazines are airbrushed - no one, not even models, look that good without some help!

And here are some facts that are kinda scary...

One out of every four college-aged women has an eating disorder.
A psychological study in 1995 found that three minutes spent looking at a fashion magazine caused 70% of women to feel depressed, guilty, and shameful.
Twenty years ago, models weighed 8% less than the average woman. Today they weigh 23% less.

Oh yeah, and Sarah Michelle (who is 5'3 and weighs approximately 99 lbs) has publically said this about thin celebrities; "How can women be as thin as we are? We have personal trainers to work us out. We have specially prepared meals."

So be happy and be healthy and don't compare yourself to others. Your body will thank you for it.