Body Checking: What it is and how to stop
Let’s talk about body checking.
What is it: Body checking is the habit of seeking information about your body's weight, shape, size, or appearance.
This can manifest in a lot of different ways. Some of the ways that body checking shows up are:
Obsessively checking your weight
Constantly touching a part of your body that your uncomfortable with
Pulling your clothing away from the parts of your body you are insecure about (think pulling your t-shirt away from your stomach)
Checking parts of your body in the mirror
These are just a few ways that body checking comes into play. You might be reading this and realize that you are always plucking your shirt away from your body or maybe covering your stomach with a pillow, or maybe you can’t walk by a mirror without looking at your body, your silhouette or another part of your body.
I struggle with body checking my stomach in the mirror. It is an ongoing struggle for me. Sometimes I do it when I am feeling great in my body, and sometimes I do it when I am having a bad body image day.
That need to check my stomach comes from my desire for it to be smaller. My stomach has always been my biggest insecurity, even when I was very thin, I was constantly hiding my stomach in clothing and looking at it in the mirror to make sure it was small enough.
Body checking can be a challenge to overcome on your body acceptance and body love journey. It is hard to accept your body when you are constantly scrutinizing your shape, size, and weight. It is hard to be at peace with your body when you are analyzing it and obsessing over it.
So here are some tips to stop body checking:
Catch yourself when you do it and try to stop. Sit with the feelings you are having or reasons for body checking.
Avoid triggers to check, like the scale, or mirrors
Use journaling as a tool to explore why you are checking and what it means to you
I will explore this further in the Love Yourself & Love Your Body Workshop in February 2023. Join me!
