Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently

by Sarah Maria

Eating disorders. Steroids. Plastic Surgery.

We'll do anything to look better—and yet we still feel bad about how we look. Self-loathing has reached epidemic proportions. But there is a way to end self-destructive thoughts and behavior. In this book, noted body-image expert Sarah Maria presents her proven five-step plan anyone can use to overcome negative body obsession (NBO). She helps Complete with exercises, case studies, and testimonials, you can learn how to stop obsessing over food and your body and achieve permanent peace with both. You'll banish NBO forever, and feel healthy, radiant, beautiful, and desirable—every day!

Genres: Self Help, Nonfiction

256 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2009

Reviews

[Leah Hortin · Rating 1 out of 5]

As an Intuitive Eating Counselor and Body Image Coach, I found this to be problematic. It is not Health at Every Size aligned, discussed weight loss, inferred its connection to health, published specific heights and weights of people she has worked with, and focused a lot of the conversation on thinness and beauty.

Yes, there were things of value buried in here - changing your thoughts, having gratitude, etc. But overall I found it to be too woo. I don't think meditation and positive affirmations should be the focus when it comes to body image work and that's what she focused much of her time on.

It also had a smattering of random studies cited, and her sources were mostly Chopra, Chodren, Dyer, and Tolle if that gives you a sense of the book.

[Elevate Difference · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have not had a good relationship with my body over the years. I was underweight during adolescence and early adulthood, then freaked out when I started to gain weight during my senior year of college. I also could not understand why my friends were telling me I looked fine when I felt I was overweight. After reading Sarah Maria's book, Love Your Body, Love Your Life: 5 Steps to End Negative Body Obsession and Start Living Happily and Confidently, I realize I had been living with Negative Body Obsession (NBO). According to Maria, “NBO is a condition marked by a near-constant critical rumination on one's appearance.”

Maria does an excellent job with this self-help book, taking the reader through all the steps to help her realize how she is viewing her body, and what she can do to stop NBO from taking over her life. The book follows a five step program: the first step is to step up a powerful intention, where the reader identifies what she wants regarding her body and food. The second step is for the reader to identify her negative thoughts and replacing them with positive body thoughts; instead of thinking “I am so fat,” the negative body reaction is changed to “I am inherently beautiful.” The third step involves finding the true person on the inside. The fourth step has the reader befriending her body through meditation, laughter, music, and other “healing” methods. This culminates in the fifth step where the reader lives for a purpose by focusing on the things she is good at , setting goals, and helping other people. Maria goes into great detail with each of the steps, with exercises and inspirational stories.

The tone of the entire book is uplifting, and Maria writes in a warm, inviting tone that helps the reader in this self-help journey. What was appealing to me was Maria's reference to different scientific research, such as psychology and physics : if she was referring to a particular method, such as how intentions can change an outlook on life, she backed everything up with multiple studies. All of the studies she refers to are listed in the resource section.

The steps that Maria uses to help readers to overcome body issues are helpful for other problems. I found myself tackling abuse issues from my past, which were also tied into some of the issues with my body. Love Your Body, Love Your Life definitely puts a new perspective on body image, and can be a helpful tool for anyone who has been struggling with self-image, food, and weight.

Review by Elizabeth Stannard Gromisch

[Sara · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was expecting this to be like all the other self-help books i've read which is full of stories. I was in need of a good self-help book to help me deal with my body image issues. What I liked about this book is that it has plenty of exercises to help you deal with your issues. The way that you work through your issues is by first weeding out the negative body obsession and then to plant some new positive thoughts to bloom into a flower. The flower being the new you.

I decided to do most of the exercises in this book and some of them i did it my way. I finished the reading part, but the exercises are something I'll have to work on by myself once in awhile. I think that NBO is a part of my life, but it might not be as intense as others. I sort of realized that my version of what makes a woman pretty is the natural types, the smile on someone's face, how someone looks happy and confident. You don't have to look fake to be pretty. Just being yourself and being natural is what makes you pretty.

I don't think this cured my NBO issues, but it helped me to realize some things I need to work on. That will take time to sort it out. One day I will love my body, I will be happy, confident and accepting of myself fully. I'm just not quite there yet...

[Tiare · Rating 5 out of 5]

I'm giving this one 5 stars because it's FULL of exercises and advice that you can do right now to change your perceptions of your body and your life. I also like the points to remember at the end of each chapter. If you like Deepak Chopra, Eckhart Tolle, Prema Chodron, Daniel Amen, Bob Greene, or Wayne Dyer, you'll like this book as she recommends these authors as well as others as further resources. I also like that she gives back to the world by giving 10% of her proceeds to The Alliance for a New Humanity.

[Mai · Rating 3 out of 5]

The ideas in the book are practical and motivating to change your negative thoughts about your body and replacing them with more positive one becoz all feelings start with thoughts ,so it is obvious to change your feelings about how your body look (self-image) ,you have to change your thoughts first
The book is full of helpful info ,research and practical tips ,give it a try but it didn't make that inner shift inside of me ,I wish if I read something more personal like a personal experience or more inspiring instead of just heaps of data!

[Lindsey · Rating 5 out of 5]

I have always had very negative thoughts about myself. This book made me look at why I was having those thoughts and gave me ways to move passed them and start thinking in a much healthier way. It made me look at how I treated myself and others and showed me ways to treat everyone differently. I've found myself being much more positive and treating myself much better. This book made me look at myself and the whole world in a different light.

[Wendy Jenae · Rating 5 out of 5]

This author takes a spiritual approach to finding love for your body. Part of the book is devoted to explaining how we end up hating ourselves (a small part of the book) and the rest is devoted to giving advice on how to eliminate the self-directed negativity and begin to live a more peaceful and gentle life.