Chapter 9: Healthier Ever After

You can live free from self-loathing by learning how to believe the truth about who you are. God longs for us to be focused on living in and enjoying our bodies, not being enslaved to them...

"Your beauty should not come from outward adornment... instead it should be that of inner self, the unfading beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God's sight." 1 Peter 3:3-4

"The number one reason not to berate and mistreat your body is because God is the one who created you. He loves you, and when you love someone you don't want to see her berating herself."

How do you let God be the reason you love your body?

Staying on track to maintain changes in thought patterns and feelings takes some work...

1. Accept that you are not perfect
Be realistic and know that at times you will have a negative thought or feeling

2. Take inventory of your mind
Take every thought captive in order to attain emotional, psychological, and spiritual peace

3. Get enough rest for your body

4. Recognize negative feelings and deal with them daily
Take immediate notice if you experience negative emotions about your body, don't let them slide or they will continue to build. Examine your feelings and talk to God about them.

5. Enlist an accountability partner
There is power in prayer when two or more are gathered in the Father's name

6. Reread the book and complete the exercises

7. Don't judge how others look
When you are less critical of others, you will be less critical of yourself

8. Don't receive criticism about how you look from others
Resist negative words from others with God's help

9. Write yourself a letter about the new truth you are learning and read it when you feel negatively about yourself

10. Recognize the symptoms of relapse

"For attractive lips, speak words of kindness.
For lovely eyes, seek out the good in people.
For a slim figure, share your food with the hungry.
For beautiful hair, let a child run his or her fingers through it.
For poise, walk with the knowledge that you'll never walk alone."
Audrey Hepburn