Hi!
So many girls write to me that they don't like their body even though others say that they look fine, so they have a hard time figuring out what to do about it. If this sounds like you, I have some ideas. Read on...
xoxoxoxo
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I'm not happy with my body! |
Dear Dr. Susan,
My friends and boyfriend tell me that I look fine--but I'm really unhappy with my body. Should I try and change or believe my friends?
Overweight and Confused
Dear confused,
first, it is great that you have such supportive people in your life--you're lucky that they care about you and want you to feel good about yourself. Before you decide what to do, you need to figure out if your friends are correct, or if they just want to be supportive and not hurt your feelings. There are a couple of different ways you can figure out if your body is healthy or not.
#1. Go to your doctor and ask to be weighed and measured. Then ask your doctor if you need to lose weight. Make sure you ask directly, because some doctors don't like to discuss weight issues with their patients.
#2 Go to an online BMI calculater like THIS ONE and put in all your measurements to see if you are at a healthy weight for your height and age.
If you discover that you are above the weight you should be, it is time do do something about it, even if your friends tell you that you look fine.
BUT, if you find that your weight is healthy, it is important for you to figure out why you feel bad about your body, even though it is healthy. You may need to speak to your parent, doctor or a counselor/therapist about your body image.
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