Make Peace With Your Body

Jealous that your BFF can eat half a dozen cupcakes without gaining an ounce? Or maybe you hate your muscle-thick thighs because you want lanky legs like Taylor Swift’s. Or have you been wishing really hard that your boobs were … different?

Fat butt, pointy boobs, muffin top … stop that right now! As they say in Hollywood, image is everything. And if you have a positive self-image, you’ll project that. It’s totally true that when you feel good, you look good. Here’s how to love and embrace your body -- and stop wishing you had someone else’s.

Body Slam: “I’m so fat!”
Here’s something any naturally skinny girl will tell you: “I hate my [fill in the blank].” Just because bony chicks never (seem to) gain weight doesn’t mean they don’t have their own gripes. They might think they have ugly feet or big ears or wish they had a “better” butt. Get it?

Image Makeover:
Did you know the average age a female starts dieting is 8 years old? Isn’t that hard to read? Girl, let’s eat! But let’s not devour a whole row of cookies. Simply eat until you’re full at meals. Hint: This does not mean feeling like you’re about to burst.

Body Slam: “No amount of exercise will change my shape.”

Actually, it will. Giving up is the main reason people fail to meet their exercise goals. A few weeks of some bo-ring fitness regimen, and your brain muscle is associating the whole deal with suffering. No wonder it feels like a lost cause.

Image Makeover:
Ever notice how groups of athletes have similar body builds? Swimmer guys -- rawr! -- with broad, built shoulders? Lean soccer players? Ballerinas and B-girls? This is because they repeatedly use the same muscle groups. If you play to your bod’s strengths, you’ll love how it develops. But take up activities you enjoy. Hit Skateland for weekly open rink sessions. Ride your bike for a half hour every day. Dance to your favorite music vids. Bust a move!

Body Slam: “Celebs are all so much better looking than me.”

Taylor Swift is pretty, and the record execs who pick teen sensations took one look at her and saw dollar signs. Taylor wasn’t put into the recording studio just because of her voice -- the industry wanted you to covet her looks. And it worked. You love those legs, that hair, whatever … and you buy her music. You feeling bad about yourself because she is cute makes no sense.

Image Makeover:
Taylor works it, but even she has insecurities. She’s said she feels like she towers over guys. She also fights frizzies. She has her crud, you have yours -- all girls do! And not to be mean, but ever notice how Taylor gets dumped by all her dudes? Long legs aren’t everything.

Body Slam: “I hate my boobs!”

Teens are especially hard on themselves about their boobs because, well, they’re very new to you. It’s only been a minute, but already you wish they were bigger or smaller or had different nipples. Enough!

Image Makeover:
Who are these “perfect” boobs for? Your to-do: Buy the prettiest, best-fitting bra you can find and think of it as part of the whole boobie package. Boobs come in all fabulous shapes and sizes, so stop with the self-sabotage.

How to Get Rid of Pimples -- Fast!

Don’t know the first thing about zit zapping? Whether you get the occasional pesky pimple or all-out acne breakouts, here are the best ways to banish blemishes and rid yourself of pimples for good.

Step 1: Wash your face.

You must use a gentle cleanser (not harsh soap!) on your face in the morning and at night. Keeping skin clean is imperative to zapping zits and preventing more outbreaks. Just lather the cleanser into your hands or a soft cloth -- nothing coarse, which could irritate -- and gently apply to your face (keep away from eyes!). Rinse well and dry with a clean towel. Toss the cloth and towel into the laundry, as reusing them can spread pimple-producing bacteria.

Step 2: Try a home remedy.

If you only have a few zits to zap, some people swear by tea tree oil (available in health food stores) or toothpaste. Just dab a little on the affected spot and leave on overnight. (Do not try these remedies if you have sensitive skin.)

Step 3: Hit the drugstore.

Are your pimples persistent? Head to the pharmacy for an over-the-counter treatment. Choose a product that contains hydrogen peroxide or salicylic acid -- both antibacterial agents -- then carefully follow the directions on the product packaging.

Step 4: Go easy on the makeup.

You might be tempted to cover up your zits with makeup, but cosmetics tend to worsen the problem. If you insist on wearing any makeup, go with oil-free water-based products -- and be sure to wash it off before you go to bed. Also, keep your hands and hair, which carry oils, away from your face. Updo, anyone?

Step 5: See a dermatologist.
If you’ve tried everything but you’re still losing the battle to chronic acne, talk to your parents about making an appointment for you to see a dermatologist. This is a doctor who specializes in skin care, and he or she will prescribe effective medication or another appropriate treatment regimen faster than you can say “Buh-bye, blemishes!”

How TV Distorts Your Body Image

There’s a sneaky force taking over the minds of girls everywhere. Sound like the evil plot of a dark fictional cartoon? Fact is, TV and other forms of media, like teen magazines, have a huge influence on the health of teen girls. What you watch on the tube affects your self-esteem, shopping decisions and even facial expressions (eye-roll much?). But most of all, it affects how you feel about your body.

According to a recent study by the Girl Scout Research Institute, nearly three-fourths of girls fess up to comparing their looks to those of girls in the media.

The “Ugly Betty” Complex
On ABC’s “Ugly Betty,” the main character is forced to face her insecurities as a misfit working in the perfectionist world of fashion magazines. Surrounded by stick-thin models and cosmetically enhanced editors, Betty embraces a unique sense of style, which, along with her size, sparks ridicule from her co-workers. But here’s the thing: Betty is the most normal one of the bunch, braces and all!

Props to America Ferrara, who plays the lead role, for rocking the same healthy attitude in real life that Betty portrays on the show. America, like Betty, doesn’t get blinded by the glitz and glam of celebrity culture. And Betty, like America, feels OK about herself despite her superficial surroundings. Maybe that’s because she knows models are thinner than a whopping 98 percent of us!

Welcome to “The Real World”
Here’s something that might shock you: Celebrities are human! That’s right, the celebs you see on TV get zits, wake up with dark circles under their eyes and have frizzed-out hair days. So why do they always look so put together on camera? Well, you’d have a celeb-perfect look too if you had an entourage of professionals -- makeup artists, hairstylists, custom spray-tanning pros -- to help you get ready for school in the morning, right? And then there are all those other tricks of the TV trade: lighting, camera angles, digital editing.

Glance around your classroom, and you’ll see girls of all different body types. Does TV represent this? Hardly. Even “reality” shows like “The Real World” on MTV almost always cast only those who photograph the best. (Realize too that the most photogenic people are not necessarily the most beautiful.)

Over “The Hills”
Heidi Montag, star of MTV’s “The Hills,” serves up a cautionary tale. The 23-year- old got sucked into the “perfect beauty” myth and recently underwent a 10-hour marathon of plastic surgery to drastically alter her appearance. Among other procedures, Heidi had her breasts increased to DDD size; liposuction on her neck, waist, hips and thighs; and a butt augmentation. On top of the changes to her bod, she had so many alterations done to her face that she’s barely recognizable as the fresh-faced young girl she used to be.

“She was so pretty before, and now she looks weird,” says 11-year-old Megan, a Girl World Daily reader. “TV can be a big influence, but I’ve learned it’s basically kinda fake. Nobody is perfect!”

Beating Eating Disorders

It’s completely normal and OK to gain several pounds when you’re going through puberty and becoming a woman. But as they become overly obsessed with their weight, many girls in their teens all over the world are at greatest risk of developing eating disorders. Yikes!

Here’s the Skinny …
“I started my eating disorder at age 13, the moment I noticed a little pocket of fat at my bikini line,” says Elizabeth, now an adult survivor of anorexia. “I was wearing a turquoise swimsuit with a ruffle -- a swimsuit that I loved and felt so feminine in -- but with that negative thought that "fat is bad".

No wonder a whopping 81 percent of 10-year-old girls say they’re “afraid of being fat.” A “body-perfect” illusion, promoted by the media and fashion industry, has girls tricked into thinking they should be unrealistically stick-thin.

“It was when I noticed that little pocket of fat that I decided to eat less,” says Elizabeth. “Very quickly, my entire self-worth became wrapped up in my body size. I became obsessed with thin models in magazines.”

Harsh but True
Elizabeth, quite literally, was starving herself. “I felt so in control while restricting my food intake and losing weight,” she says, “but then out of control when my body became so hungry that I would eat everything I could after several days of restricting.” Elizabeth was in the throes of anorexia nervosa, a disease defined by self-starvation and extreme weight loss.

Another dangerous disorder is bulimia nervosa, in which sufferers binge on large quantities of food in a short period and then purge by ridding calories through unhealthy means such as vomiting or taking laxatives (ew).

While there are other serious eating disorders, such as binge-eating disorder (this differs from bulimia in that there is no purging), anorexia and bulimia are the most dangerous and, well, life-threatening. “It is time to talk about eating disorders because people die,” states Lynn Grefe, CEO of the National Eating Disorders Association, which receives calls from all over the world.

Elizabeth, who finally sought help for her disease at age 20, became so thin that her teeth chipped, skin broke out and hair became brittle and started falling out. The brutal fact is, of all mental illnesses, eating disorders are the No. 1 killer. 

Peer Pressure? Whatever!

How far would you go to have others think you’re cool? Would you steal from a store? Pull a cruel prank on a teacher? If you’d take risks and behave in ways you normally wouldn’t just to follow the pack, that’s caving in to peer pressure.

What’s the Big Deal?
You’ve heard the term “peer pressure” since third grade. Before you even understood exactly what it meant, you knew it was some force that had a profound impact on your well-being. Peer pressure is the influence your “friends” exert on you, and recent reports blame it for everything from body piercings to school shootings.

Not all peer pressure is negative. The people you hang out with shape your personality. Girls who have a supportive network of friends are less likely to suffer from depression. If your friends play sports, eat right, do well in school and are involved in community service, chances are, so will you. If they don’t smoke or do drugs, chances are, neither will you.

Combating Mean Girls
In-your-face peer pressure can cause even the strongest teens to consider risky behavior. More than 70 percent of girls in a recent survey said they’ve seen clique members act mean toward outsiders. Whether you’re tempted (“Come on, it’ll be fun ... we’ll never get caught.”), taunted (“What's the matter, your mommy says you can’t go?”) or threatened (“If you were really our friend, you’d come with us.”), there are ways to handle the pressure:

  • Ask lots of questions The answers will help you determine the level of risk involved and will also put the other person on the defensive, which places you in a position of power.
  • Consider the consequences Getting grounded? School detention? Your conscience? Contrary to what they're telling you, everyone is not “doing it” (no matter what it is).
  • Practice saying no When you have to say it, don’t trip up. The more certain you are of your no, the less people will bother you.
  • Get away from the pressure zone If you know what's about to happen -- maybe a conversation bad-mouthing a friend of yours or an invitation to a place you're not comfortable going to -- make a quick exit.
  • Be your own best friend There is no feeling greater than standing up for yourself and learning to be your own person. True friends like you for who you are, not for who they want you to be.