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Body Neutrality: The Liberating Practice of Accepting Your Body Exactly as It Is
Break up with diet culture and make peace with your body. Learn simple, practical strategies to help you accept and respect your body exactly as it is right now. For too long, women have lived under the weight of a societal obsession with beauty. It’s not enough that we are teachers, scientists, nurturers, visionaries, innovators, leaders, entrepreneurs, encouragers, artists, and healers. We must also be beautiful. “We are all beautiful!”, they say. “Love your body!”, they shout from little squares in our Instagram feeds. But that’s really hard to do. More than half of all women struggle with negative body image. Disordered eating patterns are incredibly common. Diet culture permeates every part of life, trying to convince us we are not good enough. But what if loving your body doesn’t mean what we think it means? What if we don’t have to love the way we look? There’s a better way to combat negative body image and diet culture, and it doesn't come with a new standard of beauty. By practicing body neutrality, we can learn to peacefully dwell in our bodies and stop thinking so much about how we look. This book is for every woman out there who is tired of hating her body. This is for every woman who is ready to show her body radical acceptance and respect. This is for every woman who is tired of being boxed into spaces she no longer fits and is ready for liberation.
85 pages, Kindle Edition
First published January 11, 2021
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Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews
April 14, 2022
I choose books that I'm going to read in regards to health and body image very cautiously. As I can easily be triggered into a spiral that never ends up working for me by putting this type of information in my mind.
However, this quick read was just what I needed. In 80-some pages, I have 30 highlights of things I did not want to forget.
The idea of Body Neutrality is something I've pondered for a couple of years but did not practice as I did not have the mental capacity. I have been working hard on my relationship with my body, food, weight, and image lately after I came to a significant crossroads in my life. Body Neutrality has me finally feeling that I can find some sort of balance for myself. Something I honestly never thought I would achieve.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their mind and thoughts to the concepts of Body Neutrality without becoming overwhelmed.
However, this quick read was just what I needed. In 80-some pages, I have 30 highlights of things I did not want to forget.
The idea of Body Neutrality is something I've pondered for a couple of years but did not practice as I did not have the mental capacity. I have been working hard on my relationship with my body, food, weight, and image lately after I came to a significant crossroads in my life. Body Neutrality has me finally feeling that I can find some sort of balance for myself. Something I honestly never thought I would achieve.
I would recommend this book to anyone who wants to open their mind and thoughts to the concepts of Body Neutrality without becoming overwhelmed.
January 2, 2022
A very short read, but I enjoyed the practical aspects. It included personal anecdotes, statistics, as well as ways to incorporate body neutrality in your life. At times it felt more like a blog post than a book, but I would still recommend this book to several people in my life.
March 17, 2024
always and forever the most powerful book that has set me on a track of radical self acceptance, read it for the first time about 2-3 years ago and it empowered me then and it has empowered me now, a time where my insecurities have sneaked back into my life. will forever and always recommend everyone to read this (and it is so so short so people can’t use that excuse to ignore this message)
December 15, 2022
Body Neutrality by Ayla Freitas Ghibaudy
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 8/10
Genre: Self-help
Content Warning: fatphobia, eating disorders
Page Count: 85
POV: First-person
First Line:
"A few years ago I decided it was a good idea to quit my well-paying, stable day job to pursue a new career."
Favorite Quote:
"We don't owe anybody beauty."
Summary:
This book is all about how to practice body neutrality, or accepting your body exactly as it is. Backed with evidence that society's current stances on health are not actually healthy, Freitas Ghibaudy outlines three steps to body neutrality in this short but informative book.
Review:
This book covers negative body image, diet culture, why body positivity isn't the solution, and strategies to practice body neutrality.
The strategies discussed include:
- Self-talk. Talking yourself through why you're thinking negatively and asking yourself if you would be happier if you didn't have that thought.
- Neutral Language. Using neutral language around food, bodies, and health so as not to inject inherent positive or negative connotations.
- Self-care. Taking care of your body no matter what, including nourishing it, moving it, clothing it comfortably, and resting it.
I found the advice simple but encouraging. It's not asking you to make a radical change, but rather asking you to think about why your body image is negative in order to move your thoughts to a place of indifference. A quick read, I liked how informative it was while explaining things in an accessible way. My only complaint is that there were many grammar mistakes (I found it distracting). I also wish it had included more detailed strategies on getting to body neutrality.
Some quotes that stood out to me:
- "Accepting your body means holding the truth that your body is exactly as it is supposed to be right now, in this moment, and that is a good thing."
- "Worth is not something you need to chase, because you already have it."
- "Negative body image is not a body problem, so there is not a body solution. Changing your body will not fix your body."
#bodyneutrality #kindleunlimited #bookreview #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookish #books
Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 8/10
Genre: Self-help
Content Warning: fatphobia, eating disorders
Page Count: 85
POV: First-person
First Line:
"A few years ago I decided it was a good idea to quit my well-paying, stable day job to pursue a new career."
Favorite Quote:
"We don't owe anybody beauty."
Summary:
This book is all about how to practice body neutrality, or accepting your body exactly as it is. Backed with evidence that society's current stances on health are not actually healthy, Freitas Ghibaudy outlines three steps to body neutrality in this short but informative book.
Review:
This book covers negative body image, diet culture, why body positivity isn't the solution, and strategies to practice body neutrality.
The strategies discussed include:
- Self-talk. Talking yourself through why you're thinking negatively and asking yourself if you would be happier if you didn't have that thought.
- Neutral Language. Using neutral language around food, bodies, and health so as not to inject inherent positive or negative connotations.
- Self-care. Taking care of your body no matter what, including nourishing it, moving it, clothing it comfortably, and resting it.
I found the advice simple but encouraging. It's not asking you to make a radical change, but rather asking you to think about why your body image is negative in order to move your thoughts to a place of indifference. A quick read, I liked how informative it was while explaining things in an accessible way. My only complaint is that there were many grammar mistakes (I found it distracting). I also wish it had included more detailed strategies on getting to body neutrality.
Some quotes that stood out to me:
- "Accepting your body means holding the truth that your body is exactly as it is supposed to be right now, in this moment, and that is a good thing."
- "Worth is not something you need to chase, because you already have it."
- "Negative body image is not a body problem, so there is not a body solution. Changing your body will not fix your body."
#bodyneutrality #kindleunlimited #bookreview #bookreviews #bookreviewer #bookstagram #bookstagrammer #bookish #books
April 1, 2024
This book was educational yet healing at the same time. For someone that struggles with an ED as well as body image issues, this was an amazing read. It was liberating, inspiring, and comforting. I would recommend this book to everyone, especially to those trapped by diet culture. This book has helped me start my body neutrality journey.
April 14, 2021
A very quick read, and I’d describe this as more of a manifesto than anything else. It’s great, there are some good practical exercises to try, and it’s left me feeling positive. I particularly enjoyed and related to the author’s story of a childhood memory.
July 1, 2023
I was surprised at how much I enjoyed this! The length made me think it wouldn’t have much substance or that it would feel rushed, but Ghibaudy did a beautiful job explaining the history of how diet culture came to be and some very helpful tips on how to break away from the pressures.
October 15, 2023
Succinct and easy to read
A wonderful short guide to the fundamentals of body neutrality. Ghibaudy goes through important topics like the racist origins of fatphobia, the myth of BMI and fat activism. There's not much in the way of practical advice though.
A wonderful short guide to the fundamentals of body neutrality. Ghibaudy goes through important topics like the racist origins of fatphobia, the myth of BMI and fat activism. There's not much in the way of practical advice though.
July 26, 2023
OMG. This book was incredible, absolutely recommend to anyone struggling with body image and thinking maybe there’s something else out there.
January 7, 2022
This had several good points, like reminders of all the other information out there. Kind of read like a research essay. Definitely had important points but nothing groundbreaking .
Displaying 1 - 10 of 10 reviews