“I can’t stop thinking about my body”
There’s a difference between occasionally noticing your appearance and living in constant preoccupation with your body.
For many people struggling with body image concerns or eating disorders, thoughts about their body can become relentless. It can start subtly, checking mirrors more often, comparing photos, pinching at certain body parts, avoiding certain clothes, or changing plans because of how you feel in your body that day.
Over time, these behaviours don’t reduce body image distress, they often strengthen it.
The Problem With Body Checking
Body checking behaviours can include:
Frequently weighing yourself
Checking mirrors repeatedly
Body comparison
Pinching or measuring body parts
Taking progress photos obsessively
Monitoring shape changes throughout the day
Seeking reassurance from others
These behaviours are often done in an attempt to feel more in control or reduce anxiety. But in reality, body checking keeps your brain hyper-focused on appearance.
The more attention we give our body, the more important and threatening it begins to feel.
Instead of creating reassurance, body checking increases body preoccupation, anxiety, shame and eating disorder thoughts. It can reinforce the belief that your worth or safety depends on your appearance.
Avoiding Your Body Can Also Keep You Stuck
On the other end of the spectrum are body avoidance behaviours.
This can look like:
Avoiding mirrors altogether
Refusing to buy clothes that fit your current body
Wearing oversized clothing to hide yourself
Avoiding photos
Avoiding social events because of body discomfort
Disconnecting from your body entirely
While avoidance may feel protective in the short term, it can actually strengthen fear and distress over time. Avoidance sends the message that your body is something dangerous, shameful or unacceptable.
Both body checking and body avoidance keep the eating disorder cycle going.
Social Media, “Wellness” Trends & Hollywood Influences
We are living in a time where appearance is constantly placed under a microscope.
Social media exposes us to endless body comparison, edited images, “what I eat in a day” videos, body transformation content and unrealistic beauty standards. Algorithms often amplify appearance-focused content, meaning the more you engage with it, the more you see.
Recently, trends such as the “Pilates Princess” aesthetic have become increasingly popular online, promoting thinness, control, restriction and the idea that wellness has a certain look.
At the same time, medications such as Ozempic have become heavily discussed in mainstream media and celebrity culture. While these medications have legitimate medical uses, the way they are being portrayed online can further reinforce the message that thinner is always better.
Hollywood and celebrity culture continue to glorify certain body types while disguising extreme dieting, cosmetic procedures and unrealistic lifestyles as “health”.
It’s no surprise so many people are struggling with body dissatisfaction.
Body Image Struggles Don’t Just Affect Appearance
Poor body image impacts far more than how someone feels when they look in the mirror.
It can take away:
Time and mental energy
Relationships
Spontaneity
Confidence
Social connection
Joy around food
Ability to be present
Quality of life
So much life can become centred around trying to shrink, control or change the body.
Many people tell themselves they’ll start living once they lose weight, look different or feel more confident. But often, body preoccupation keeps people disconnected from the very things that matter most to them.
How Body Image Impacts Nutrition & Eating Behaviours
Body image concerns rarely stay isolated to thoughts alone, they often begin influencing food choices, eating behaviours and overall nutrition.
When someone feels distressed or dissatisfied with their body, it can become difficult to trust their body’s needs. Food choices may start being driven by fear, guilt, appearance goals or the desire to feel more “in control” rather than hunger, satisfaction or wellbeing.
This can lead to:
Restricting food intake
Skipping meals
Avoiding certain food groups
Obsessive calorie tracking
Compensatory exercise
Cycles of restriction and binge eating
Increased guilt and anxiety around eating
Ironically, many of these behaviours actually increase food and body preoccupation over time.
When the body is underfed or deprived, the brain becomes more focused on food, eating and body shape. This can create a cycle where someone feels increasingly out of control around food, leading to further restriction in an attempt to “fix” things.
Body dissatisfaction is also one of the strongest risk factors for the development of eating disorders.
For many people, body image concerns may begin with dieting, “healthy eating” or fitness goals that slowly become more rigid and obsessive. Over time, these behaviours can escalate into more serious eating disorder symptoms, including severe restriction, binge eating, purging, compulsive exercise or intense fear around weight gain.
What often gets missed is that eating disorders are not just about food or weight. They are complex mental health conditions that can deeply impact physical health, emotional wellbeing, relationships and quality of life.
Poor body image can also disconnect people from the experience of nourishment itself. Instead of food being a source of energy, culture, enjoyment, connection or care, eating can become associated with anxiety, rules and self-judgement.
Part of recovery involves rebuilding trust with food and the body, learning that nourishment is not something that needs to be earned, controlled or feared.
Recovery Is Possible
Healing body image is not about loving your appearance every second of the day.
Often, recovery starts with reducing the power appearance has over your life.
This can involve:
Reducing body checking behaviours
Challenging avoidance patterns
Building coping strategies around comparison
Curating social media feeds
Exploring identity and self-worth outside appearance
Learning to nourish your body consistently
Processing underlying emotions with support
Support from a dietitian and psychologist can be incredibly helpful in breaking the cycle of body preoccupation and eating disorder behaviours.
You do not need to wait until things become “serious enough” to seek support.
You Deserve a Life Bigger Than Body Image
Your worth is not defined by your size, shape or appearance.
Recovery is about creating space for more, more connection, more freedom, more presence and more life outside of body thoughts.
If body image concerns or eating disorder behaviours are impacting your life, support is available.
At The Nourish Club, we support individuals with eating disorders, disordered eating and body image concerns through compassionate, non-judgemental care.
You can reach out to learn more about working with a dietitian or accessing additional therapy support.