140 Affirmations for Body Image to Achieve Acceptance

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Last Updated on October 2, 2023

Feeling at peace with your body image is an ongoing struggle for many. It doesn’t help that we’ve had body-negative media shoved in our face from our early, most formative years.

If we fall short of having the tiniest waist, biggest butt, and perfectly toned arms, we’re told to feel inferior.

It takes a LOT of re-training our brains to view ourselves positively, rather than fixate on every little “flaw” society has told us to feel embarrassed of.

But one way to work on your relationship with yourself and your body image is to start with positive self image affirmations.

These affirmations for body image will help you get one step closer to reaching a point of neutrality, acceptance, self-love, or whatever goal you’re trying to achieve when it comes to appreciating your body.

In this post, you’ll find affirmations for body image that include: 

• Affirmations for Body Neutrality
• Affirmations for Body Positivity
• Affirmations for Body Dysmorphia
• Body Acceptance Affirmations
• Healthy Body Affirmations

It’s no easy feat, but these feminine body affirmations will help you adjust your habits with the type of self talk you use!

What is Body Image?: The Psychology Behind It

Believe it or not, body image is completely separate from your actual appearance! Body image is the mental image you create of yourself, regardless of how your body actually appears.

The American Psychological Association (APA) defines this as “the mental picture one forms of one’s body as a whole, including its physical characteristics and one’s attitudes toward these characteristics.”

And SO many factors help build this structure of your body image. Some factors go as far back as early childhood. These are the building blocks, but lived experiences contribute even more ideas about your body with time and age.

Things that may negatively impact your body image include:

• Culture and upbringing – beauty standards can be all over the place from culture to culture. The way your family talks about their own body image and the standards they set also create the foundation for your own body image.
• The media you consume – can you believe that 88% of women compare themselves to images they see on social media? Media can really set the standard for how you think you’re supposed to look.
• Normal body changes as you age – it’s often not until puberty that we start becoming hyper-focused on our bodies. This experience of a rapidly changing body can make us feel completely out of control, only adding to our insecurities.

What are body image affirmations? Do they really help body image?

Positive affirmations are encouraging, uplifting statements you repeat to yourself. Through regular repetition, you’re training your mind to choose positive self talk instead of negative self talk.

This is how positive affirmations can help you feel better about your body image! With enough practice, you’ll start to see your self-critical judgments replaced with self-acceptance.

The more you practice thinking and speaking kind things to yourself and your body, the more it’ll become second nature.

Be sure to recite each of these affirmations for body image as though you actually believe (or want to believe!) in them. This is when they become most effective.

Types of Body Image Affirmations

• Body Positive Affirmations – the goal of these affirmations are to promote a positive and loving attitude toward your body. This is about celebrating yourself and appreciating your beauty!
• Body Neutral Affirmations – being all about balance, body neutral affirmations help you develop a more neutral stance about your body, without necessarily focusing on positivity or negativity. Your body “just is.”
• Body Dysmorphia Affirmations – for women who feel obsessive over their perceived flaws, these affirmations will help you challenge your distorted thoughts to see yourself more accurately.
• Body Acceptance Affirmations – coming to terms with your body is a challenge. The goal with these affirmations is to reduce your self-criticism by acknowledging and respecting your body’s unique qualities.
• Healthy Body Affirmations – these affirmations are more focused on how functional your body is and what it does for you. This helps you avert your attention away from your appearance and re-center it toward your physical health and self care.

Here are 140 affirmations for body image specific to your goals

Looking for positive self image affirmations to improve the way you feel about your body? Look no further!

Whether your goal is body positivity, simply coming to a place of body neutrality, overcoming body dysmorphia, or just appreciating a healthy body, these affirmations are the mindset boost you need.

Don’t lose these affirmations for body image! Pin them to come back later!

Affirmations for Body Neutrality

I highly suggest trying these affirmations for body image neutrality first before diving into body positivity. You have to reach a place of feeling neutral acceptance for your body before you can take it a step further into truly loving your body.

1. My body keeps me moving and going about life.
2. I am more than my body.
3. My body is the least interesting thing about myself.
4. I appreciate all things my body does for me.
5. I am enough no matter what size I am.
6. I am always worthy of love.
7. I deserve to show my body the care it needs.
8. Enjoying food is totally normal and healthy.
9. I am allowed to have bad days and good days.
10. My body is here to help me, not hurt me.
11. When I’m hungry, I can eat.
12. Food is never the enemy.
13. There is no reason to fear food when it can bring me great joy.
14. I feel at peace with my food.
15. I let go of the urge to restrict.

{RELATED: 114 Affirmations for Letting Go and Releasing Expectations}

16. Numbers won’t define me.
17. Self-comparison is irrelevant because we are all built differently.
18. Clothes are made to fit my body, not the other way around. It’s nothing personal if an article of clothing doesn’t fit.
19. I will reroute my energy to focus on more interesting things than my body.
20. I am getting one step closer to body acceptance each day.
21. Food has no moral value.
22. Health also has nothing to do with morality.
23. I accept and respect my body just the way it is.
24. Society’s image of the “ideal body” literally changes every decade!
25. Guilt has no place in how I feel about my body.
26. It’s okay not to love my body 24/7. My emotions can ebb and flow. It is about accepting my varying emotions.
27. My body is only ONE part of me.
28. Feeling my best is so much more important than looking my best.
29. My goal is to fuel my body in ways that make me feel my best.
30. I will value and honor my body.
31. I don’t expect perfection from my friends. Why expect it from myself?
32. I will consume less media that makes me fixate on my body image.
33. Exercise is there to help me feel my best.

Want your affirmations to really make a difference? Make them something you look at everyday!

Body Positive Affirmations

After you’ve mastered body neutrality, you might feel comfortable taking the next step toward body positivity. If your goal is self-love, these positive body affirmations are a great next-step toward achieving that! Body confidence is key, and these body positive mantras will make confidence achievable.

34. I aim to view myself with the same love I’d give to myself as a child.
35. I can’t hate myself into being skinny.
36. Positive body image starts in my own mind.
37. Loving my body is SO much more than loving the way it looks.
38. It is okay for my body to evolve and change. I’ll accept these changes with a positive mindset.
39. My body is a gift.
40. Goal weights and measurements are just arbitrary numbers. How I feel matters so much more.
41. Others are too preoccupied with themselves to focus on my weight.
42. It’s okay for me to love myself and feel positive body thoughts.
43. Self-love toward my body is not selfish, it’s essential.
44. Spending too much time wishing I looked like someone else takes me away from my values, goals, and the great things about me.
45. I will stop comparing myself to airbrushed, photoshopped bodies. My body in its natural state is fabulous.
46. Practicing balance is so much more sustainable than going to the extreme.
47. I deserve to treat myself and not feel guilty about it.
48. My natural shape is beautiful.
49. I look the way I’m supposed to look like.
50. The way I look is not my identity.
51. I can be healthy, beautiful, and positive about my body at any size.
52. I will never let my size hold me back from doing the things I want to do.
53. Life doesn’t start 10 lbs from now, it starts right now.
54. It’s okay to let myself rest and relax.
55. It’s okay to take a break from exercise (or to not exercise!)
56. I don’t need to exercise or eat a certain way to be worthy.
57. If I’m healthy, I’m blessed.
58. Other people don’t have to like me. I just have to like me.
59. Being okay with who I am already is enough.
60. I don’t always have to be working on myself.
61. I am slowly but surely making peace with my body through the power of positivity.
62. My body makes me feel good.
63. I deserve to love myself unconditionally.
64. My body allows me to live my best life.
65. I am so very grateful for my body.
66. I appreciate the food I eat because it nourishes me.

RELATED: 110 Beauty Affirmations to Spark Confidence Inside and Out

Affirmations for Body Dysmorphia

Body dysmorphia is when you fixate on a perceived flaw or insecurity to the point where it becomes obsessive. These affirmations for body dysmorphia will help to ease your anxieties surrounding your body.

67. Skinny doesn’t equal better, prettier, or more-loved.
68. Changing my body doesn’t mean I’ll accept it. My mindset must change instead.
69. Chasing perfection won’t help me.
70. I am capable of so much more than looking a certain way.
71. I am confident that my body is perfectly fine the way it is.

Affirmations for body image are a helpful coping tool, but you’ll find the most benefit if you pair them with therapy. Talking to an online therapist can really help you out. It’s helped me tremendously! I always recommend Online Therapy because it’s a comprehensive, effective online therapy toolkit at an affordable monthly cost. Get 20% off your first month with the link below!

72. My body is one worth being proud of.
73. To expect myself to be free of flaws or insecurities is unrealistic.
74. Any perceived “flaws” I have are perfectly normal and I accept them.
75. I can have a relaxed view of my body.
76. My body image is capable of improvement and acceptance.
77. My body is an instrument to carry me through life, not an ornament.
78. My body proportions are exactly as they should be. We are all different!
79. My appearance has no bearing on my value or worth.
80. There are plenty of people who see the beauty in me.
81. My size doesn’t define who I am.
82. It takes less energy to treat my body with love and acceptance than to criticize it.
83. There are no limitations on what my body can do for me.
84. I will not limit myself based on the way I think I look.
85. I will feel my best when I’m taking care of both my mind and body.
86. My body deserves self-care no matter what.

{RELATED: 22 Rewarding Self Care Things To Do When Bored}

87. I am blessed with good health and a good body.
88. My body is my home and worth taking care of.
89. I am in tune with what my body is telling me and I will honor its cues.
90. My body is a representation of strength, not shame.
91. I am free to be who I really am without a label of “thin” or “fat”
92. I will not let subjective words and ideas impact the way I view myself.
93. How I feel inside is what determines how successful my journey has been.
94. My body is the perfect body for me.
95. I am complete just the way I am.
96. I trust my body.
97. Self compassion toward my body wins every time.
98. My mental health comes first, and certainly before any diet.
99. I eat for energy and nourishment.
100. My opinion of myself is more valuable than anyone else’s. 

Body Acceptance Affirmations

When you practice body acceptance, you focus on exactly that–accepting your body for what it is. These body acceptance affirmations will help you accept things like listening to your hunger cues, intuitive eating, and releasing body image anxiety.

101. My body knows best.
102. I trust my body’s hunger and fullness signals.
103. I honor my body’s hunger cues without judgment.
104. I free myself of guilt for enjoying myself through food.
105. Intuitive eating guides me to self-compassion while nourishing myself.
106. My body deserves my upmost respect, attention, and care.
107. My worth goes beyond my appearance.
108. I release the need for external validation.
109. I have the power to make choices that better my emotional well-being.
110. I am at peace with my body’s natural shape and size.
111. My body is not my enemy, it’s on my side!
112. I focus on my individual journey to wellness, without comparison.
113. My body adapts to changing needs throughout the month and that is totally normal.
114. Food is meant to be savored, not feared.
115. I acknowledge my body’s achievements, no matter how small.
116. My body deserves my patience and forgiveness.
117. I will give my body grace.
118. There is no true reason for me to conform.
119. My body is smart enough to find its natural balance as I listen to its needs.
120. I choose to heal from any mistreatment I’ve given my body in the past.

RELATED: 60 Feminine Energy Affirmations for Proud Girl Power

Healthy Body Affirmations

When you remember that your health matters SO much more than your appearance, it really puts your body image into perspective. These healthy body affirmations will remind you of the real reason your body serves you! Body positivity in the context of health is seriously important.

121. My body is a vessel that helps me live a full, rich life.
122. Health above all else.
123. I make choices that support my end goal of health and wellness.
124. I am grateful for the strength and endurance my body gives me.
125. I love how resilient my body is in its ability to adapt and heal.
126. My body provides me with the energy and vitality to take it wherever I want to go.
127. I give my body wholesome foods that give me fuel in return.
128. Health does not mean excluding “unhealthy” foods.
129. Health is about balance, where all foods have their place in my life in moderation.
130. Exercise only helps me care for my body. It is never meant to be used as a punishment.
131. I deserve to do movement that makes me genuinely feel good.
132. I listen to my body if it’s telling me to slow down and rest.
133. My body is a powerful system that works hard to keep me healthy and feeling my best.
134. I find more value in how I feel rather than how I look.
135. I practice gratitude each day for the gift of good health.
136. I embrace the joy of cooking meals I enjoy.
137. My body is like my partner in achieving well-being.
138. I trust that my body is working toward greater health.
139. I choose to release stressful thoughts so that I can protect my body and mind.
140. True beauty is rooted in health and happiness.

How to boost your body confidence with daily body image affirmations

To make these affirmations for body image most effective, consistency and repetition is absolutely everything.

By using daily affirmations for body image, you will engrain these positive thoughts in your mind. 

I suggest choosing 3-5 affirmations in this post that resonate the most with you. Speak them each morning, journal about them, or focus on them as you meditate.

If you’re a visual person like me, you should print out my affirmation cards and paste them on your wall for an added visual reminder!

Should I use affirmations for body neutrality or body positivity?

First, be aware of the differences between the two.

• Body positivity = the right for everyone to have a positive body image despite societal and cultural norms.
• Body neutrality = neither hating nor loving your body and instead, arriving at a place of general acceptance and respect for your body.

Which focus you choose depends greatly on your goals and background. If your body image is in a really bad place right now, I suggest choosing body neutrality as it will be a less daunting, more practical goal to pursue. 

Affirmations for body neutrality can bridge the gap between hating and loving your body. If you’ve been stuck in a rough spot with your body image for quite some time, it might be unrealistic to expect yourself to transition into full self-love right away.

Body positivity can come in time, but start small to begin with.

On the other hand, if you go back and forth between feeling okay about your body some days and really stressing about it on others, you probably have some familiarity with body neutrality, but it’s just not consistent.

In this case, you could further explore body neutrality affirmations, or if you feel ready, push yourself to pursue body positivity and see if it changes your outlook on your body image. Both types of affirmations for body image are included in this post!

How do you affirm someone with body dysmorphia?

Do you have someone you love that struggles with body dysmorphia? It can be difficult knowing the right thing to say, while being careful not to say anything that has the wrong impact.

You can support a loved one with body dysmorphia by focusing on these ideas:

• Listen without judgment – offer your unconditional support and encouragement. Listen to truly listen, rather than listen to respond. Hear their feelings, thoughts, and concerns without invalidating or dismissing them.
• Educate yourself – body dysmorphia can be serious, as it can spiral into body dysmorphic disorder (BDD). By looking up resources about this, you can feel more confident in understanding and soothing your friend or family member.
• Try not to give into reassurance – it may seem counterintuitive, but reassuring someone with body dysmorphia can reinforce their obsessions. Instead, support them with what you can, while encouraging them to reach out to a licensed therapist who has the expertise to help them.
• Be patient – avoid getting frustrated, even if you don’t understand why your friend could possibly see themselves as “fat” when it’s clear to you that they aren’t. Body dysmorphia doesn’t work based on logic. Be validating and understand that what they are feeling is very real to them.

Final thoughts on body image affirmations

All in all, these affirmations for body image are here to support you no matter what your wellness goals are!

Maybe you’re frustrated trying to achieve body positivity when it’s just not working for you. Body neutrality might be what you need right now.

Maybe you feel too wrapped up in your appearance, in which case you might want to focus on healthy body affirmations that prioritize the more functional side of what your body does for you!

Whichever type of body image affirmations you choose, recite them with intention and make them a regular part of your routine for best results.

You’ve got this, and you deserve to see yourself as the amazing individual you are! You are so much more than your body. Never forget that.

More Affirmations You’ll Love

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114 Affirmations for Letting Go and Releasing Expectations

250 Peaceful Affirmations for Overthinking

LIKE THESE AFFIRMATIONS FOR BODY IMAGE? PIN THEM FOR LATER!