Compared to Who? Body Image for Christian Women

Like shame – condemnation can weigh heavy on us. Condemnation can shout loudly at us when we eat something culture says is bad or if we don’t do something we thought we should or were supposed to do or if we miss a workout, or if we didn’t lose the X number of pounds we resolved to lose last year! There are many opportunities for condemnation to join shame and scream at us that we’re doing somethi...

Shame is what keeps us afraid and hiding around our body image issues. When we’re embarrassed, we will do anything to cover our shame. Sometimes it seems like the easiest route to covering our shame would be to "get" the body/outside appearance that we want so we will be safe from condemnation or the opinions of others. But, shame is deeper than our skin. What often happens is that we may have a s...

Christian Body Image Coach, Heather Creekmore, has never worked with a client who didn’t have a soundtrack of lies that she listened to regularly. Lies rage and tell these women they are lazy, ugly, not good enough, or should feel ashamed. Today we talk about the lies -- how easy they are to listen to and how important it is to block them out after you identify them.  Most of us will say things to...

Most who struggle with body image and eating issues struggle with fear at some level. We may not call it that. We may call it "diligence" or "perfectionism" or "anxiety" or "body worry," but under it all is fear. We’re afraid of the opinions of others, we’re afraid of being unaccepted or misunderstood, and we’re afraid that if we don’t try our hardest to do everything just right then things will g...

Today our body image prayer is focused on praying to renew our mind. It’s really important that we understand that this battle with our body image, with food, with the way we look, what we weigh, what size we are, what our skin looks like – these are not battles with the mirror, the scale or public opinion of our bodies – these are battles in our mind and in our hearts. The battle is between what...

Food and body image issues can be confusing and distracting so in today's daily prayer we pray for freedom. One of Heather's biggest struggles was to know who she was serving. The temptation from Diet Culture and messages all around was to serve her body and herself and listen to the god (little g) god of body image and appearance who said that if she looked a certain way, then she would be free....

We often think about the word consistency in a dieting context. "If I could just be consistent. . . " Or, "if I could just eat only these foods and not these foods or if I could just work out every day . . ." If you’re like me, at the beginning of a new season, I feel like I have all this willpower to do things every single day! Then by day 14 or 15, my willpower runs out. I feel guilt and shame,...

Today we pray for strength. Food, eating, and body image struggles are real. But God's word encourages us that we don't have to fight them alone. We can be strong because of who is helping us. Today, we talk about how to invite God to help us with these issues and how to let him lead and guide each day. The world wants to tell you that you’ll get stronger when you accomplish your goals or when you...

Today we continue our "Tune in to Him" daily prayer series with a prayer for faith. Have you ever felt like things could never get better? Have you tried SO many different things to improve your body image that it almost feels like a lost cause? Perhaps you are trying to muster some faith right now that this year could be different, but, deep down, you still wonder if things can ever change. Today...

This month we'll be spending every weekday praying for issues related to body image and comparison issues. January is the time when everything and everyone around us beckons for us to tune in to their way to be "better" in the new year. Through this series, Heather encourages you to focus on deepening our trust for the only One who can truly make us better. We'll spend a few minutes each day talki...

I’m constantly learning new things and trying to share them with you as often as possible. While writing two new books this summer, I’ve spent time studying, learning, and uncovering new concepts around body image issues, why we struggle, food issues, eating disorders, intuitive eating, fasting, feasting, and so much more. In this episode, I discuss 5 things I’ve learned about body image issues an...

In today's Black Friday episode of the show, Heather talks about the connection between body image issues and shopping! If you've ever found yourself trying to soothe your body image frustration through buying clothes or buying things . . .you're not alone. Today's show offers practical tips for getting our shopping habits under control. There's nothing wrong with enjoying shopping, but if we beli...

Today Heather is joined by her Intuitive Eating coaches, Erin Todd and Char-Lee Cassel as they discuss navigating the holidays and more. Heather shares how last year she was in the "honeymoon" phase of Intuitive Eating during the holidays and how this year feels a little different. The group discusses how to incorporate the principles of gentle nutrition with the freedom to enjoy all foods. They a...

Today, Heather is joined by Erin Davis, an author, Bible teacher, and podcaster who has a new book out on Feasting and Fasting. In part two of this interview, Erin talks about feasting and how God created food as a good gift for his people. She shares how God has used food to show her his goodness and how healing our relationship with food is important. Erin and Heather also talk about how God wil...

Today's guest is Erin Davis. Erin is an author, Bible teacher, and podcaster who has a new book out on Feasting and Fasting. Today is part one of my interview with Erin where we talk about her own journey with an eating disorder in college. We also talk about how God has touched Erin's relationship with food through a deep dive through scripture. This led Erin to explore how often God encourages h...

Heather’s guest is a former client and new Facebook community manager, Tara Rothwell. Tara shares her story of fighting with food,  body image  issues, and other addictions. In today's episode, Tara shares about her experience in Heather’s group coaching program and how that has changed her  body image  issues and how his change has spilled over into other parts of her life, and brought positive c...

Today Heather's guest is former client and new Facebook community manager, Tara Rothwell. Tara shares her story of fighting with food, body image issues, and other additions and her testimony of how Jesus has walked beside her through tough times to bring her closer to him. This is part one of a two-part episode. Today, is Tara's testimony and in part two on Friday, Tara shares about her experienc...

Today my guest is Dr. Michelle Bengtson, a board-certified neuropsychologist, author, speaker and podcast host. Dr. B and Heather discuss the connection between OCD and eating disorders and body image issues. They also dig into the effect a narcissist parent, coach, or romantic partner may have on body image issues and eating disorder issues. Other topics covered in today's episode include: Why do...

This is part two of a two part interview with one of our favorite non-diet dietitians and eating disorder specialists, Amy Carlson. Today, Amy and Heather look at Romans 14 and what God has to say about food rules. In the passage, Paul breaks down how some of the Christian Jews still feel obligated to follow Jewish food rules. He also talks about how we can, in the most loving way possible, intera...

This is part one of a two part interview with one of our favorite non-diet dietitians and eating disorder specialists, Amy Carlson. Amy and Heather tackle the topics of good foods and bad foods from a biblical perspective. They dig into Romans 14 where Paul addresses the distinctions the believers in Rome have in the ways they eat and what they abstain from eating. Amy and Heather break down appli...

Today's Intuitive Eating coaching call Heather and her coaches talk about the real challenge of getting over that number on the scale. Heather talks about how a medical procedure recently forced her to see that number, after not weighing for a while, and how she's wrestled with the power that number holds. The trio talks about what we attach to that number, what health really is (beyond a number o...

If you're like me, there may be some items hanging out in your closet that no longer fit. Why do we hang on to these clothes? What's really going on in our heads and our hearts that keeps us from saying "adios" to something that's no longer right for our bodies? Today, Heather tackles the tough topic of why we hang on to clothes that don't fit and how to process, in an emotionally healthy way, bre...

Today Heather's friend, Jeanette Henriques continues sharing her testimony of struggling with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and facing various other life trials. Jeanette became a ward of the state of Texas as child, was in and out of eating disorder treatment fifty times, and has faced numerous health trials. In fact, at the time of this interview, Jeanette is on hospice because of the s...

Today Heather's friend, Jeanette Henriques shares her powerful testimony of struggling with eating disorders, anxiety, depression, and facing various other life trials. Jeanette became a ward of the state of Texas as child, was in and out of eating disorder treatment fifty times, and has faced numerous health trials. In fact, at the time of this interview, Jeanette is on hospice because of the sev...

How do we live in the world but not of it when it comes to beauty and standards of beauty? Have the standards of what the world calls beautiful subtly affected our own definitions of beauty? Today Heather talks about the history of beauty standards, including the history of foot-binding in China. Heather talks about what this beauty practice did to the girls and women of that nation over the cours...