One day, my grandmother told me, “The first time I heard the words bulimia and anorexia was after I had turned 75 years old!”

When our parents and grandparents were growing up, the obsession with having a perfect body did not exist to the extent it does today. This begs the question—when did we start to hate our bodies and measure our self-esteem based on the numbers we see on the scale?

The answer is simple: when advertising on television, in movies and in magazines started bombarding us with unrealistic female images.

Photographs published in magazines today have been retouched. Skin tone can be brightened, legs lengthened, extra pounds airbrushed off, and bustlines increased. In reality, models do not actually look like their pictures. Supermodel Tyra Banks freely admits she has cellulite and that all of her photographs are retouched to cover her imperfections.

Mass media plays around with our insecurities by using advertising to make us feel inferior. By doing this, companies can promote their creams, make-up regimens, or exercise machines and get us to buy these products thinking that they will make us look like the models in their advertisements. The end result is that we become enemies to our own bodies.

How can you stop this obsession? First, start by accepting your body, regardless of its outward appearance. This doesn’t mean that you stop caring about improving your health and how you look. Not at all. It just means that you begin loving yourself the way you are—even without a flat stomach or Barbie’s waistline. Channel the energy you waste torturing and feeling sorry for yourself into taking a positive approach to your body.

Practice the following steps:

1. Stand naked before a mirror and force yourself to find one positive feature for each negative aspect you see. Focus on your positive points. As long as you keep thinking, I hate my cellulite! or I’ve got three spare tires! or My butt is as big as a house! you won’t be able to make changes in your life.

2. From this day forward, say to yourself, I accept my body! or I like my appearance! In the beginning, you might feel uncomfortable and won’t believe what you say. But your subconscious mind doesn’t know the difference between reality and imagination, so the more you repeat these things, the more they will become your reality.

3. When you see an ad that troubles you, instead of thinking, What’s wrong with me? ask yourself, What are they trying to sell to me? Establish your own standards. Don’t allow an ad to do it for you. Turn off the television, put the magazine down, and remember—those images of perfection are not real.

We should take a lesson from our ancestors. As my grandmother says, “You don’t have to go on a diet to be your ideal weight. Just eat when you’re hungry, and stop when you’re full!” How simple!

Maria Marín

Maria Marín is a national columnist and the author of Secretos de la Mujer Segura. To learn more, visit MariaMarin.com. For speaking engagements and bookings, contact Oralia Michel, OMMPR at 626-568-0902 or email oralia@ommpr.com