Stop telling your friends you're fat.

We all have that friend.  The one who is constantly talking about her diet, her workouts, her appearance.  The one whose body issues are never far away.  And while you may think that indulging her a little and letting her vent about her recent lack of gym motivation or finals-induced chub is healthy, it turns out you're wrong: not only is it bad for her, it's bad for you too.  Really bad.

A recent study from Mount Alison University in Canada has discovered that the single most significant factor in a woman's body image, moreso even than her actual weight or body shape, is how her friends feel about their own bodies.

Let that just sink in for a moment.   Then, to give yourself an idea of how true this is on a personal level, just think about how often body issues come up in your conversations.  Now imagine that nobody ever discussed their weight, their latest diet, or their gym routine.  You wouldn't have nearly as much to compare yourself to, and if you read this blog regularly, you should know by now that comparing yourself to others leads to a multitude of body-acceptance sins.  I think Theodore Roosevelt said it best:

 This is actually surprisingly good news! Let me just break this down for you: you know how you've always thought that if you were just a little bit skinnier or a little bit taller or a little bit more this or a little less that, the world would somehow magically become a better place and flowers would bloom wherever you walked and birds would land on your shoulder and sing to you on the way to work?!

It turns out it's a lot easier to get there than you thought!  All you need to do is purge the negative body energy from your life and you're on your way! (Cue songbirds.)

In all honesty, we girls know that on some level those kinds of conversations can't be good for us... but it's just so much easier to feel like a fattie if your best girlfriend is feeling the same way too, right?  Unfortunately, it turns out that by entertaining those kinds of feelings, you're hurting both yourself and your closest friends.  And nobody wants that!

The incredibly positive side to this new research is that it also that proves you yourself can be a major source of body-accepting inspiration to your best friends!  All you need to do is display the kind of self-loving attitude that this blog is all about whenever any body-negative talk comes up.  You don't even have to feel it 100% genuinely- just putting out that kind of presence and energy will make a world of difference.

Try this: the next time your galpal goes in for the kill on her new love handles or the fact that she hasn't hit the gym in over a week, interject with something along the lines of, "well I think you look beautiful exactly the way you are right now."  

Or take a page from the book of one of my favorite modern feminists, the one and only Ellen Degeneres:

Simple, direct, and oh so true!  It will most likely stop your friend in her tracks, and even if she doesn't respond in the moment, I promise it will sit with her and sink in later on.

So there you have it ladies!  Not only is there a way to start feeling better about your body and yourself immediately and without hardly any effort, there is also an easy way to help inspire your girlfriends to join you on the pursuit to self-acceptance!  Now take what this blog has taught you, go out there and spread some body-positive love!  Namaste.