The Body Image Blueprint: Your Go-To Guide for Radical Self-Reverence is an easy-to-read, compelling story of how we can tap into our inner wisdom to design a sustainable healthy lifestyle.
The author Jenny Eden Berk structured the book in three parts: My Blueprint, The Etiology of Body Image, and The Body Image Blueprint. These sections translate into Jenny’s story, interview answers about shifting ideas of body image from men and women age 22-70, and how the reader can design a personal body image blueprint.
The strengths of The Body Image Blueprint lie in the author’s humanity. Not only is Eden Berk not afraid to share her own struggles, but she puts them center stage. Her personal journey makes up the focus of the first half of the book. The reader is introduced to Eden Berk’s inner critic as she explores the body image messages she received as a child, adolescent, and young adult. She shares how she silenced these voices and now chooses instead to see body positivity.
Eden Berk gives credibility to her story when she reveals that she was employed for more than a decade with a medically-supervised weight management program. Urged to comply with program (including going on their diet of prepackaged foods) in order to serve as a role model for clients, Eden Berk began to question the message she was sending.
She was dismayed by the idea that she couldn’t trust her body enough to make good choices about what to eat and how to move. Ultimately, she decided that she possessed the inner wisdom (and an “inner dietician”) that would guide her to be her healthiest self, irrespective of weight and size.
The Body Image Blueprint is not a quick fix diet plan. Rather, it is a book that encourages a shift in mindset. To get the most out of the book, readers must be willing to ask themselves some serious questions. The second section of the book reads like a questions & answers session. There are questions about body image and how it has changed over time and affected self-perception. Answers from interviews conducted with men and women make up the bulk of this section. For those who struggle with body image, you will quickly find you are not alone.
To guide the reader, Eden Berk includes the same interview questions used in the second part of the book at the end. It is clear that to get the most out of the book readers will need to confront their inner voices and question what they really value. In doing so, they can create a body image blueprint of their own.
I was pleased to see Eden Berk include Health at Every Size as a resource in the book. I promote this body-positive organization to my blog readers and coaching clients. While weight loss is a main theme of The Body Image Blueprint, it is not the goal.
There are recipes included as an appendix to the book. These are meant more for inspiration and a jumping off point rather than a dietary prescription. They are illustrative of the idea that simple real foods can be combined to pack a punch of flavor and satisfaction. Personally, I was drawn to the yellow beet and blood orange salad. Yum!
If you are on your own body image journey and would like a guide who is candid and casual—but also wants you to take yourself seriously—I highly recommend The Body Image Blueprint by Jenny Eden Berk. The road won’t be easy or short, but the “radical self-reverence” you will develop is well worth it.
If you’d like to know more about the author, join Eden Berk’s Wellness Warriors Support Group on Facebook.
I was provided a review copy of this work. All opinions are my own. This post may contain affiliate links which won’t change your price but will share some commission. Thank you!
[activecampaign form=10]