Teens: Change the Way You Feel About Your Body

Your love-your-changing-proportions guide.

Adolescence sends your emotions sky-high and your body morphing in and out of different shapes and sizes. Not exactly the easiest time to try and keep posi about your shapely new self. You must remember you're not the only one with wonky body parts and warpy growth spurts. Even the class hottie has her own woes -- her designer jeans are just good at hiding them. Your booty will catch up to your newly long legs, but until then, don't banish yourself to your bedroom. It's hard (at ANY age) to keep your chin up about your figure, but it's possible to rock your "imperfections" until you see them for what they are: the things that make you perfect.

Balanced Beauty
A few extra ounces during "that time of the month" may make you want to fast for days, but that will only make you sick and feel gross when you do finally decide to feed yourself. Instead, eat healthy. Solid meals all day will give you extra energy and will let you feel free to dig into those uber-comforting milk and cookies at the end of the night.

Pump Up the Volume
Not only will exercise quell your "jiggly" worries, it will also get your blood pumping and make you feel better naturally. But don't overdo it -- too much of anything can be a bad thing and exhaust you. Instead, think about things you do regularly that actually can qualify as exercise. Consider how many laps you do around the mall on any given day!

Dress to Impress
The aggravation you feel from having to buy a size larger pants stings mightily -- but it's temporary. The compliments you'll get from working your well-dressed stuff in some made-for-you pants lasts all day. Dress to fit your size and help flatter your figure. One you're strutting it in a fierce outfit, you'll start to feel amazing -- and all the jaws dropping won't hurt either!

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hey welcome to my club. I mean i have a good self esteem about my physical although through all the teenage changes im going through i wonder where did i get all of that or where did this come from. Get wat i mean? Its freaky because although im still slim like i always been i have gianed enogh to look and feel healthy but where did i get the curves from? I mean im not too curvy like some girls, but im definitely not flat as a wall. You know like ive been told and wat i even say is that i have everything in the right place with the right amount for my physique. But i have grown out of some jeans, they are super tight and it irritates me. I stilll keep them cause i still have hope that maybe if i lose to one size down maybe i can where my favorite jeans. And ill have more to choose from. But i dont feel insecure. Im not being conceited or anything but i know im pretty, have pretty hair and a great body but maybe i could make some changes on my lifestyle, maybe more excercise. But i do have those days where i feel bigger than other days. Depending on what i wear. Some jeans make you look huge. Am i right or am i right? And also adolescence is creepy when it comes to puberty and hormones because i never had curves like these. I was always labeled as a flat pole, or toothpick. Then all of a sudden bam, the girls and bottom mates pop embrace themselves to a whole new level. But nobody could say im as skinny as i was before, im not even that skinny right now compared to enorexic

Posted by anonymous 08/18/09 1:09 AM

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Posted by Oijaidyw 07/14/09 7:39 AM

Hey Tyra. Im around 5'5 and weigh about 125 pounds. All my friends tell me that im not fat, but i think i am. My boyfriend calls me perfect, and gets mad at me when i call myself fat, but its was i really feel inside. My family jokes around with me that im fat, but when i get upset they tell me in not. Are they just saying that to make me feel better? HELP! Thank you.

Posted by Kaitlyn 05/07/09 6:08 AM

I used to think i was fat, and i still do. (i'm 13 by the way) But now i dont let it bother me. Because I learned that its more important to have beauty on the inside, then the outside. I noticed that people love me more for who i am on the inside. Loving your self for who you are inside is SO important! Because if you dont love your self on the inside, then its hard for you to love your self on the outside.

Posted by Sarah 03/14/09 4:52 PM

I love u tyra!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by destiny beyart 03/13/09 12:09 PM

hey tyra my name is destiny and im having some problems with my body i weigh 4'11 and im 15 years old.my birthday is may22.. ive been having a weight problem seens i was 8 years old. so im asking u for help becaue i dont no what to do.my mom told me that i need to work on my weight but im always at school from 6:50am to 3:00pm. then i go home and clean and take a nap wake up at 6pm then go outside and play with my friends.i do this every day i dnt have time for working out.. do u have a idea fpr me?

Posted by destiny 03/13/09 11:39 AM

Hey Tyra. Im 17 years old and I have hated the way I look since I was 12. Although my friends tell me other wise, when I look in the mirror I see a majorly big girl. No matter what, I can't get rid of that image. Im 5'1 and I weigh 150 pounds.. i hate that. Can you please give me some advice that will help me to stop hating my body? I think im pretty, as long as you can't see anything but my face.. please help! Thanks=)

Posted by Tiffany 03/08/09 3:59 PM

Hey tyra, I am 19Years old and i have been trying to loose weight And i want to have a nice figure body and look good and be in a size 5 or 6 pants... I cant loose weight cause i always try to eat healty and i cant cause i love eating junky foods... My dream is to be a size 7 or 6... My hair never looks good and its so damaged i would like to look good for my boyfriend cause he knows how jealouse i am to his friends who are girls... Please help me to love my self more cause i always wanted a nice body and beautiful looking healty skin and hair! Thanks girl

Posted by Jamie 02/22/09 8:50 PM

Posted by Jamie 02/22/09 8:49 PM

hey tyra my name is stephanie and i hate the way i look....im 16yrsz old...every time i look at myself i feel ugly...i weigh about 103 pounds and i hate it...i either feel fat or to skinny...what should i do to make myself feel pretty......i dont like my hair i dont like my clothes....i dont like anything about myself...no matter what i do i still feel ugly.....what am i suppose to do....please help me...love you tyra!!!

Posted by stephanie 02/22/09 8:10 PM

Hi tyra im 18 years old and a first year university student. and with all the stress of school im feeling that ive let myself go and have become huge. Even when my friends say i look good i dont believe them. last year i was in the best shape ive ever been because when i was bored i would go for a run or go to the gym but here im constantly doing work and when i get the chance to relax i want to relax. ive tried sooo many different things. and nothing works. i dont understand my eating habits are good i cook decent meals but they weight just keeps coming. i really dont know what to do anymore

Posted by Anonymous 02/06/09 7:31 PM

hey Tyra im 13 and i weight 222 pounds and i hat the way i look and i just whant tlose my fat i dont feel right people make fun of me and i hate it i dont know what to do with my self so i was hopeing you could get back to me asap pleas i dont know what to do i give up on my self and my hight is 5'2

Posted by Divine 02/04/09 7:27 PM

Hey Tyra Im 14 and i weight about 136lbs i hate my body. My whole family tells me im fat like its a joke. its not a joke sometimes i just want to get away. Sometimes i just feel like dying. yes i know im depressed.im too fat. on the summer i dont even go out. i try to get on a diet but its not as easy as it looks. my whole family makes fun of me. i hate goin to those family reunions when i walk in they say look at the fat girl. its very hurtful and they dont understand that. please tyra email me i need advice!

Posted by Anonymous 02/03/09 9:19 PM

I feel washed up. I look washed up. I am washed up, but I am only 18. A woman is suppose to tell her self words of wisdom everyday. I have no words to tell myself to get me at least slightly through half my day. Honestly, I have no self confidence. My self confidence is all dried out. I remember when I was younger, everyone would tell me how adorable I was. Now I look in the mirrors around me and tend to hate what I see. Most of the time I feel like smashing them to pieces. It makes me sick to see my self sometimes, because I have so much beauty on the inside, but I look like nothing on the outside. I am a freshmen in college. They say that college is suppose to be the greatest time of your life. Yet, I wake up every morning in my lonely dorm hating every day, every hour, every minute of it. The girls here are just what they are “Girls”. They are very feminine. They dress to the “T” in most cases. They look good even in their loungewear and I heard that that was a no-no in the fashion world. The spotlight is always on them. Me, on the other hand, I feel unattractive. I don’t feel girly at all. I stay consistent of a hoodie and jeans. This does not make me feel sexy at all. I would like to know what it feels like to be girly. I don’t know how to start or even where to start for that matter. I guess I need serious help. I dread going to parties because the girls there look so pretty and they dress so nice. To avoid it all, I stay in my dorm and

Posted by vIC 01/30/09 11:40 AM

well tyra i have self image problems when i see myself i see me fat but people tell me im average. im 13 5'7 1/2 and i weigh 155 im trying to lose weight with my mom but i feel so horrible about myself like i walk around confident so people cant see how i feel inside but the truth is it takes me hours to pick out clothes in my closet. see my parents dont have alot of money now cause of the econemy so i cant go shopping and buy new clothes as much as i use too. and i dont think i look good. i just dont know how to see myself as how everyone sees me. its hard :/

Posted by shaina 01/28/09 6:20 PM