What is Body Checking?

Body checking is a term that refers to repetitive, sometimes compulsive, behaviors that are used to assess or evaluate one’s body shape or size. Examples of body checking can include:

Touching or pinching specific parts of the body
Measuring parts of the body
Frequently weighing oneself
Frequently looking in mirrors or reflective surfaces
Checking how or if certain clothes fit

Overall, body checking is used as a means of providing relief from anxiety. The goal is to check to make sure that one’s body has not changed or has maintained some desired outcome.

The issue with body checking is that it ends up creating the opposite effect of its original intention: check what you look like

I usually explain it to my clients like this: Have you ever said a word so many times that it doesn’t sound like a word anymore?

That’s kind of what happens with your body. The more you focus on and try to evaluate your body, the less accurate your perception actually is. This skewed perception can contribute to body dysmorphia and negative body image.

The other issue with body checking is that it reinforces the idea that your body needs to be constantly monitored. Realistically, a body is not drastically changing from one day to the next or from hour to the next.

How Do I Stop?

If you are in eating disorder recovery, it’s likely that at least a small part of you wants to focus less on your body and more on other areas of your life. That’s hard to do when body checking.

So, how do you stop?

When you tie your shoe, do you think about it? My guess is probably not. After years of repetition, this has become a behavior that doesn’t require much thought.

Habits, including body checking, form the same way during an eating disorder. After many repetitions, the behaviors become automatic. This can also look like binge eating in response to stress, choosing a “safe food” at a restaurant, or purging after noticing fullness.

These behaviors can happen so quickly that we may not even notice what triggered them. That’s what makes them so hard to stop. I might ask a client, “What were you thinking about or feeling before this happened?” Many times, the response is, “I have no idea.”

1. Notice it

It takes a lot of effort to change a behavior that happens automatically. First, you have to notice that it’s even happening. So, start there.

2. Track it

You can keep track in your Notes app, a notebook, whatever. It’s okay if you don’t notice it until after it already happened. At least you caught it! Tracking the behavior will help you to recognize when you’re more likely to do it and even when it’s about to happen.

3. Replace it

Once you start to catch the behavior before it happens, that’s when you try something else. You can try literally anything. Sit on your hands, focus on washing your hands rather than looking in the mirror, ask a friend to hang on to your scale. As long as you’re doing something else besides the behavior, you’re moving towards breaking the habit.

4. Challenge it

It's also important to ask yourself why you need to check for changes. Notice any judgements or rules that come up. Thought reframes and challenges will be your best friend. Some examples can include:

Bodies are allowed to and supposed to change.
I am more than a body.
I am grateful that my body helps me to…

It’s okay if you don’t believe these reframes in the beginning or they don’t resonate. Find what works for you.

Stopping body checking behaviors will be hard in the beginning. There will be times you slip. That is okay and expected. As long as you keep trying, you’ll get there.

Also, you don’t have to do it alone.

If you need support breaking habits in eating disorder recovery, help is available.

Please do not hesitate to reach out if you or someone you know needs support.

What is Body Checking and How Do I Stop?