Body Image Real Talk with Rachael Gilbert

Today on the Intuitive Eating for Christian Women podcast our guest Rachael Gilbert gives us some real talk from a counselor’s perspective about how trauma impacts our body and body image and the role our faith has to play in healing.

Show Notes for Episode 53: Body Image Real Talk

We have an insightful and thought-provoking episode of Intuitive Eating for Christian Women for you today. In this episode, we are joined by Rachael Gilbert, who is a licensed counselor and author. We discuss various topics related to body image issues, and how faith can play a role in healing and restoration.

Rachael shares her personal experience of struggling with negative body image and how her journey led her to become a counselor. We discuss how believing that our bodies are good and focusing on our worth in Christ can help break the cycle of negative body image beliefs. By taking our thoughts captive and proclaiming God’s truth, we can change our core beliefs and remove the foundation for negative thoughts and feelings.

This episode delves into small traumas that can leave lasting impressions on a person’s psyche and lead to deeply embedded negative body image. Rachael emphasizes the importance of processing these memories and emotions that are stored in the body through therapies like EMDR.

Overall, this powerful episode serves as a reminder that God cares about all aspects of our lives, including our physical bodies, and that by surrendering to His will for our lives, we can find healing and restoration. We highly recommend listening to this episode and sharing it with loved ones who may be struggling with body image issues.

In this episode we dig into:

• Rachael’s personal experience struggling with body image and experiencing a traumatic miscarriage
• What happens when we separate body and spirit
• How trauma impacts our body and body image
• Learning to trust God and trust our bodies
• The triangle effect: the connection between thoughts, feelings and behaviors
• EMDR therapy and processing emotions stored in the body
• Wrestling with the Word and believing your body is good
• Her book “Image Restored” which offers a blueprint for a full body image renovation grounded in God’s love and truth

Meet Rachael Gilbert

Rachael Gilbert, MMFT, is a wife, mom, trauma-informed therapist, owner of BBC Health,
and podcast host of Real Talk with Rachael. She combines her clinical expertise and personal
experience to help women overcome fear and insecurity to walk confidently in their God-given
dreams. A frequent speaker and article writer, Rachael lives near Dallas with her husband Matt
and their three children.

Connect with Rachael

• Website: Rachaelgilbert.com
• Rachael’s Book
• Instagram: @rachaeljgilbert

Body Image Reflection Questions

How can focusing on your relationship with God impact your body image?

How do you deal with thoughts about your body that may not align with God’s word?

What did you learn about the triangle effect of thoughts, feelings and behaviors? 

What are some core beliefs that may be affecting your relationship with food and your body?

Do you relate to the experience of separating body and spirit? How have you viewed these things as separate? How do you view them after this episode?

More thoughts on Christian Body Image

Body image is something that affects every woman at some point in her life. We often compare ourselves to others and feel like we’re not enough.

 But the truth is that every body is unique and beautiful in its own way. We need to learn to respect our bodies and appreciate with grateful hearts all that our bodies can and will do for us.

It’s important to remember that our worth is not determined by our physical appearance. What our bodies look like is the least important thing about us.

We are so much more than the size of our clothes or number on a scale. We are all fearfully and wonderfully made by God. We all bear His image.

That being said, it can be challenging to shift our mindset and see ourselves in a more positive light – not as the world sees, but as God sees.

It takes intentional effort and conscious decisions to prioritize our whole health (physical, mental, spiritual, emotional) over diet culture’s beauty standards. It’s about nourishing ourselves, moving in ways that bring joy, and taking care of ourselves from the inside out.

So let’s support each other in our journey towards a Biblical body image. Let’s celebrate our bodies for all that they do, all that they are, and whose image they bear in this world.

And most importantly, let’s remember that our worth is not tied to our weight. We are beloved children of God, and that is where our true value lies.

Rachael’s Closing Prayer for Body Image Restoration

Father, I thank you for every single person who’s sitting under the sound of my voice right now. Thank you. That Holy Spirit you drew them into this conversation because it’s one that you want to continue with them. So I pray that even as we get off of here today, that they have that space to just come talk with you, to come hang out with you, to have that relationship with you. First and foremost, you to restore union with you and them, but also within their own body. I pray for anybody represented here today who has trauma or pain that just hurts so deeply. Jesus, I ask that you do what only you can do, and you draw near to the broken hearted. I just pray for healing and peace right now. In Jesus name, lord, we love you. We thank you for your goodness and your mercy and your grace. In your name we pray. Amen.