Be a critical thinker. Acquire a working knowledge of nutrition that is accurate and will help you separate fact from fiction. Be an active participant - respond verbally or by writing a response when you read or observe inappropriate material. Trust yourself to eat in response to your internal cues. Surround yourself with positive people and reading materials.
Some people measure their lives in pulse rates and sit-ups.
Far better to measure yours in licks of ice cream, well-told jokes, mad dashes to be first in the water and belly laughs. I am a registered dietitian who has been employed within the Health Education Department of Olin Health Center, Michigan State University, for 11 years. Prior to that, I worked in both maternal and pediatric clinics. I have had the opportunity to observe and work with eating and weight issues from prenatal development through adulthood. An increasing concern of mine has been the number of clients I see who come from families where a parent, relative or sibling has or had an eating disorder.