Dedman Center held it’s 5th annual Love Your Body Week Symposium at 6 p.m. on Wednesday October 22 in the Hughes Trigg Ballroom. Over 100 students came to enjoy some free food and hear an encouraging discussion about body positivity from dietitian Meagan Rothschild, yoga instructor Michael Counter and dietitian Lisa Elders.

They spoke about various topics ranging from the importance of eating for your body’s needs and different types of exercise. The goal of the symposium was to encourage college students to adopt a positive body image and accept who they are.

Rothschild spoke about the importance of loving yourself.

“Eat like you love yourself,” she said. “Move like you love yourself. Speak like you love yourself. Act like you love yourself.”

She wants us to return to the mindset we had when we were children and didn’t think about our bodies so negatively.

Counter talked about his history with an eating disorder and how it led him to discover the importance of self-care

“I believe self-care can save the world,” he said enthusiastically. “Someone who cares about themself as a human wouldn’t harm another human.”

He said we should be reminding ourselves constantly that we are here, worthy, enough and loved. He said the difference between being selfish and self-care is that self-care leads to a support system of positive and encouraging friends that value themselves.

Counter will be holding a yoga class titled “Say Yes to You” on tomorrow at 5:30 p.m. in Dedman Center in Studio 3.

Elders said that we should accept our bodies and not have a negative relationship with food.

“Life is full of pleasures,” she said. “Food is one of the greatest.”

She said we should stop counting calories and focus on obtaining the energy our body needs to work properly. If we think about food as fuel for our bodies, we will begin to appreciate just how wonderful our bodies are.

The symposium provided valuable information about nutrition and the human body that students see the importance of loving themselves.

For more information on Love Your Body Week, click here or visit the website.