In some part of our brains, the program runs by itself - and we often can't help comparing ourselves to the women around us and to the ideal which is so lavishly and so constantly promoted. Then we feel inadequate, and this drain on our self-esteem continuously leaks and seeps the life energy that we could be using to create our lives and nurture ourselves and the ones we love.
Changing these cruelly negative attitudes toward our physical selves is crucial not only for our happiness, but also for our health. The body is a self-regulating, self-healing entity that interacts constantly with our thoughts and emotions. If I treat my body-self critically, angrily, disapproving of aspects of its being, embarrassed by its existence, how can it respond with radiant health? How would a child grow in that toxic environment? Is it time to re-program? These resources are designed for that.
Here's a good resource: the discussion boards at SusunWeed.com. Many of these women, drawn to a more earth-oriented lifestyle, are in the habit of feeling comfortable with their bodies and are paying attention to internal comfort rather than external appearance.
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 How Images of Beauty are Used Against Women
1991
Still one of the most astute analyses elucidating the historical, political and financial roots of our conflicted attitudes about our bodies, which have only grown more profound since she wrote this book. She has written many more recent books, but this one remains a gem. To the degree we have not freed ourselves from the programming, our dilemma only worsens as we age. . .
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 Margo Maine 1999 
We live in “a culture that dismisses, disrespects and disempowers women by promoting a war against their bodies…we find ourselves practicing “do-it-yourself income discrimination” because we feel “compelled to spend much [of our incomes] on [our] appearance, investing in clothing, makeup, endless beauty rituals, dieting, and other obsessive activities in order to garner status, social acceptance, and feelings of worth.”
From weightism and obesity through advertising and fashion to sports and ballet, Maine outlines cultural distortions and commercial motives which promote the “body wars,” and lists strategies and resources to combat the powers that be.
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 The truth about body and beauty
Kaz Cooke 1996 “We need something that will cheer up anybody who has ‘the uglies." Something to reassure all certifiably gorgeous girls and women that they are not Space Porkers from Hell…We need some help with self-esteem which cuts through the mixed messages of magazine articles called ‘Love your own body’ illustrated only by professionally-lit, re-touched photos of a size-8, 6-foot-tall, 13 year old aerobics instructor-model wearing a frilly baby-doll dress, platform thigh-boots, and a terminally bored expression…”
Australian writer Kaz Cooke presents a lot of serious information upfront and funny, with wonderful illustrations.
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You knew it was bad, but you probably didn’t know it was this bad! Kilbourne gives numerous examples with pictures of the thousands of advertising messages we are fed. Just thumb through any magazine and count the ads, and then compare the number of ads to the pages of content. Then thumb through again and look at every woman portrayed in every ad--what she looks like, and what her relationship seems to be with the product.
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Rewriting Cultural Rules 
Why Women and Girl Must Fight the Addictive Power of Advertising