Post-it notes help women feel beautiful

MEREDITH VIEIRA, co-host: Caitlyn Boyle is trying to start a revolution, she wants women to give themselves a break by learning to love themselves just the way they are, and she is spreading her positive body image one Post-it note at a time and she is documenting it all with her video camera.

Ms. CAITLIN BOYLE (Author, "Operation Beautiful"): Hi! My name is Caitlin and I live in Charlotte , North Carolina , with my husband and my two dogs. I started Operation Beautiful because I believe we have a body image crisis on our hands. The average girl begins to diet when she's eight years old, and shockingly, more women have anorexia or bulimia than are suffering from breast cancer. Operation Beautiful wants to spread a positive message. People leave

random Post-its in public places with simple messages on them: "True beauty comes from the heart, not the mirror," "This is not a trick mirror, you look this awesome," "Stop the negative thoughts now, you are beautiful ." It's about changing the way you see, not the way you look. It's truly amazing that one little note can make such a big difference in someone's life.

VIEIRA: Caitlin Boyle 's book is called " Operation Beautiful : Transforming the Way You See Yourself One Post -it Note At a Time ." Caitlin , good morning to you.

Ms. BOYLE: Good morning.

VIEIRA: You started Operation Beautiful about a year ago at a time when you were feeling bad about yourself, you had some low self-esteem; what happened?

Ms. BOYLE: I was really struggling with, you know, negative self-talk and I wanted to do something positive for someone else to make myself feel better, too. So I put a note on a public bathroom that just simply said "You are beautiful " and I took a photo and I blogged about it and the rest is history . And, you know, the book and the Web site , it's just a really uplifting and positive way to change the way you see.

VIEIRA: Well, the book is a compilation of some of the Post-its that you have received.

Ms. BOYLE: Mm-hmm.

VIEIRA: And you received literally thousands of them.

Ms. BOYLE: Yes.

VIEIRA: And also the stories behind the Post-its , the women who put them up in the first place . What are some of your favorites?

Ms. BOYLE: Oh, some of my favorite notes are when people put notes on the scale at the gym that say, ` Scales measure weight, not worth.' Once, a girl put a note in a diaper-changing station and it said, `You're a beautiful mom, you know, thanks for doing all you do.' And I think my favorite one in the book is a note that's on a stop sign and they used the stop sign to start the note and then on a big poster board they wrote, `Stop the negative thoughts, you're beautiful .'

VIEIRA: And the book is divided into seven chapters, addresses a variety of topics including food, fitness and fat talk, something you say that so many women suffer with or suffer from. What is fat talk?

Ms. BOYLE: Fat talk is this negative self-talk that women and men do, too, when we talk down about ourselves and our bodies. And I really want to put an end to fat talk and, you know, encourage a conversation about health being the most important thing you can do.

VIEIRA: But do you ever feel like, and I know a lot of moms are using this book to address those kinds of issues...

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah.

VIEIRA: ...with their little girls, you said kids start dieting at the age of eight, but do you ever feel, given the exposure that they have to the media on a daily basis, that you are tilting at windmills here?

Ms. BOYLE: You know, I think it's amazing what one note can do. I think when people post these notes, it really affects them, but I think when they find the notes, you know, sometimes they feel like it's divine intervention they found at the right moment, the right place. And I think that a message from a stranger can do a lot for someone.

VIEIRA: And you've had literally people from all over the world ...

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah.

VIEIRA: ... respond to this. Why do you think that is? Why does it resonate so much with women , do you think?

Ms. BOYLE: You know, unfortunately we receive so much negative messaging...

VIEIRA: Mm-hmm.

Ms. BOYLE: ...from the media and society, I mean, so many images in magazines are photoshopped and especially young girls don't understand that that's not reality. So, you know, girls and women are striving to reach this unattainable ideal and, you know, we're making ourselves miserable in the process.

VIEIRA: Yeah. And you -- and you do try to target anorexics and people suffering with bulimia.

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah.

VIEIRA: What kind of response have you gotten from them?

Ms. BOYLE: I think they really love using it as a tool in their recovery, you know, just to get out there and be positive and think about themselves in that positive way, too. Some girls who've found them in treatment centers say that it's, you know, been a turning point in their recovery and it's...

VIEIRA: Really?

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah, it's really helped them.

VIEIRA: And something that simple, too.

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah.

VIEIRA: That's what 's amazing to me.

Ms. BOYLE: Yeah.

VIEIRA: It's just a very simple clear message.

Ms. BOYLE: I don't think you can ever underestimate, you know, the power of kindness.

VIEIRA: There are three things that you want everyone to know, so I want to make sure before you go you get those out. First one is you're never alone.

Ms. BOYLE: Yes. You know, I think this community comes together and shows people that you're never alone, you know, people have a great capacity for goodness. I have so many e-mails from people who just want to help others, you know. And three, that you can really change your life just with a positive outlook.

VIEIRA: And do something nice for strangers...

Ms. BOYLE: Yes, definitely.

VIEIRA: ...because it'll make you feel better about yourself.

Ms. BOYLE: Mm-hmm.

VIEIRA: Caitlin Boyle , thank you so much .

Ms. BOYLE: Thank you so much .