How to Get a Beach Body... The Easy Way
In the season of the new year, the diet culture is beaming with advertisements directed at us. You who indulged a little too much over the holidays, you who has been saying for a year you’re going to lose those last few pounds until your goal weight, you who used to be thinner, you who is still hanging on to skinny clothes, you who equates self care to a weight on the scale, you who is inside of your own head all day long as soon as you see your reflection. I know you because you are me. And I know I’m not alone.
I have struggled with my body image for as long as I can remember. A lot of it has to do with the fact that I was the only Latina in a community of non-curvy girls. I grew up comparing my body to thin people: friends, models, women in magazines and on tv. As much as society has taken a step in the right direction when it comes to loving our bodies in all shapes and sizes, it still feeds on our insecurities that tell us we’re not good enough as we are. So if you’re out there right now eating 1200 calories to lose weight, stop. If you’re exercising twice a day, stop. If you’re restricting so many food groups that you’re miserable, stop. We all want a beach body. And the truth is that we all already have one. This is about loving our bodies just as we are right now.
So how can you get a beach body the easy way?
Featured: Erin @erin.v.stewart and check out her blog www.erinvstewart.com.
1. Wear a bathing suit that makes you feel beautiful. Stop waiting because your body is beautiful in all of its imperfection. I have cellulite, varicose veins, thick thighs, big hips, lopsided boobs, weird skin tag moles, a tattoo I don’t like, and so much more. This used to stop me from wearing bikinis. And one day I said f*** it. I say throw out all of those magazines that tell you to cover up with a tankini or wear a one piece. Wear what you want to wear and be proud.
Featured:Vicki @vickajolee.
2. Come up with a mantra. When I get in my own head about my body image, size, and weight I have serious negative self talk. I’ll say things to myself like you’re disgusting, you shouldn’t be seen like this, you need to get home, you have to lose 15 pounds. I spiral quickly if I’m not careful. But then, I start to tell myself “You are enough just as you are.” It doesn’t seem like much but those 7 words have helped through some dark times. It was in therapy that my therapist and I came up with this mantra that really speaks to my insecurities, traumas, and losses. And I hope you can find comfort in it too.
3. Have specific goals. I am not saying that no woman should ever lose weight or workout. Because let’s be honest, it’s going to happen. But what I am saying is have goals and be consistent. The diet culture that we see is one made of fads, quick fixes, and empty promises. If you’re serious about making a change in your life for your health (not the number on a scale), then absolutely go for it. Just do me a favor and give yourself time. Have a goal to workout 5 times a week, or eat home cooked meals, or only eat out once a weekend. Because the truth is that you will only see results when you change your habits for good. And there are no quick fixes out there that will do this for you.
So here’s to loving ourselves a little more today. No matter where you are in your journey to self love.
When it comes to your own body, what do you struggle with the most and how will you start to change this?
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