Our Guide To Staying Body Positive This Summer

Bikini body ready, come as you are because we're not losing the positivity and progress we've made throughout the lockdown. It's going to be a summer that you don't have to worry about being skinny!

When you think of summer, you think of fun in the sun, tans, and anything that's going to cool you down. But since the dawn of time, it has been ingrained in women that their bodies need to meet a specific standard to be considered summer-ready.

We're not here for that at all! We believe that you're beautiful in your own skin, and your body should be celebrated, so here are a few things to affirm you and keep you positive about your body.

1. Diet Culture

Diet culture is all about pushing people to lose weight in unhealthy ways, and it promotes itself as a healthy method. These fad diets might help you lose weight quickly, but it's not sustainable!

You need some time to lose weight; it can't happen overnight! Many diets promote habits that encourage water weight loss, leading you to believe that you've shed the pounds but as soon as you get back into normal patterns, you put the weight back on.

Ditch diet programs that encourage you to lose weight quickly. Opt for healthier and cleaner eating without needing to cut food groups like carbs out, and cut out the media that promotes unsustainable eating!

2. Your Body Is Different And Unique

We all can't have coke-bottle figures, no matter your body type. Even if you healthily lose weight, you can't expect your body to turn out like a Victoria's Secret Model.

Appreciate your body for the way that it looks. Your body has a function to keep you alive, and without it doing its job, you wouldn't be alive!

Look in the mirror and love the body you're in; speak your affirmations aloud about how your body makes you feel! And don't let the media fool you into thinking you're not worthy, all because of a stupid dress size!

3. The "Summer Body" Term Needs To Go

"Summer body" has been used to describe this petite figure that you "need" to wear a bikini. It makes so many people feel conscious about how they look in a bikini that everyone hides behind clothes.

Don't buy into this getting your summer body ready trend every year; accept the body you have and enjoy your summer regardless. Others are also worried about their insecurities, and they might be too busy worried about their own to worry about yours!

4. Exercise Because You Want To

You shouldn't be slaving at the gym to attain a trophy body because exercising is more than just tipping the scale back a few pounds. You should be doing what you're comfortable with and enjoying it.

This means if you'd rather be in a dance class working out, you should do it! Don't waste your energy doing something you hate!

5. Social Media Is Toxic

It's so easy to spread the word on social media, and recently, we've noticed celebrities pushing unhealthy diet trends, as they've always done, through their platforms. You don't have to put up with it!

Find people who inspire you, motivate you, and even look like you and fill your feeds with them. It's going to help you break that negativity you feel while scrolling through a feed that promotes fat-shaming.

Heck, if it'll make you feel better, block and unfollow accounts that make you conscious of your body. If it's hurting you, get rid of it and don't look back!

6. Motivation Is Key

If you're on the path to staying healthy, you want to be motivated. Good energy helps you stay on track better than negative energy; this is because the negative energy can make you feel horrible about yourself and make you break good habits.

When you reach your goals, the only person you have to thank is yourself for staying on track and staying committed! So keep up the good energy and stay positive because the journey to self-love is a difficult one.

7. Starving Yourself Is Not Worth It

Some of these diets, like fasting, promote eating disorders because they encourage you to starve yourself to lose weight. These starve diets can lead to health problems because our body isn't getting the nutrients it needs.

Don't deprive your body of food when it tells you it's hungry! You don't always have to eat a salad, but you can opt for a healthier alternative to junk food or change the way you cook to make it healthier.

The journey to self-acceptance is a rocky road; some days are good, some are bad, but in the end, it's worth it when you love yourself for who and what you are. You shouldn't be continually comparing yourself to others.

Now that summer is around the corner, be sure to make the most of it, accept your body, don't try to hide it. You never know, you could be someone's inspiration to wear a bikini tomorrow!