How to Get Swimsuit-Season Ready
If I have said it once, I've said it a million times:
All. You. Need. For. Swimsuit. Season. Is. A. Swimsuit.
I know. I used to spend the summer wrapped in a towel after lying on my bedroom floor crying, because nothing could make me look like a cover model.
Testing every outfit I could possibly wear before camping and still being mortified at every picture I saw.
Wishing I had started some form of restrictive eating a bit sooner, because it all came down to one thing: my body was good or my body was bad. There was no in between and there were no exceptions.
It makes sense. According to an article from The Market Research Blog, the U.S. weight loss industry was a $72 billion machine in 2018. Not million, billion. The weight loss industry is incredibly lucrative, as it feeds on the insatiable fears and insecurities that are pounded and reinforced into consumer's minds on a daily basis. There is always that nagging little voice saying "Well, you just haven't lost enough weight."
We are taught that women must be small to be worthy. To believe that larger is sloppy, lazy, and unattractive. That to be thin is to be beautiful, sexy, alluring, and the most noble pursuit a woman can have. In short, we are taught that a larger body is inherently less worthy and lovable, and that a smaller waist or lower number on the scale is the gateway to true happiness.
But it's not true. It's just not. What is true is your inherent worth as a living soul on this earth. You have the power to rebel and do the things that the weight loss industry fears most: reject their standards of beauty and respect your beautiful body. Such a radical and novel idea.
Respecting your body does not mean you will suddenly start praising your body each time you see it. You may take months to even get an inkling that you like it. Respecting your body simply means that you treat it with dignity, stand up for it, and are patient in your self-talk. Maybe for you it takes the form of catching yourself saying something degrading and judgmental, noticing, and simply saying to yourself "I'm sorry, that was not true." Not just once, but every single time you catch it. You'll get better and better until one day your inner-bully finally realizes your body found a real stand-up pal to stand up for her, and suddenly that voice will get a bit quieter, until it only shows up every once in a while. It won't happen overnight, but it will if you commit to being an advocate.
Maybe respecting your body takes the form of allowing yourself to show up in spaces that you previously felt were more for people with smaller bodies. You have the right to move anywhere and in any way that calls to you.
Some other ideas include:
-Self-help books that aim at building confidence and self-esteem
-"Intuitive Eating" by Evelyn Tribole & Elyse Resch (This helped me to separate eating decisions from my own worth and to find a deep connection to my body. It is about making true peace with food and I would not recommend it if I felt it had even a trace of diet culture)
-"The Intuitive Eating Workbook" by Evelyn Tribole and Elyse Resch
-Correcting yourself when you catch yourself saying something about your body that you would not say to anyone else. Another good indicator of if it is acceptable or not is that if someone said it to your best friend and your skin would crawl, it's not okay to say to yourself.
-Finding five things each day you objectively appreciate about your body. For example, instead of trying to love your stomach, try appreciating how your legs allow you to participate in activities you love or how your toes allow you to connect with the earth
-Unfollowing accounts that shame your body or spark feelings of unworthiness
-Complimenting other women on things that do not have to do with appearance
-Finding support or a friend who is willing to start a journey of healing with you
This subject unravels very quickly into an intricate web that includes fat stigma, feminism, privilege, and so much more, but for the purposes of this article, I am addressing the very tip of the iceberg.
If you take a look above, none of these include actually changing your body. That is intentional. There is not a single thing you need to change, in order to be swimsuit ready. You need your body, a swimsuit, and a side of rebellion.
xo,
-Holly