My family have become obsessed with losing weight for summer

We are lucky enough to be heading over to Thailand in a few months to visit some family – really looking forward to this trip woooo

However it has prompted certain family members to start feeling a bit insecure about their body image which has prompted them to ask for help to ‘get a summer body’ or to get ‘beach ready’

Let’s start by stating that this IS normal…. the anxiety, the preoccupation, the fear of undressing and revealing oneself

BUT…..having an over-identification with body weight, body shape or body image can be harmful for mental health (which is directly and irrevocably linked to physical health)

I am writing this knowing FULL WELL that I have spent the better part of two decades feeling insecure, ‘out of shape’ and unhappy with my body image

So please do know that I know where this is coming from and that I am not criticising anyone for feeling like this

That being said, I wanted to write this so that I could help others (beyond my family) who might be struggling with this idea as we approach summer

Taking your clothes off can be incredibly intimidating especially as we spend the better part of 9 months of the year fully covered up and snuggled into our baggy warm clothes to fight the chilly temperatures

However as someone very straight forward (and smart) pointed out ……EVERY BODY IS A BEACH READY BODY (I can’t remember where this logic first came from but they are correct)

Having an obsession with getting a flat stomach, or bigger glutes, or abdominal definition, or thinner thighs, or curvier arms….this can overtake the simple pleasure that is meant to be an enjoyable summer holiday

Societally we are very very very tuned into how we look …

The fashion industry, the fitness industry, the beauty industry, the nutrition industry …they have all done a good job of telling us that we are NOT THE RIGHT SHAPE

Obviously it serves their purposes to have us all feeling insecure because it means we will keep buying their products

There are so many products designed to make us look ‘better’ and yet there doesn’t seem to be anything near as powerful telling us that we are actually quite fabulous just as we are

There is nothing at all wrong with wanting to make a change, let’s make sure we understand this

Pursuing better fitness, better health, more strength, a body composition that feels more comfortable, more mobility, more understanding of nutrition and well-being ARE all worthy and great goals

BUT where you are coming from is equally as important as where you are trying to get to

If you have no LOVE for your body now, if you are coming from a place of hatred and extreme insecurity, the version of you that you become will probably still feel those things in 6 months

If you look in the mirror and ‘pinch an inch’ and tell yourself that you are disgusting and worthless, you will reinforce this belief over time and you will still feel those things in 12 months when you might have made some significant physical changes

If you don’t check your inner voice and how you talk to yourself, you will probably continue to feel guilty, ashamed and frustrated in 18 months time

A lot can be achieved in 18 months….heck a lot can be achieved in 8 weeks

But getting your mindset on side will really help the changes that you try to make not feel so hard and horrible

If you attempt to come at this change from a place of appreciation and love for your body and recognition for how fantastic you actually are (because you ARE), the day to day challenges won’t seem quite so hard because you won’t be HATING yourself, you wont be BERATING yourself and you won’t be taking those internal verbal BEAT DOWN’s

I realise that LOVING your body when you HATE your body is not an easy thing to do

I have found that over time I have SLOWLY learned to appreciate my body for the things that it can do, rather than how it looks in a bikini

I appreciate that I can walk, run, swim, ride a bike, climb, dance, lift weights, play with my dog and much much more – my body enables me to do all of those thing that I enjoy

Your body is brilliant and it deserves more than the hatred we throw at ourselves when we look in the mirror

Pursue change, if change is what you want, but perhaps come at it from a place of wanting to improve upon something that is already awesome

Every body is a beach body – but feeling comfortable in your own skin is something that we may have to practise after years (or like me, decades) of feeling like I just need to tweak this, change than and lose those extra couple of kg to be happy.

Dedicate yourself to the idea of being kind to your body and redesign the relationship that you have with yourself for more happiness and contentment

Something to think about

Love

Nicola