Do you know what would be the worst thing? Obsessing over getting “summer body” ready so much that you miss out on enjoying your summer. 

“Love your body.” We hear this often, but the truth is that no one loves their body every single day. Do you know what you can learn to do instead? Respect your body and all that it’s are capable of doing every single day.

Respecting your body means treating it with dignity and meeting its needs. It’s learning to appreciate all that your body does and coming from a place of thankfulness instead of picking apart every flaw and saying mean things to yourself. Respecting your body means you will learn to feel more comfortable in your body. 

Enter summer. It may be easier during the winter months when you can wear layers, baggy sweaters, and stay inside where no one ever sees you. But during summer, the clothes get tighter, shorter, and show your body in a way that might really challenge your self-respect.

This doesn’t have to be so! How sad to let your negative thoughts steal your joy and ruin your summer. Let's make this your best summer! No more hiding inside, telling yourself you love being alone in the a/c instead of embracing your body and enjoying fun beach days with friends. 

Here are 3 tips to help you have the best summer ever.

1) Stop Believing You Need To Be “Summer Body Ready” To Enjoy Summer

Spoiler alert: you don’t need to change your body to make it summer-ready or I hear this one too often as well…bathing suit ready. 

As I mentioned here, trying to establish a body size that isn’t your body’s weight set point is not only harmful both mentally and physically, but very difficult. Do you really want to spend your whole summer miserable, restricting food, counting calories, and excessively working out just to squeeze into a bikini?

Instead, start accepting your body just the way it is now…flaws and all. Maybe you are just starting your nutrition journey…so what? That doesn’t make you less able to wear summer clothes than anyone else.

Remind yourself that bathing suit ads or social media posts are highly filtered. Most people have stretch marks or rolls and cellulite somewhere. These are things that do NOT need to be changed. 

It goes back to learning to respect your body and all that it does. Are you a new mom? Seasoned mom? Faced a lot of trials through life? Be proud of your body and all the amazing things it has done, instead of counting things as negative. 

Rather than picking apart every little thing about your body, appreciate it for all that it does for you. At the end of the day, reflect on all the things your body accomplished that day. It truly is a gift to have a fully functioning body no matter the size. 

2) Buy Clothes That Fit You 

Are you the type who will see a cute bathing suit, then tell yourself, “when I lose 10 pounds I will get it?” 

Instead, think about a time when you wore something you felt great in and it fit your body amazing. You were probably comfortable! 

Believe it or not, this is the way most clothes should feel. If you feel the need to suck in your belly or cover your thighs then it’s probably not for you.

Clothes should feel comfortable to you! Don’t get hung up on a clothing size or believe you should still fit into your size 5 jeans from high school. Also, clothing sizes are so random. In one brand you may be a smaller or larger size than in another. It really means nothing!

Again, shocker alert but no one knows your clothing size! Even if they did, do you think they would stop loving you or not want to be your friend anymore? The reason you have relationships with people is not based on your clothing size, so stop putting a value on it. You are not lesser or greater of a person because of it.

Take time to think about why you are holding onto a clothing size. Try to understand that when you wear clothes that actually fit, ones where you feel comfortable and good, you will feel mentally and physically better.

3) Find Movement That You Enjoy

One way to start respecting your body is to move it. There’s no better way to feel more confident and powerful than seeing how strong your body is.

But it must be movement that you enjoy! If you are forcing yourself to the gym because you have a vacation in two weeks and have to fit into your bathing suit from 10 years ago, then that’s the wrong motivation. 

Think about what sounds fun and enjoyable to you! For me, it’s always been walking outdoors. There’s no better way to clear my head and feel energized than walking. Lately, I started using a “move to earn” app where I earn Crypto for certain amounts of jogging that I do. I never was a fan of jogging, but this app has shown me that I love it and it’s a fun way to get outdoors and earn money!

Movement can even be an active day with friends. What’s more fun than meeting up in Central Park for a hike or to go check out some of the new attractions at Hudson Yards? You’re getting in movement while enjoying a fun day! 

Bonus - you get more of the feel-good endorphins when you are moving. There’s truly something about movement that makes you feel good about yourself afterward. Trust me and give it a try!

I hope you find these tips helpful, and what I love is that they are things you can start doing today. You can start respecting your body, dressing it in clothes that feel good, and doing some movement that you enjoy. 

If you start doing this every day, with time you will begin to feel more comfortable with your body. 

Remember, having a healthy relationship with food is also part of this. When you learn to be confident in your food choices and not judge or overanalyze, it also helps build confidence in yourself.

So, my challenge to you this summer is to wear shorts, buy a new bathing suit and proudly wear it to the beach, move around, and make fun memories! You’ll be so much better off not worrying about what you wore in the summer of 2002 and being present now.