How to Love Your Body this Summer
- Worrying about your “summer body”? Struggling with your body image in summer time?
- Does summer clothing make you feel bad about yourself? Feel stressed about not having “the perfect beach body”?
- Want to learn how to love your body this summer?
If so, you are not alone! So many people also worry about how they look or are being perceived over the summer. It’s time to learn to accept your body and cope with the stress related to body image issues. Let’s explore tips to have a body positive summer.
10 Ways to Love Your Body More this Summer
1. Remember That There is No Such Thing as a “Summer Body”
Getting a “perfect summer body” puts so much pressure on people. Diet commercials or ads make the idea of obtaining a “perfect summer body” crucial to having a good summer. Usually, this body type is portrayed in the media as tan, lean, and fit if you’re a woman and ripped/muscular if you are a man.
Society has always been a reason behind people’s body image issues. Our society upholds such high standards for beauty – not to mention, these standards usually leave out or erase plus-sized and disabled people and people of color. No particular body type should be presented as our society’s standards – we all are unique in our own ways, and each of us should be celebrated for that!
Here is the best way to have a summer body – just by existing in your own body! Your body is a summer body (and winter, spring, and fall). Accepting yourself for who you are now is key!
2. Practice Body Acceptance
Someone can achieve body acceptance through, as the Cleveland Clinic suggests, body positivity or body neutrality. Body positivity focuses on celebrating and loving our bodies – this is an enthusiastic movement aimed to uplift people and all body types/appearances.
However, there are times when we will all dislike or feel uncomfortable in our bodies. As much as we want to love and be confident in who we are constantly, that sadly doesn’t always happen. We may struggle with low self-esteem over how our bodies look and low self-worth because we feel like we are not enough.
Body neutrality can help you find peace with your body even in times when you may not be in love with it. As mentioned in our past article, the Body Neutrality Movement is about accepting your body for what it is and appreciating it even when you don’t necessarily love it. Body neutrality promotes the idea that even when we dislike our bodies, we will still treat them respectfully. We also appreciate what they do for us rather than what they look like.
You can practice Body Neutrality by:
- Embracing gratitude practices and thanking your body for all it does
- Saying phrases like, “I am thankful for my eyes that help me see the world,” or, “I appreciate my hands that allow me to pet my dog.”
- Not engaging in negative self-talk or mean phrases towards your body
3. Protect and Care for Your Body
Also, make sure that you are taking care of your body on the inside as well – this can include drinking enough water to stay hydrated in the heat or eating nutritious food that will give you energy throughout the day.
4. Wear Clothes That YOU Want to Wear
The summer brings a shift in all of our wardrobes. Throughout the year, we go from wearing warm sweaters in the fall, bulky jackets in the winter, and pastels in the spring. Summer can bring a lot of heat to your area -this may cause you to wear less heavy or more revealing clothing.
Ultimately, wear what makes you feel comfortable. Dressing our bodies in ways that make us feel comfortable and secure can help us boost self-esteem and feel better about how we look.
Wear what makes you feel comfy, but also don’t be afraid to go out of your comfort zone. Challenge yourself to wear that bathing suit you’ve been dying to buy or that dress in the bright colors you wouldn’t usually wear.
As mentioned before, there is no such thing as a “perfect summer body.” Don’t let your concerns about how your body will look or be perceived stop you from wearing what you want. At the end of the day, your opinion of yourself matters most! If you think you look good, embrace that feeling! With your summer style, just follow what you feel is best!
5. Look Up to Positive Role Models in the Media
From Instagram to TikTok, from YouTube to TV, media and social media could give us a lot of pressure to have a “perfect beach body” in summer. Yet in reality, this is unachievable body image. It is important to learn to be critical of the media and those influencers. When necessary, exclude messages or attitudes that make you feel bad about yourself from social media. How to do that? Simply unfollow, block, and report images or accounts that may be promoting a negative body image.
Meanwhile, there are so many great role models to look to when needing that extra boost of confidence in your summer body. Think of a celebrity or influencer with a similar body type. If you think this celebrity looks fantastic wearing the clothes you can only dream of wearing, who’s saying you won’t look amazing, as well?
Also, shop at stores that promote inclusive models and sizes. Brands like Aerie display great inclusivity in their models and represent people of all skin colors and body types. Their campaigns have also included models with different types of disabilities or illnesses. All people should be able to get positive representation in the media – all bodies are deserving of respect and acceptance!
6. Build Your Self Esteem
Building self-esteem can help us see the true worth within us all! Self-esteem also acts as a protective factor and improve your mental wellbeing. Self-esteem can help you forget about outside critics or opinions. Once you realize the most important opinion of yourself is your own, you will feel free from others’ judgments!
7. Keep Your Close Circle Positive
You are worth so much and deserve to have people in your life who know that! If there are people who bring you down or make you feel bad about yourself, you have the right to put distance or space between you and them. Get your friends on your team. You deserve people who lift you up, support you, and don’t leave you feeling insecure.
If you don’t like your friends, don’t feel obligated to hang out with them cause you fear being alone. Of course, being alone can be scary, but you deserve so much more. Also, being alone doesn’t mean you have to be lonely! You can have fun being with yourself and going on your own adventures.
8. Talk Kindly to Yourself
As mentioned before, talking kindly to your body helps you be more accepting and appreciative of it. If you find yourself talking meanly to yourself, challenge these ideas. You may have cognitive distortions or misbeliefs about your body and don’t even realize it.
Speak positive and encouraging affirmations to yourself. Body Positive affirmations help you combat self-doubt and reinforce your capabilities. Even if you do not feel much difference at the time, repeating these affirmations helps alter and reframe your negative thought patterns.
Furthermore, common therapy practices like Cognitive Behavioral Therapy use positive affirmations to change the way we think. When you think and say positive affirmations, your subconscious will accept them or reappraise your old beliefs. When you start saying phrases like “I am worthy” or “I am strong,” your behaviors will start reflecting these ideas.
Express body gratitude and repeat phrases like:
- “I am loving and accepting towards my body”
- “Yes, I am confident in who I am”
- “I care for my body and treat it with respect”
9. Practice Self Care
Another way to learn how to love your body more is through practicing self-care. Self-care allows us to listen to and honor our minds and body. These practices help us prioritize our needs and do things that make us happy, feel at peace, and recharge. When we care for our bodies, we are able to be kinder to them and treat them with more love.
Self-Care Practices can be:
- Taking a bath at the end of the day
- Making sure your body is getting enough rest or sleep
- Upholding boundaries and saying “no” more often
- Taking a mental health day or needing a day to recharge
- Practicing mindfulness or yoga to relax
- Taking time to practice our hobbies and immerse ourself in our passions
10. Talk to a Therapist
When you struggle much with accepting or loving your body, things could go too far and out of your control. That is, constant self-criticism could trigger mental health issues. Typical examples include disordered eating, such as bulimia or anorexia, body dysmorphia, low self-esteem, and social isolation.
You don’t have to deal with these alone! A therapist can also help you build self-esteem and confidence in who you are. Therapy can help you reframe your negative thoughts, gain confidence, and learn how to love your body in the summer and every other season! Therapy can also help you treat yourself and your body more compassionately. Our therapists at Mind Connections are here to support and help you!
Content Creator, Victoria Gallo; Reviewed by Dr. June Cao