It’s that time of year! Summer is here, and with that comes tremendous pressure to have that perfect summer body. We are bombarded with diet talk and pictures of women in bikinis. On top of this, with rising temperatures comes less covering up of our bodies, and needing to come to terms with that in a variety of ways. Including our own emotional reaction to it, our physical comfort wearing less clothing, as well as the reactions of other people to our bodies. In other words, it’s a sensitive time body image wise for most of us.

How do we navigate this season while trying to build our comfort with food and our bodies? It is challenging! One thing that is helpful during summer as well as the rest of the year, is really focusing on wearing clothes that truly fit and feel good to us. Don’t feel physically comfortable in shorts? Try different sizes and cuts and see if you can find a pair that fit you or just don’t wear them! Want to rock a crop top? Wear one! Don’t feel comfortable in a bikini? That’s ok wear what makes you feel good!

The other thing that is especially important to think about this time of year is what messages we allow into our lives. Unfollowing people pushing these summer body diet focused messages on social media, evaluating the content of the shows we watch etc. Essentially anything we can do to eliminate this message from reaching our daily sphere of living is helpful.

Another thing that can be helpful is looking at the situation with a little perspective. Summer is just another season, nothing unusual about it. There is nothing that makes how you look this time of year different or more important than any other season.

Questions about any food or body image related concerns? Feel free to get in touch!