Are You Summer Ready?

For most people, summer is the most looked-forward-to season of the year, but for many others, it's a season that makes them the most self-conscious. In the last several years, it's become a fad to have that perfect "summer bod," and starting in January, you'll see people pushing different weight loss miracle products. Many people will often buy them to attempt to have that perfectly shaped body for the summer.

Sun’s out, buns out

Summer is one of the most popular seasons, especially for those who are younger or those who work in schools, because summer is the biggest school break. It's time for fun, late nights, and all the pool or beach time you can get. I always looked forward to being with my friends whenever we wanted to hang out, instead of having to schedule around school. We got to go swimming, play board games (yes, once upon a time, these were entertainment), and just hang out at each other's houses.

Depending on where you live (I'm in Texas), summertime is when you wear as little clothing as legally possible because of the heat. You start seeing booty shorts and crop tops when out and about. You see all the skimpy bathing suits at the store and watch all the people appear comfortable in the skin they are showing.

For me, the summer has always been uncomfortable. I was fat and still am to a degree, and fat makes you hot. It's similar to how whales have all their blubber for insulation to stay warm; well, fat works the same way in the human body. It acts as an insulator. So, I would just get hot. Too hot. I hated being outside during the summer. I'd start sweating the moment I walked outside the door. And you sweat EVERYWHERE. It's plain uncomfortable.

The trouble of summertime wear

I always struggled with the summer because I never liked how I looked, and I definitely didn't want to show off more of my body than I needed to, but then I struggled with the need to feel somewhat comfortable in the heat of the day. I always think that I can manage to look cute in clothes, but I don't so much when I'm not wearing any. So, wearing less clothing to stay cool in the summer tended to make me pretty self-conscious.

I remember watching my older sisters sunbathe in their bikinis as a child and wishing I could look like that and feel that good about myself. I usually just wore what I would normally wear, t-shirts with jeans or leggings, despite how miserably hot I might be.

Also, forget about trying to find cute clothes that fit and are good for the summer in the sizes I wore. You typically had to go to special stores to find anything over the size XL or 14, and then you were lucky if the clothes looked at all flattering on you. Shorts in size 26 almost always went to the knee, and shirts might be sleeveless, but they were still full-length and often too hot. And lordy, bathing suits were nearly impossible without spending an arm and a leg to look like a can of busted biscuits. Finding a cute swimsuit was always a challenge for me because no matter what one-piece suit we bought, I always just looked around.

The pressure to change my body for summer

As I got older, I began to feel the pressure to get my "summer bod" ready. I would be talked into trying new supplements and exercise programs to attempt to make myself suitable to the stereotype of the perfect body. I would try and fail every time. Either the supplements and plans would be too expensive to continue for more than a month or so, or I'd just fall off the wagon of eating better and exercising altogether. So, I continue to feel miserable during the summer. I didn't look the way I wanted, and I was stuck in clothes that just didn't feel comfy.

You are always summer bod ready

A few years ago, I finally had an epiphany where I realized that regardless of where my size was, I was already summer-bod ready. If you have a body and it is summertime, you too are summer-bod ready. To have a summer bod doesn't mean that we have to live up to the stereotypical ideal of what the perfect body is. It just means it's summertime, and we have to have our bodies.

Now that I'm nearing 40, I've come to terms with a lot of things in my life, and my body size and shape are some of those things that I've learned to accept just as it is. Do I want to work on it and look a little different? Yes. But does that mean I have to hate the body I'm in right now? No. With summer approaching, I'm making sure I'm ready, but not in the way you think. I'm mentally preparing for the onslaught of heat and ensuring we have plenty of sunscreen and other essentials. I'm not over here counting calories and doing 100 sit-ups.

I can now wear whatever I want and feel okay with it. I wear short shorts and crop tops because you know what? What other people think of me isn't the most important thing in the world to me. I'd rather be comfortable while I'm outside gardening or outside with the kids than be covered up and miserable.

Let yourself be comfortable

While the whole "summer bod" phase will likely still be around for a while, especially in the fitness/supplement/weight loss circles of life, I feel like we need to lift the pressure of having that perfect shape off of ourselves.

If we strive for an elusive ideal, we'll never be happy with the body we have. Instead, we need to allow ourselves to be who we are no matter what size we are. You are already "summer bod" ready with the body you have RIGHT NOW. Embrace yourself and let yourself be comfortable this summer. Don't hide yourself.