This post will be more than me just telling you I’m going on holiday, I promise. But, let me just start of by saying, I’M GOING ON HOLIDAY! To a hot country, too.

So, naturally, before thinking over my Euros and my packing, my initial thought process was…

Sunny place = Fewer clothes

Fewer clothes = More body on show

More body on show = I need to lose weight

 

I honestly don’t know if this thought process was my own, or if it was an algorithmic result of what my brain consumes in everyday life whenever a ‘beach body’ is brought up. Either way, I felt panicked and under pressure to meet an expectation I had put on myself only moments ago, without any real consideration. As I understood it, holidays are meant to be a way of escaping these things, right?

 

A lot of positive discussion around this subject does exist, a common way of thinking being:

Step 1: Have a body

Step 2: Put a bikini on body

Done! You now have a bikini body.

 

Reading over this general rule of thumb was pretty good – a moment of fuck yeah I have totally got this and then carrying on with my day. But this is forgetting that my body anxieties aren’t really extinguishable with one positive thought; they have the respawning abilities that no cheat code can override. So trying to drill this rule into my head and simply shrug off my worries didn’t work a treat.

 

Putting weight and shape aside for a minute, body hair is also an aspect of our image that can gain a range of attention. I personally do remove the hair on my legs, so thought I’d get them waxed in time. It was actually during this appointment that I came across a balanced middle ground with something the waxing technician said to me.

First, she asked me if I was ‘bikini body ready.’ For some reason, I was slightly taken aback by this question, even though it was a personal appointment with someone I regularly visit and can easily chat to. Plus, she has definitely seen my body in all its glory – cellulite, stretchmarks, and scars (oh my!). Why couldn’t she just judge for herself whether I was bikini body ready?

Not receiving an answer from me, she clarified…

No no I don’t mean ‘are you in shape’ or whatever. I mean, do you feel comfortable enough to bare some skin and strut your stuff?

 

And I gave it some thought. Offered a generic ‘yeah I think so,’ and then thought about it some more.

 

If I am lying on the beach, walking towards the sea, or jumping over waves – am I going to be able to do it in a bikini? Thinking about what I was actually going be doing on the beach rather than how I will look doing it, really helped me. I’ll be swimming, eating ice cream, and sunbathing – not featuring as the beach’s main attraction. People aren’t holidaying in Cyprus to come see my pale legs trotting off for a Magnum White.

 

I know this isn’t magic advice and it might be logic you have heard before. However, while body acceptance can be an important mission to you, you can get wrapped up in thinking you are the only one who thinks like this. Sometimes you need to hear this basic logic from someone else for it to hit home. Being bikini body ready isn’t about having a thigh gap; it’s being able to wear what you want and feeling comfortable enough to do so.

The nagging thoughts of ‘oh if my stomach was flatter’ are still there for me, but I have realised that that does not need to be the all-consuming reaction that affects my behaviour.

 

If you also need to hear it from someone else and you’re looking to surround yourself with some positive perspectives, I would recommend having a look at the following three:

1. Emma Conway (brummymummyof2)

I love this post. Both Emma and her daughter, Erin, look ready and happy to be out in their cossies, and the caption is packed with body acceptance. It’s so important that Emma has addressed that her relationship with her body has the ability to influence her children, and she’s doing it in the best way.

 

2. Boots’ May 2019 TV Advert: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B9-BP94DA3w&t=1s

If you have literally a minute to spare, please do watch this video. Two women getting ready for their holiday and the beach with no mention of diets or slimming down for summer. My favourite part: the very relatable look of nerves to excitement between the two women before they stride into the sea.

 

3. Megan Jayne Crabbe (bodyposipanda)

As someone who is really doing the most for body acceptance and positivity, Megan’s commentary on diet culture and the ‘bikini body’ is always welcome on my newsfeed. I love her recurring message of unlearning shame and refusing to apologise for existing.

Have a look into these and let me know what you think!

 

Summer diets and killing yourself over ‘beach body workouts’ are not holiday essentials. Sun cream? Go for it. Lather yourself. But leave the body shaming behind.

Just because the weather changes doesn’t mean your body needs to too.