Do you dread “swimsuit season”? This is for you.
“Swimsuit season” is an exceptionally profitable time for the diet industry, which already rakes in more than $60 billion (not a typo) per year.
Just a few months after the New Year, swimsuit season provides the diet industry with yet another opportunity to prey on people’s fears and insecurities about their bodies.
And now that it’s July, I’m sure you’ve already seen the magazine headlines, blog posts, Instagram sponsored ads, and commercials everywhere:
“Drop 10 pounds fast and get bikini ready.”
“There’s still time to slim down for summer.”
“Learn how these A-list celebrities went from baby-body to beach-body…fast!”
If someone asks you to go swimsuit shopping, would this be the equivalent of asking you to go spend an entire day at the DMV, or attend birthday parties for screaming toddlers back-to-back for eight hours straight, or entertain all the kids on your block for five solid snow days in February?
Anything but swimsuit shopping, right?
If you dread swimsuit season (like I used to, for many years) and you want to feel free of all the mental turmoil and drama, here’s what I recommend:
- Interrupt your inner bully.
If you’re trying on suits and you notice dark, self-critical thoughts invading your mind—“Ugh, I look terrible,” “Nothing fits right,” “I’m disgusting,”—interrupt those thoughts right away.
Just like you would stop a bully who was harassing your child—“Hey, please stop that!”—you need to interrupt the bully who lives inside your head.
One way to interrupt your inner bully is to take a deep breath—long inhale, long exhale—and then say a few calming, encouraging words to yourself. For instance: “My body has created two amazing children. I accept my body, just as it is. I appreciate my body and everything it does.”
You don’t necessarily have to say, “I love my body!” if that doesn’t feel authentic right now. Instead of a super-positive word like “love,” try neutral words like “accept,” “respect,” “appreciate,” or “like,” which might feel more believable for you. One day, you might reach a place of “love” but for now, “accept” is just fine.
- Focus on the memories you want to make, not what you look like.
What’s the point of shopping for a swimsuit? The point is so you can go to the beach, the river, the lake, or the pool, and make beautiful memories with people you love. So, find a suit that fits well and feels comfortable.
If you’re constantly worried about sucking in, you’re going to miss being in the moment and doing a handstand contest with your kids. Focus on how much fun you’re going to have splashing in the pool, whoo-hoo-ing down the slide, and playing Marco Polo until dark.
- Find a suit that feels “good enough” and then move on.
You could spend one thousand hours trying on suits, trying to find that “magic, perfect suit” that miraculously boosts your confidence to a whole new level and changes your entire life, and still never find it—because this magic suit does not exist!
Rather than spending an entire day of your life stuck in a fluorescent fitting room at the mall, find a suit that feels “good enough” and then move on.
- Wear whatever makes you feel more comfortable.
You can rock whatever one piece, bikini, or in-betweeny you want. Wear a cover-up (like a caftan or sarong) if that makes you feel more confident.
There’s nothing wrong with showing more—or less—skin, and if covering something up gives you more courage to get outside and enjoy the summer, then go for it.
- Most importantly, surround yourself with friends and family who don’t give a damn about your suit—or your size.
Surround yourself with people who love you because of your mind, your heart, and your spirit, not your swimsuit size.
Hopefully, you already have plenty of these people in your life. If you don’t, then it’s time to bring some new people into your inner circle of trust.
I’m wishing you a summer filled with beautiful memories—not swimsuit dread.
Summer goes by so quickly. All the seasons do. The years pass in a blur. Before you know it, the little ones are all grown up, packing up and moving out of the house. Parents pass away. The opportunities to say “I love you” become fewer and fewer.
Life is too short to spend time agonizing about a swimsuit—that’s the truth!
Shift your focus. Instead of obsessing about stretch marks or cellulite or belly rolls, focus on making memories with people you love. Focus on enjoying the sunshine, the music blasting from the poolside boombox (or whatever fancy device the kids are using these days), the sound of your kids’ laughter as you splash together in the water.
This shift in focus changes everything.
xoxo, 
