Don’t stress about getting a “summer body”

It’s almost the end of the semester. I do not know about you but I am pretty excited about summer. The warm weather, long nights and new memories to be made are calling my name. Unfortunately, along with all these wonderful things there is something everyone talks about when summer starts to roll around: beach bodies.
I have never been really fond of that term, because, let’s be honest, who came up with that? Whose standards are we to be judged by? Why is having a “beach body” important and pressed by society?
Well I have good news for you my friends. You do not have to have summer beach body. Just because you are not the size of a Victoria Secret model or buff like Channing Tatum doesn’t make your body unacceptable for summer.
If it makes you feel better to go to the gym a few times a week and eating veggies and tacos, that’s fine. If you work two jobs and eat salads and cheeseburgers but don’t always have time to work out that’s fine. If you prefer to just hang out and do whatever you feel like on a particular day, guess what? That’s totally fine too!
I think both women and men are expected to reach not entirely realistic goals for summer bodies.
I also think we should love who we are and support others. Everyone is in different stages of their life and has different goals. Everyone has a different past and a different body type and that’s fine. We need to be more accepting of ourselves and each other.
We also can’t let the expectations of social media and society infringe who we are. We should all be happy in our skin without feeling like we have to compete with the person sitting next to us.
Next time you are scrolling through Instagram or watching a movie and feel like you don’t have a “summer-ready bod,” don’t feel bad and don’t beat yourself up about it.
It is completely crazy to compare yourself to fitness gurus since they pretty much get paid to work out all day. It’s crazy to compare yourself to that girl you graduated with because you are living your own life.
I encourage you, as summer approaches, to not feel pressured by society and social media. Do not feel like you have to meet a certain standard to be considered beautiful or summer ready.
Love yourself for who you are and how far you’ve come. Love the skin you’re in.
Enjoy the warm weather and that tank top that shows your arms. Wear those shorts that show the stretch marks on your legs.
Don’t be ashamed that you don’t look like some of your friends on Facebook or models in magazines. Be confident in who you are my friends.