Stop Hating Your Bikini Body

Every summer, I dread pulling out my one-piece bathing suits. Donning a two-piece is out the question. I'm more than glad that my family and I live in Atlanta, Georgia instead of our hometown of Tampa, Floirda. In Tampa, going to the beach is suggested every weekend, if not daily. I definitely do not want a daily parade of humiliation to take place. When I look in the mirror, all I see are the things I would like to change: smaller hips, firmer thighs, ect. It is hard for me to admit that there's anything appealing about my body, or that is how I used to feel. I'm sure there's a majority of women out there (and men) who share the hate I once had. Though, hating yourself wears on you after a while. Certainly, your self-esteem suffers and eventually, your personal relationships suffer too. There are a few things I do to love my summer bikini body, and myself.

Study my body in the mirror:

What I did was find a bathing suit I felt comfortable in, and then I left it on for a couple of hours at home. I forced myself to look at the result in the mirror, without judgement. Okay, I told myself, you've had a baby, things are gonna look different. Overall, I decided that I didn't look as bad as I thought I did. Cellulite? Check. Stretch marks? Check. Extra weight? Check. Even so, I realized that we all have things we don't like about our bodies or would like to change. Maybe I could work off the 'baby' fat and cellulite, but that didn't mean I had to hate myself in the meantime. After a some time passed, I knew I could go to the pool without embarrassment.

Stop buying fashion/gossip magazines

I'm a writer, and a bit addicted to the glossy pages of magainzes. They make for great reading, but the pictures in them are more than depressing. Page after page displays beautiful skinny girls right there in front of my eyes. I wanted to look like them so badly. Mostly, I wanted to be as happy as they were being portrayed in the pictures. Why couldn't I smile like that while frolicking around in my bathing suit? I forced myself to stop buying magazines so often. Withdrawl made it dawn upon me that I had been feeding my hate with the magazines the way a alcholic nursed their own addiction with more beer. Now, when I see an article on 'Celebrity Beach Bodies', I can look at it with interest, but the intense longing that I once felt is not as intense. I know that I am just me (flabby arms and all), and that's okay.

Get off the couch

Being a stay-at-home mom, writer, and student, I don't have much time for myself to work out. But, I noticed all the times I spent groaning about my dress size the most was when I wasn't working out at all. These days, I make time to work out 20 minutes a day or more. I have no specific goal in mind, and I haven't cut my daily intake to just crackers and water (althought, I do eat in moderation and soda is off limits). Lack of exercise can wear on a person as much as self-hate can. Really, the two are tied together at times. I'm not saying 20 minutes of working out is going to bring youa flawless body, but that's really not the point. Working out along with some of my other tips may bring you a better love of the body you have.

Your body is your temple, as the cliche goes. Why would you go out of your way to hate your own house of worship?