It’s that time of year again. The time of year when Pringles and pasta are tucked back into the pantry and spinach and kale start flying off the shelves and into juicers. Everyone is trying to lose a couple pounds and tone up before it’s time to hit the pool and sandy white beaches. When I first booked my trip to Mexico, I had an unfortunate first thought.
I need to lose weight.
Isn’t that sad? I just booked a beautiful vacation in paradise and all I could think about is how i’ll look in a bathing suit. In the days leading up to my trip I watched what I ate, went for runs, and crawled on the floor doing butt workouts at random times throughout the day. I analyze my body in the mirror and tried on all my summer clothes, twirling in the mirror so I could get a full view. I feared spending my beach days covered in big t-shirts because I feel too uncomfortable to show myself.
I would love to say that as soon as I stepped foot in Cancun I had a change of heart. Unfortunately, it’s not true. As soon as I made my way to Tulum I was bombarded with thong bikini clad women with Victoria Secret inspired bodies and beachy hair that resembled the locks at Miami Swim Week. The first day I got to the beach I felt self conscious and hesitant to take my coverup off and get in the water.
It wasn’t until I laid on the vast sea and took a true look around that I felt lighter and had a change of perspective. I felt the warm sun on my face and dipped my toes deeper into the powdery white sand. I took in the sights around me and watched as swimsuit clad women of all shapes and sizes smiled from ear to ear, immersing their bodies in the water.
They don’t care about how they look I thought to myself with a smile on my face. The beautiful thing about nature is that it sets us free. There are no expectations or judgements from the sea. It welcomes you in and accepts you as you are.
After realizing this, I pulled off my cover up without fear and confidently let the Caribbean Sea embrace me. I closed my eyes and dipped my body in, first getting goosebumps and then feeling them slowly fade away. I took a deep breath and started to breathe. Really breathe, in a way I had not in a while.
As I was submerged in the water I realized how silly it was for me to be so hard on my body. Nowadays, there is so much comparison and there is a culture of always striving for more while hating what is. We look online and compare our stomach, hips, lips, and thighs to other women. We don’t give ourselves enough credit for what our bodies are and how they carry us throughout the day. I’m not saying I’m always confident or that I don’t have fitness goals, all I’m saying is that I want to chose love and appreciation for myself rather than being so hard of myself. I want my fitness goals to come from a place of love and joy, instead of feeling bad about who I am and how I look. I hope you all can also have a little more appreciation for your body.
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