Beach body and other nonsense

I was talking with Doina the other day about how some shops have really bad changing rooms. I don’t know if you ever felt the same, but sometimes you go in to try your clothes and you end up hating what you see. I’m not talking about the clothes that you’ve tried on. I’m talking about emotions that you end up having about your body. So, D thought it happened to her because of the mirror, while my strategy was to blame the light. Why I thought it was the light? Well, in some stores I would look like I was covered in cellulite head to toe, while in others I felt like a Victoria’s Secret Angel! In real life I’m neither of, but bad light or not, this made me think about complicated feelings we have with our bodies. In this time when media is constantly pressuring us to look this way or that way, how do we stay ok and happy in our own skin?

One of my favourite things that I saw in magazines was this talk about “beach body”. You probably came across it too, and if not, well it basically talks about getting your body ready for the beach. It tells you, between the lines, that your body needs some working out so that it can be shown in a bikini the upcoming summer. Now, a few things bug me about this concept. I get it, we can all be a bit self-conscious from time to time and especially when the temperature is so high that you don’t have much clothes on. But, should this really be something that will make us feel anxious and insecure? Now don’t get me wrong, I support the part that encourages us to work out, I just don’t like the reason behind it. I say you should try to work out regularly throughout the year, and you will definitely feel better and healthier about yourself. A “beach body” shouldn’t be a project that you will stress about for a few months before the bikini season. It shouldn’t be something that makes you panic when you think about going to the beach. Take care of yourself and your body so that you would be healthy. And the beauty part comes from being happy with who you are and that is much deeper than the skin you’re in.