By Sara El Halabi J.

Summer is here! After what seems like endless lockdowns, you want to celebrate vacation time to the max. You dive into social media, looking for the latest trends on summer looks. However, just after you enter your search query, a ton of weight-loss advertisements and pictures of influencers showing off their slim silhouettes flood your screen. Automatically, you bring your hand to your tummy or thighs and wince.

“They look happy,” you think to yourself. “Of course, they don’t have to deal with all this!” And you squeeze the prominent flaccid flesh.

Your hopes of having fun and dropping the pandemic stress disappear. Instead, all you want now is that summer body you see on the screen.  

The Summer Body Trend’s Impact On Our Mental Health

The summer body trend is the toxic idea of having a Barbie look when summertime comes. Of having to get rid of your winter body so you can fit in those sexy swimsuits. It is idealised by those who imply that having an attractive slim body is a “must” to be accepted and well-judged.

Yet, this type of thinking has a toll on our mental health. Besides making us unhappy with our own bodies and distressed because of what others might think of us, it can cause some of us to dive into eating disorders, anxiety and depression.

Instead of being a culture that cares more about the person’s mental and physical wellbeing, it conveys the wrong message that our looks measure our worth.

There’s no doubt that social media plays a massive role in pushing the summer body campaigns. Instagram and other image-related platforms reinforce this trend of having a particular shape to be ready for summer. But let me tell you one truth [comes closer and whispers], not even those summer bodies that you see on the net are real! Otherwise, why do influencers and fitness magazines have to use filters and photo-editing apps?

It’s a ploy to bulk up the fitness industry and weight-loss-products market. They use the media to make people believe that skinny is the to-go trend and the rule if you want to feel fulfilled and beautiful.

Although social media has a share of the blame, it is primarily the fault of the accounts that tell people how they should exercise and what they must eat to have a flat tummy, as if we all have the same body type. Duh, really? [Rolls eyes].

Address The Negative Summer Body Trend With Body Positivity

In today’s world, where appearances are so important, women and men invest so much effort, money, and time to look how the media tells them to. Ladies want to redefine their smooth curves into slimmer silhouettes, while men want to bulk up their muscles to draw those eyeballs. 

However, the time has come for us to address ourselves with appreciation and love and drop the vain culture of not feeling good if our bodies are not “right.”

Although the diet industry sells a specific image of the summer body, another strong movement echoes the need to love ourselves no matter how we look. They are encouraging body positivity awareness worldwide.

Transform the toxic narrative toward your body by implementing the following steps:

  • Acknowledge that you are a beauty of nature and that your body is perfect the way it is.
  • Accept your size and weight and work in alliance with your body type to achieve good health: This is what matters the most.
  • Listen or learn about the impact summer body trends have on your mental health and how this idea has negatively affected other women.
  • Listen to your body and learn what suits you to maintain a healthy weight and energy.
  • Talk to a true wellness expert who is aware of the importance of the proper diet and training for your body type.
  • Stop browsing through social media and comparing yourself with the fake images of the “perfect body.”

What Matters Most is Health, Not Weight or Size

Instead of lamenting our winter body and carrying a negative narrative, we should accept our feminine curves and stretch marks. By being mindful of the media’s and diet industry’s selfish interests, we can avoid their negativity.

It’s time to reprogram our beliefs of what summer fun should be like by shaking off the wrong messaging. This way, we protect our mental health and happiness and stop being a victim of this trend. We must understand that if we enjoy every moment in life and our health, we can spread a new message of positivity and self-love.

So, after browsing the net and reading about summer bodies, you smile and buy the ideal swimsuit for your already perfect body and go out and have fun this summer!