Developing Body Acceptance During “Bathing Suit Season”

Child Swimming

Every summer, I hear women having conversations about dreading bathing suit season. I hear the same things: They believe they need to lose weight before considering putting on a bathing suit, or they avoid wearing shorts because they think their legs are too white or avoid the sun because they think they’re too dark.

Where did these ideas come from? Who said we need to have a certain body to feel comfortable in a bathing suit or summer clothes?

This is learned behavior. Babies and toddlers aren’t saying they’re too fat to put on a bathing suit. They have not been brainwashed to believe that their bodies are not OK.

If we’re taught to dislike our bodies, we can also be taught to love our bodies.

I am here to remind you that your body deserves to enjoy the refreshing dip into a pool or the ocean. I’m also here to tell you that you are beautiful as you are at this very moment.

Beauty comes from within—really, it does. Every culture has its rules about what is beautiful and what is not. Beauty is a concept that has been taught, and it needs to be accepted in order for it to be true. Eleanor Roosevelt reminds us, “No one can make you feel inferior without your consent.”

Will you join us this summer in a beauty revolution? Will you decide to see the beauty of your body? Can you expand your current definition of beauty to include yourself?

Can wrinkles be seen as beautiful? How about a double chin? We need to take back our power by declaring our beauty. We can change our youth-obsessed, thin obsessed culture by beginning the Self-Love Diet, a diet of regularly offering ourselves love. By doing this, we are beginning to confront the myth that we can only love ourselves if we look a certain way, accomplish a set amount of goals, etc.

Will you write in your journal, post a comment, or have a conversation with a friend about how you will work on expanding your definition of beauty this month? Will you help us spread the message of the Self-Love Diet?

Our Self-Love Diet T-shirt campaign is alive and well. Once we sell 25 T-shirts, we will randomly pick one customer to receive a rerelease of one of our e-courses, either the 7 Self-Love Diet Food & Eating Guidelines or the 31-Day Self-Love Diet Writing Challenge. Check out the T-shirts here.

We are working on a 2-day retreat—“Maiden, Mother, Crone: Invoking our Ancestors for spiritual support and guidance.” It will involve ritual, movement, drumming, nature, writing, art, and depth work. More info to come soon!

Love Yourself. Love Your Body. Love the World.

Blessings,

Michelle and Emelina Minero

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