As the summer sun beckons, many feel pressured to achieve a “summer body.” The pervasive message to fit a certain shape and size can lead to stress, anxiety, and an unhealthy obsession with the scale. However, true health and well-being go far beyond numbers. Let’s explore how to shift the focus from weight to nourishment, celebrating your body for all it can do and embracing a holistic approach to wellness.

Begin by redefining your goals. Instead of aiming for a specific number on the scale, rather set goals prioritizing how you feel. Ask yourself what foods and behaviors help you to feel energized, strong, and vibrant. 

These goals might include:

  • Eating a Variety of Nutrient-Rich Foods by placing a focus on including a colorful array of fruits, vegetables, lean proteins, and whole grains in your meals.
  • Staying Active and choosing physical activities and movement that you enjoy, whether it’s swimming, hiking, dancing, or yoga. The key is to move your body in ways that feel good and are sustainable.
  • Prioritizing Mental Health is key when reframing how we want to relate to our bodies.  Incorporate practices like meditation, journaling, being around people you love, or spending time in nature to support your mental and emotional well-being.

The next step is to start to listen to your body. Your body communicates its needs through hunger, cravings, and energy levels. Tuning in to these signals can guide you toward a more intuitive way of eating and living.

The important principles that will help you to achieve this are:

  • Eat When You’re Hungry: Perhaps you have been taught by previous diets or advice you may have heard to eat by the clock or eat certain portion sizes of foods. This well-meaning guidance can lead to a disconnection from your body’s hunger signals. Rather than adhering to strict meal times or diets, eat when your body signals that it’s hungry. Choose foods that satisfy both your hunger and nutritional needs.
  • Respect Your Fullness: Pay attention to when you feel satisfied and comfortably full. This helps prevent overeating and promotes a healthy relationship with food. If you find it difficult to leave food on your plate once you have had enough to eat, consider taking a little less to start and going back for seconds. Another option is to slowly allow yourself to see how leaving small amounts on your plate would feel. 
  • Recognize Emotional Eating: We tend to eat for a variety of reasons and not all of them are from true hunger. Test out if you can tell the difference between physical hunger and emotional hunger. When you find yourself reaching for food out of stress, boredom, or sadness, explore other ways to address these emotions. This is something that can be worked on with a trained therapist or dietician – you don’t have to tackle this alone!

It’s time to celebrate your body’s unique capabilities. Your body is incredible for all it can do, not for how it looks. Shifting the focus from appearance to function can foster a more positive body image.

  • Acknowledge Strength and Endurance: Appreciate your body’s ability to carry you through daily activities, exercise, and adventures. 
  • Practice Gratitude: Take a few moments to close your eyes and thank your body for something it has done for you. This practice can help shift your perspective from criticism to appreciation.
  • Set Performance-Based Goals: Instead of weight-related goals, set goals related to physical performance, such as walking a certain distance, mastering a yoga pose, or increasing your strength.

Shift the focus from good and bad to what nourishes your body and soul. Nourishment goes beyond food. It encompasses everything that contributes to your overall well-being.

  • Enjoy Balanced Tasty Meals: Aim for meals that provide a balance of all the food groups and a variety of vitamins and minerals. Eliminating foods puts stress on your body and can have an emotional impact. Rather learn how to incorporate all foods into your lifestyle.
  • Hydrate: Drink plenty of water throughout the day to stay hydrated, especially during the hot summer months.
  • Engage in Joyful Activities: Spend time doing things you love, whether that’s spending time with loved ones, pursuing hobbies, or simply relaxing.

It’s time to ditch the diet mentality. Diets often promote restriction and can lead to an unhealthy relationship with food. Embrace a more flexible and sustainable approach to eating.

  • Practice Intuitive Eating: Listen to your body’s cues and eat in a way that feels satisfying and nourishing.
  • Reject Food Guilt: Allow yourself to enjoy all foods without guilt. Remember, it’s the overall pattern of your food choices that matters most.
  • Focus on Long-Term Health: Prioritize long-term health and well-being over quick fixes or drastic changes.

Pay attention to who you surround yourself with and choose positive influence. The people and media you engage with can impact your body image and mindset. Seek out supportive, body-positive influences.

  • Curate Your Social Media: Follow accounts that promote body positivity, health at every size, and a balanced approach to wellness.
  • Choose who you spend time with: Surround yourself with friends, family, and mentors who support and uplift you. Be mindful of the messages that have a positive impact on how you feel about yourself as well as the negative ones and where possible filter these out.
  • Explore more about body diversity and the impact of diet culture to build resilience against unrealistic body standards.

Choosing to embrace your unique body and listen in to the signs and signals it gives you is an empowering experience. It fosters a peaceful relationship with food and your body and breaks you free from the restrictive mindset and scale showdowns that can leave you feeling miserable. 

How would it feel to focus on nourishment, self-compassion, and holistic well-being? Isn’t it time that you celebrate your body for all it can do and rather cultivate a lifestyle that supports your overall health and happiness? Remember, your worth is not measured by the number on the scale, rather true beauty and health come from within, radiating through a body that is nourished, cared for, and loved.