Loving Yourself During Swimsuit Season

Swimsuit season always brings about the desire to become more physically fit and more thin. Especially after the COVID quarantine, many of us may be feeling even more of a desire to work on our ‘swimsuit-worthy bodies’. 

Being in recovery from an eating disorder, this season is quite the trigger for me, so believe me when I tell you, I understand the angst, girlfriend!

As I’ve wrestled with the idea of physical wellness and the tension of body image in the culture we live in, I’ve learned that there’s a lot that can muddy our minds in regards to what real health is and how we can experience it for ourselves.

Our goal should be health at every size. We need to focus less on what size we wear or what the scales say and turn our focus on becoming healthy at the size we are currently.

One Size Fits All – Or Does It?

Our diet culture gives us strict boundaries of what to intake each day. Each diet fad has different rules surrounding its proposed weight-loss outcomes. The problem is this culture doesn’t take into account that each person has a unique body shape and complex wiring that creates us all different. 

Your genetic code helps establish your body shape. In my wrestling with an eating disorder, I will never forget what my 10-year-old daughter said to me one evening. “Mom, you know we’re not ever supposed to change our body shape.” Oh, sweet girl, how I wish I would’ve heard this earlier, and how I hope you always remember that when you grow up.

Friend, before we talk about being healthy, please know that your body shape does not determine the health of your body. Repeat that to yourself a few times, and simmer on that for a while.  You can be slim and be unhealthy, or you can be obese and be unhealthy. Therefore, body shape does not determine the health of your body.

So then, what does determine the health of your body? How you treat your body is an excellent indicator of your health. 

Think through these questions: 

Do I feed my body healthy foods, or do I feed it mostly junk food?

Do I give my body reasonable exercise, or do I not exercise at all or exercise excessively?

Do I allow my body to rest, or is my body in constant motion?

Do I have a good sleep schedule, or do I stay up into the wee hours of the morning?

But it goes deeper than this. The purpose for our physical health isn’t so that we feel confident come swimming suit season. 

In Romans 12:1 it tells us, “to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.” Our opportunity to love God is shown by loving and caring for our bodies. This loving of ourselves is an act of worship, thanking God for the bodies we’ve been given. 

Going against diet culture, I want to encourage you to give your body the health it needs instead of worrying about a dieting plan.  

At the core, having a healthy physical self reflects a love for yourself.

Below are seven tips to thank God by loving and caring for your body:

-Eat the rainbow. Include plenty of colorful fruit and vegetables into your diet. 

-Note the number of ingredients in your food.  Don’t look at the nutritional labels; look at the ingredients. Can you pronounce them? Make sure you can pronounce all the ingredients you eat.   

-Switch from fatty meats to lean meats. 

-Add movement to your life. Go for nightly walks, family hikes or bike rides, etc.

-Drink plenty of water. 

-Allow your body to have adequate rest.

-Change your thought pattern and speak kindly to your body.  

Wife Step:  Take a moment right now to thank God for your body, and ask Him how you can show Him praise by loving yourself and caring for your body today.​

Karen lives in Madison, Alabama with her husband and three children. Karen has served as Preschool and Children’s Pastor and has been involved in women’s ministry for many years leading small groups, making hospital visits, organizing retreats, and encouraging the hearts of women. Karen now blogs at Glimpses of Faith and Struggles.  What started out as a way to communicate medical facts has become a place where Karen uses life experiences to encourage others in their life journey.  When she’s not busy caring for her family or writing, you might find her cooking or crafting.