Getting “Beach Ready”
This Thursday morning I take off for a four-day trip to Mexico to watch one of my closest friends, Rachel, marry the love of her life. And just like my last warm-weather-vacation, I’ve spent the weeks leading up to this one worrying about the whole bikini thing. But unlike my last vacation, which took place in March, I’m bombarded with the “get-beach-body-ready” messages that are so common this time of year. (Oh, and I’m pretty sure I weigh a few pounds more than I did on that last trip.)
I’ll be honest – I don’t feel beach ready. I know I do not currently have the thigh gap of the girl in that picture above, or her cellulite-free behind. But I am going to MEXICO! And thanks to the ridiculous weather of New England, I will be leaving behind 55 degree rainy, dreary June days and escaping to a tropical paradise. So in an effort to forget about my body-image related anxieties, I’m going share to the ways I feel I am “beach ready” – and contrast them with some other meanings/tricks/tips I found on the Internet.
“Incorporate these three exercises into your regular routine immediately and you’ll score your own camera-ready body just in time to hit the beach!” – SELF.com
“I have been keeping up with workouts where I can – go me! But I am thankful that I’m in no way under the illusion that adding any certain exercise(s) to my already-enjoyable routine will give me the “camera-ready” body that I often catch myself wishing I had. After all, setting up unrealistic expectations is just asking for disappointment.” – Me.
“Replace sugar, gluten, carbs, and alcohol with green vegetables, proteins, and healthy fats.” – VOGUE
“I definitely eat plenty of green vegetables, protein, and healthy fats. Go me! But I also have not deprived myself of the sugar, gluten, carbs, and alcohol. I know that if I did, I’d probably go pretty overboard in Mexico and feel extra gross and bloated during the trip – WHILE wearing my bikini – as a result. And this summer so far has involved moments that were, to be honest with you, made more fun since I was able to act like a normal person with my friends and family, eat the food in front of me, and enjoy celebratory champagne toasts and fabulous cocktails.” – Me.
Sometimes nothing feels better than ending a night out with Taco Bell.
“Don’t dip below 1,200 calories to prevent going into starvation mode, which makes your body hold onto the weight.” – PopSugar
“OK but really, 1200 calories? I’ve tried to subsist on that before, and it just does not work for me. I felt light-headed, cranky, and 100% over-obsessed with food. I stared at my friends’ meals. I had no energy to do the workouts the SAME website advised me to do. I’m glad that I did not spend the months leading up to this trip feeling that way, and find it irresponsible that people are still throwing that number around as if it’s OK.” – Me.
Yummy salad, buffalo cauliflower, and cocktails at Citizen Pub, shared with a good friend! Glad I had enough calories “left over” that evening to do so. (To clarify, I do not actually track my calories.)
“Drop up to 10 pounds—and five inches—in four weeks with this peel-it-off plan.” – FITNESSMagazine.com
“I have not dropped 10 pounds in preparation for this trip. If anything I may have gained a little more weight. But I am going to try not to let that get me down. Instead of beating myself up for not getting beach-ready by losing weight, I plan to focus on packing clothes I feel comfortable in.” – Me.
YES IT DOES.
“You need to switch up your workouts on the regular.” – Women’s Health
“The only way I have been able to stay motivated lately at the gym is by finding the workouts I love and STICKING with them. CorePower Yoga? Yes please. If I had to stop going just because it was time to switch it up, I’d have worked out less leading up to this trip! By finding what I enjoy doing at the gym, I have helped myself establish a routine that works for me.” – Me.
Do I 100% believe what I’m saying? No, there’s still that mean voice in my head tempting me to go on all of these websites and listen to these magazines and follow fitspo accounts on Instagram. But do writing exercises like this help me practice using my kind voice and remind me that I still make healthy choices each day that DO MATTER, despite how I feel about how I look or what choices I may make that are perhaps not the healthiest for me? Absolutely!
Now if you’ll excuse me, I’m off to go pick out some pretty sundresses for my trip.
What’s the craziest piece of fitness/diet advice you’ve ever seen in a magazine or on a website?
Do you find yourself tempted to diet specifically for vacations or events?
