You Already Have A Summer Body, Now Let's Help You Actually Enjoy It!

Now I'm sharing what I know with you fitness , nutrition and all the deeper stuff to help you discover your strongest body . Hello , hello , welcome back to another episode of your Strongest Body .

I am fresh back from vacation and so excited to record this episode because if you were to ask me , like , what is your business all about , what your life is all about , I think it's this . I think it really is about living most fully in your body not in spite of your body , but in your body .

So that really is what this topic for today ends up being about . So quick . Thank you for staying with me . I know I took a few episodes off . I was planning to record a bunch and get them ahead , but sometimes that's unrealistic . So we're back today . If you got a chance to binge some old ones , great . I went to Southern California .

I went to LA for work . So I work with a business group , two business coaches who help women with their online health and fitness businesses , and it's just like an incredible experience .

Every time I go out there because , since I work independently and since I have a job that's very different than most of my friends and family , it is a moment for me to really get to have this camaraderie in a way that I don't normally have .

And then we're super productive , the ideas are flowing , you have people who just really understand what you're going through , offering their advice . It is a 10 out of 10 experience . I have a great time every time , and this was after , like a culmination of sort , of the six month program we were working on , and it's just incredible .

Can't say enough great things about it . And then my husband came out to California . We spent a little time in LA and then we went to San Diego and we haven't had a trip by ourselves like that since before my first daughter was born , so over six years ago and it was amazing , absolutely amazing . One I love California .

Two loved getting to spend time together . We had great food , great rest , great coffee , great like , such fun drinks , such fun desserts . I mean the whole experience . We surfed for the first time so I've never surfed and I've always said like I really want to try , and so my husband set it up for us and it was so much fun .

We both crushed it , which was great . Erin really crushed it and I stood up on the very first time that we got out in the water . So that was like super cool . So it was all over like such a great experience . And then , if you follow me on Instagram , I'm like constantly a great experience .

And then , if you follow me on Instagram , I'm like constantly sharing my outfits . One of the things that I have found as I'm getting older is like okay , I like fashion and clothes as a hobby . You would never have guessed that for me if you knew me as a middle schooler , but we evolve and it's really fun .

I think part of what I like about that is I feel like really confident in my body , I feel great in my body , and so wearing clothes are like fun for me , wearing bathing suits are fun for me , and that is what brought me to the topic today . You've seen , I am sure , this sort of marketing around your summer body , your summer body .

Summer bodies are made in the winter and I've always given a huge eye roll for that kind of thing . But there's something that we can take away from our summer bodies . So follow me here . You already have your summer body , any body that you are in right now . This is important . This is important before we go on any further .

You already have your summer body . Your body is perfect as it is right now . You're here and now . Body is enough . Now , how do we feel our best in our body ? Sometimes , feeling our best in our body is most of the time it has to do with the actions we take , the care we show our body .

I think that is inextricably linked to how we feel about our body , but we also have all these societal and cultural pressures , and then how we feel about our body is how we think it looks . So one of the challenges I face as a fitness professional is that I believe two things . I believe that your body is perfect right now . You have a summer body .

That's without question . I also think it's okay if you want to change it . If you think you would feel better in some other way , that is also okay . I think those things can be true . I think you can want to feel fitter or tighter or stronger or more muscular or leaner . I think it's okay .

I think it's okay if we start from the place , that we're enough already . I also think so . I think that what it tends to be is that it's very black and white , and that's part of online marketing is that you have to take a strong , strong stance .

My strong stance is that I think muscles are gorgeous , I think being confident in your body is gorgeous , and so if that means you want to change it a little bit , go off . Go off , change it .

And because one of the things that I struggle with is that there's and I've said it before on this show , I am sure is that there's this idea that like your body is the least interesting thing about you , and I understand that sentiment , and that sentiment is saying that your personality , your intellect , your dreams , your aspirations , who you are as a person ,

are all more interesting than your body .

I just don't like the hierarchy of it , because you can also like your body in the same way that you like all those other traits about yourself , and , yes , I think there are probably things about you that are deeply more important and interesting than your body , but if your body is one of them , is one element , because we live in our bodies .

Whether or not we like it , we live in our physical bodies and embodiment . Being in your body is such an important thing to strive for because it helps you live your life more fully , and that's what gets to this topic today . You already have your summer body . It's perfect as it is . How do we live more fully in it ? If that means changing it , fine .

If that means just working on the sort of psychological aspects , the mental , emotional aspects , then fine . But I think it's probably a little bit of everything . You deserve to go on vacation and enjoy food and drink and activities , and also your body , your body , is one of those things that you should be able to enjoy , and summer is great for that .

You're in the sun , you're outside , you're doing things . There's like longer daylight . Longer daylight means , you know , no sleeve summer . No sleeve summer is my hashtag for this summer . No sleeve summer . I've worked hard on these arms . I have built strong , strong shoulders , and so they are going to be out all summer long , and that's what I mean .

I mean there is a way for you to both be intellectual and kind and caring and a contributor to society at large and to other people and also enjoy the way you look , and you know that's sort of my motto . So let's talk about how you can have a great summer body experience . You already have a perfect summer body .

How are ways we enhance that experience One ? We strength train . We strength train because it will help us feel better in our body . We will be able to do things we like . More . We will be able to achieve things . We show ourselves resiliency and determination Not termination determination we show ourselves what we're capable of .

With strength training , it also builds muscle . Muscle is incredible for your health , incredible for longevity , incredible for activities of daily living and incredible for the way you look at yourself in the mirror . You don't have to be above it , you can be among it . You get to like your body . Strength training is going to help you do that .

Strength training is going to help you do that . Building muscle is going to help you do that . Now we all have our own sort of ideas of beauty and how that's shaped in our mind and we need a whole other episode and then a few books that have already been written about unpacking that .

But strength training is going to help you feel stronger and more confident in your physical body , which is going to make you feel great this summer . Next number two is eating nourishing foods .

When you eat nourishing foods , you feel better , you have more energy , you sleep better , you have less aches and pains , you are getting your macronutrients and your micronutrients . Now I'm not saying you have to eat 100% nourishing foods that have nothing else to them . I'm saying you need to eat nourishing foods .

You can eat them along with all the delicious desserts and some of those desserts are nourishing . Eat them along with all the fun snacks . Some of those snacks are nourishing too , and some of these things are nourishing our bodies and some of them are nourishing our souls . So don't forget that , but we're going to eat a mix of them .

Now I can tell you , as someone who was just on vacation , I ate a lot of food that I don't normally eat and I enjoyed every single bite of it and I also feel really good getting back to my routine , not really interested in eating a lot more of what I ate , because it wasn't , you know , it tasted good , but it doesn't like fill me up .

Even while I was gone , there were a few times where I opted for like oh , that looks good , but I actually think I need a little bit of this fruit or vegetable , or I need a little more protein so that I can enjoy the rest of this time . Same thing I don't drink that much alcohol . We had more than I normally would have . I enjoyed it .

I never felt sick or anything , but I had drinks that I wouldn't have because they sounded good and they were ones that were funky and fun off the menu . When I get back into my daily routine , I'm not craving that and that is because of who I am , but I'm not craving it . I can get back to the routine and I feel better .

When I am , there is time to really enjoy and relish things , and that will run out . That is why , if you're going on a three-week vacation , you're not going to eat and drink .

In the same way , if you go on a four-day vacation and if you are not feeling good when you're away or you're not feeling good at a certain time , it might be worthwhile checking in on .

Maybe I need to eat some more nourishing foods or maybe I need to move my body more activity-wise and then it's starting to like warp my own self-image or I don't feel good about the way I look . It might be time to check in on those things and see if there's any way you can shift your behavior to help you feel better .

Which is where this next tip comes in , and this is for like both in regular life and then in the summer and vacation . Have your anchor actions , and I know I've talked about that , but your anchor actions are things that you make sure happen all the time . Do you go on a walk all the time ? Do you do 30 minutes of exercise every day ? Do you whatever ?

These are the things that are most important to you and they make you feel most like you . I know that when I exercise , no matter what , if it's a hard one or an easy one , it helps me feel better about myself , in the same way that when I eat some nourishing foods , when I prioritize water , whether or not I actually look different .

So , like I go up to a mirror or I took a picture , I might not look different in two pictures on a day where I didn't work out and I didn't have nourishing foods and I took another picture on the day where I did , I might look exactly the same .

The way I see myself is better on the days where I prioritize those things , so why wouldn't I make some room for them ? Now , that's not going to be for every trip , but if I'm going on a trip and I still want to feel good , I will figure out a way to prioritize my anchor actions .

I will get my steps in , I will get some protein in , prioritize that protein , and I will move in some way , whether that's just the steps or whether that's a quick workout or whether that's finding an activity to participate in , what I see most with people , especially when I'm working with clients .

Your physical transformation is going to happen six weeks to 12 weeks in , and those are going to be just the earliest part of physical transformation . It's only going to get more and more the longer we give it .

In the first six weeks , a lot of the transformation you experience is from adopting new habits , adopting new behaviors that transform the way you see yourself , and so if you want a quick way to feel good about the way you look , do the behaviors , the behaviors themselves , whether or not they're making huge progress , they are helping you feel better about yourself ,

and when you are out of that routine , that is when you start to feel not great about yourself , and so you ask yourself . Oh , do I hate the way I look ? Or is it that I have been the last week unable to get these things in ?

We underestimate the power of our mind in perceiving how our body looks , and when we take the actions that best suit our health and that we feel best suit our health , we start to see ourselves differently . Not to say that you still don't want a real physical change . I'm not saying that it's all in your mind .

I'm saying that those things complement each other . Taking the actions to make a transformation are not only going to actually transform your body , but they're going to help you perceive yourself in a different way .

All right , just two more , and these are kinds of silly ones , but I want you to save them . I want you to think about it . One I want you to stand normal . Stand normal all summer . So if you're wearing clothes that are smaller or like less coverage than you normally do and you are constantly standing funny because you are self-conscious , that's fine .

Your body's going to feel like crap . You sucking in your tummy all the time is terrible for your pelvic floor . It's terrible for your diaphragm , it's terrible for all the guts that you have . Let your guts breathe . Try your best . If you want to take a picture and you want to stand , funny , fine , but be yourself , be your relaxed body self .

You are perfect right now . Body self . You are perfect right now . And the more you are not standing the way you normally do , tense because of your body , all of that , the worse it's going to feel . So I want you to commit to buying clothes , to buying bathing suits , to buying all that where you can stand normally and feel fine .

Now there are a lot of those Instagram posts where they're like look at me in this picture and then look at me in this picture and you look different . And that's true , you do . Some of those are very tiny people just leaning forward and I think I like the idea .

But in some ways it's not great coming from you because you don't probably experience a lot of self-consciousness in your body . Everybody does , but we have to acknowledge that societally there is fat phobia that actually makes people treat people in larger bodies differently . So if you're smaller , you just don't have that . I have body self-consciousness .

Sometimes it is not like anybody who is experiencing oppression because of their body size and I've worked very hard to not feel that way very often because I check in with these things and I ask myself am I doing these things ? And I go through that body image practice that I had in the other episode . I'll link it on the bottom .

And lastly , so you're going to stand normal , you're going to be your normal self , regardless of the clothes , regardless of the weather . And then , lastly , and this is most important , take pictures in good lighting . Okay , we are a society where we share images . You might share your stuff on Facebook or Instagram or with your friends .

One , don't be embarrassed to take pictures . Life is short . Live in your body . One day you might look back and you might go . I wish I appreciated that body more , because I have this experience now of where I am today . So cherish it now . Take the pictures . If you want to take the pictures , don't be embarrassed about taking the pictures .

If you want a picture that you like , prioritize good lighting , prioritize somebody who knows how to take it . There's nothing wrong with that . Be unabashedly proud of yourself and then take all the steps to make it work best . Okay , like , I can take 17 pictures and one of them looks great . That's okay . I took them all so that I have that great picture .

Delete the other ones . I'm not talking about altering them . I'm talking about finding a space where the sunlight is facing you . Take it or take a bunch of pictures now .

Don't stress about the lighting and then appreciate it later , but I'm just saying , if you want to relish who you are and what you are and where you are today , don't be afraid to take a picture , a video , to commemorate it , and then don't be embarrassed . If you want to find the right picture or the right post or the right spot . You are incredible .

You have a summer body right now and some lighting looks better than others . So you want to have the memories of the best lighting ? Okay , all right . As always , this is like one of my absolute favorite topics and something that is like the whole reason behind resistance training and building muscle to me .

So if you have anything you want to say about it , questions or just somebody to chat with , I am here . If this episode or any other episode really makes a mark for you or is important or you find something helpful , if you can share it , that's great .

You can share on social media or you can just send a text with the episode to a friend that might be interested . And , as always . Those ratings and reviews on the podcast are always good too . All right , until next time , I want you to go build your strongest body , and I'll talk to you later . Bye .