Beachin’ Good Time No Matter the Size of the Bod

Let me start this post with a caveat and that is, higher body weights, or weight beyond someone’s recommended BMI (Body Mass Index), is not a healthy state of being.  And, your next thought (and mine, if someone else had said this) is: YES (stated loud and sarcastically), we all know that.  

According to the National Institute of Health:
“BMI is a useful measure of overweight and obesity. It is calculated from your height and weight. BMI is an estimate of body fat and a good gauge of your risk for diseases that can occur with more body fat. The higher your BMI, the higher your risk for certain diseases such as heart disease, high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, gallstones, breathing problems, and certain cancers.”  To learn more and to calculate your BMI: http://www.nhlbi.nih.gov/health/public/heart/obesity/lose_wt/risk.htm

My BMI denotes that I am overweight.  DUHHHH!! I can look in the mirror naked and know that, though I don’t think I’ve done a total body look-see in decades.  In fact, my dermatologist has seen more of my body during my annual exam, than I ever do.  I do know, though, that my clothes size has increased and my knees are chubby, as those aspects of my being are visible on a daily basis so my BMI is not surprise. 

Let me jump to the point I want to make and that is, I admire large women who ignore the fact that they are and wear thongs or bikinis to prance around the beach.  They seemingly enjoy the beauty of their surroundings, the people they are with and the moment of joy without ever saying, I hate my body, I need to diet and no more Mojitos, as they are fattening.

  As I write this, we are on a beach vacation, if you haven’t guessed, and I am not dancing or prancing on the beach.  Most of the time, I wear a beach cover-up and only remove it for those moments of surf dashing.  If someone takes the time to chat with me when I am lounging on my chair reading, the discussion usually isn’t about the book I am into, it moves towards my fatness and how I must go on a diet.  BORING!!  That is why I wish, at least while I am in a state of undress at the beach, I could leave that “I am a big-girl and regret it" baggage at home.   Everyone, including me, would be a whole lot happier.

How to do that? 
As I was thinking about how to guide others to not feel as self-conscious, as I do, about wearing a bathing suit in public, I was a bit stymied.  If I can’t push myself in that direction, how can I help others feel better about their beings.  And then fortunately, I found an article on beinggirl.com that provided excellent guidance.  The article, titled: What To Know Before You Go: It's Bathing Suit Season, provides 10 excellent tips to help you think differently about yourself in a bathing suit.   For example, the third point is: If you keep talking about that particular body part that bothers you (in my case, my thighs and tush), that's what everybody ends up looking at. Those parts you consider flaws are really what make you unique. And being unique is beautiful.

To end my post with the last tip in the article, (and I couldn’t say it better myself):  Always walk tall, pay attention to your posture, and wear a smile. Drink lots of water and apply plenty of sunscreen. A happy positive facial expression radiates inner beauty, and that always outshines everything else, especially during bathing suit season!

So, I will finish writing and go out happily (or more so than before) to the beach.  Actually, my husband is happy that I am done with my post.  And, to his credit, doesn’t care what I look like in my suit, as long as I am now ready to go outside with him.   I won't exactly be prancing in my half-naked suit wearing way, but I am feeling better and will loose the cover-up faster. 

http://www.beinggirl.com/article/bathing-suit-season/