This time of year, the terms “bikini Season” and “bikini shape” start to pop up. And well, those terms pretty much make me cringe and want to slap whoever is using them in the back of the head.
Why? Because the key to feeling great in a bikini, is by totally eliminating those terms from your vocabulary. I hate to break it to you, but if you only really get after it fitness and healthy eating wise for a vacation or a few months out of the year, you are setting yourself up for frustration and disappointment. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, take care of your body all year round, so there is no bikini season. Whether you are wearing a tiny brazilian string number, your usual jeans and a tee, or a down parka with five layers under it and Uggs.
Being that I am back in Hawaii at the moment, where “Bikini Season” is year round, and therefore a term you never hear. I thought I’d pass along a few observations I’ve made on the habits of the lovely ladies here who look freaking fantastic in all kinds of swimwear…regardless of age, or body type.
Here you go:
• People get really excited about Acai Bowls, Pitaya, fresh pressed juices, locally grown produce, Farmers Markets, and poke. (aka really really really good and delicious things to consume on a regular basis).
Fast food, not quite so much.
• People meet up and go for beach walks, paddles, surfs, swims, dives, and hikes, as much as they do for coffee or lunch. (aka they are really active, which, if you don’t know already, is a really really good thing to be.) So if I ever suggest meeting up for a beach walk, hike or surf, you know why.
• Putting on a bikini is part of life in Hawaii, not a big dramatic experience. This helps with the overall confidence factor, which helps anyone feel better in swimwear. Sometimes I feel like the media has taken swimwear – a symbol that you’re somewhere fun, warm, vibrant and sunny, and turned it into an item you should dread as much as a pap smear. Put the darn thing on, no one is looking at you and judging you (other than yourself). If they are, they are a douchebag, and who cares what they think anyways.
In short, the less of a big deal you make a bikini or swimwear, the better you will feel in it. Word.
• Also, being in a bikini quite frequently, you know if your body is changing. I swear, swimwear is better than a scale any day. (So even if it’s cold, put on that swimwear from time to time, even if you have to turn the heater up.)
• Yoga is a big deal. Ok, maybe this isn’t everyone, but most people I asked all had a studio recommendation, and practiced regularly.
• You might think “there’s something in the water” as an answer to why people are so healthy, vibrant, beautiful, and comfortable in their own skin here. Well, that something in the water, is a bunch of super rad gals. Getting in some H20, whether it’s salt, natural, lake, river, or chlorinated, does wonders for the psyche, which does wonders for the soul, which does wonders for your mood, which does wonder for your overall heath… which makes bikinis all that much more wonderful.
That’s what I’ve observed, in a nutshell. And it sure as heck inspires me.
So let’s all say sayonara to Bikini season, and aloha to good year round health.
Ola Feroz Bikini, Salt Gypsy wrap, and one of my favorite “be active and have a blast in the water” items, Kicks Fins.