Wanted: Beach Body

On this rare INSET day, I am not up town eating Nando's like I should be doing. No, I am at home eating blueberries and grapes. Why? Summer.

Dayuum those blueberries

I don't want to be "that person" but I do find the whole bikini-body thing quite stressful. Especially when your friends are bronzed and toned fitness fanatics. I'm just not that way inclined to be counting calories all the time, quitting sugar and measuring my muscle mass. I like pizza, sleeping and watching Netflix. However, I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that a little bit of fruit and (shock) exercise, isn't beneficial. 

It's not the peer pressure, or even the much loved topic of how vulnerable teenage girls are to models in the media, it's just the basic fact that there are so many pretty bikinis about and the best way to do them justice is to tone up my abs a bit. And to be honest, the odd bit of exercise does make me feel better, maybe I'm adopting a new way of life. 

I've accepted that I probably won't have a thigh-gap and to be honest I don't really care. Is it the most important thing in the world if my thighs touch or don't touch? If a bit of air between my legs becomes my most redeeming feature then that will be a sad day. All I want is to be able to feel a bit more confident in my newly acquired bikinis, and so if that means substituting spicy chicken for yogurt, I will eat it gladly (mostly because there is some damn tasty yogurt out there).

My amateur advice for a healthy summer body without the aggro/obsessive attitude/self-esteem fluctuation:

• Don't stress about it, not everyone is Kate Moss curvless
• Don't get uptight, it's not healthy to religiously analyse every mouthful
• Make small changes, like eating more fruit or going for a run daily. Don't cut out entire food groups
• High-waisted bikinis are a god-send if you're self-conscious about your hips
• Don't get worked up about those stupid fitspo/thinspo wesbites, they are the devil of the web
• If you're not bothered about changing your appearance, then don't. It's your life

Basically, summer is fab and being healthy is good too I guess. At the end of the day, just chill. Summer isn't about weight, it's about sun, sea and clothes (every season is about clothes).
PS I think if you're a snacker (like me) then you should definitely get on with the blueberry brigade because I have and they're bloody lovely!