This was a Guest Post by Lara Zibarras on Elephant Journal

Around this time of year, I used to start becoming really conscious of “bikini season.”

Whether I had a summer holiday booked or just the fleeting thought of getting out the summery tops, either way, I’d cringe.

I knew that it was time to jump on one of my month-long detoxes so that I could feel happier about exposing my skin.

Each day during my fad diet, I would hop on the scales to see how much weight I’d lost, and I’d suck in my tummy feeling annoyed at my mirror reflection. Why wouldn’t my body comply? Why was it impossible to get those defined abs like I wanted?

Every year, the same: anger, irritation, and self-loathing that my body wasn’t like the toned Instagram influencers who promised me a body like theirs if only I followed them.

Here’s the thing. Even at my absolute slimmest, I never felt comfortable throwing off the sarong and running barefoot into the ocean. Nope. I’d wear that wrap until the last minute and slip (hopefully unnoticed) into the sea.

Why did I feel this way?

Read the full article here…