Beach-friendly body: what does it mean having a perfect summer silhouette?

A balanced nutrition without restrictions, combined with a simple yet effective long-term training routine, with a positive mindset and the choice of clothes that best suits you: these are some of the secrets to feel good in your body even and especially in summer.

The most awaited season of the year has finally come: it’s time to relax on the beach reading a good book, build a sand castle with your children or test your physical skills playing a beach volley game, yet even set free your adventurous spirit and go discovering new places, relieving yourself from that weight of everyday’s anxieties and worries.

Joy and lightheartedness which too often, due to social media addiction and that sense of hyper-sharing, end up being overshadowed by the pressure of mainstream beauty standards to which we are constantly exposed. Images of perfect bodies, without fat rolls and stretch marks, instill the idea that for feeling good at the beach it is necessary to have an impeccable and perfectly sculpted physical shape.

The result is the spread of an unrealistic conceptual beauty that is increasingly difficult to achieve, pushing more and more people (especially women) to a distorted perception of their own selves and appearance, generating insecurities that need to be fixed by following extreme and unsustainable (and ineffective) diets or buying very expensive and unsuitable creams to treat specific aesthetic problems that maybe need to be cured by different ways.

All these pressures increase in summer, when more centimeters of skin get exposed and the first swimwear try-on approaches, turning into a moment of anxiety and worry rather than an opportunity to enjoy the pleasure of the sunny days and the beauty of the seaside.

Loving your own body, a lifetime commitment

The reality is that the so-called swimwear try-on is nothing else than a simple and underhand marketing trick, aimed at creating insecurities and promoting the sale of captivating and easy solutions: every body is a beach body, which deserves to be celebrated and shown with pride in its peculiar features and even its unique defects. After all, true beauty lies in authenticity, diversity and acceptance of yourself. We all must learn to look beyond the common standards imposed by the society, to value and take care of ourselves, of our well-being, learning to always feel comfortable regardless of external expectations.

This does not mean going for a chaotic nutrition or suddenly abandoning the usual training routine, constantly finding excuses for neve rbuilding one (these are the very foundations of a healthy body) or, on the contrary, adopting extremely rigid and restrictive dietary regimes and exhausting workouts to burn all the calories and fats; as a matter of fact, it’s all about adopting a more balanced and flexible vision combining the pleasure of food (of course with a proper nourishment) and the fun of practicing physical activity, making both your body and mind feeling alright.

The key for feeling truly at ease on the beach lies especially here, in your mental attitude, an internal work of acceptance to carry out everyday: loving your own body is an endless process, which can’t depend only on the actual weight you see when you weigh yourself, on the extra centimeters on your waist, on stretch marks or water retention.

So here are 10 tips to shape a perfect summer silhouette and learn how to feel better about your body on the beach: some concern conventional aspects such as nutrition and training, but some others instead touch your mental attitude and the way you experience the world. Check out these simple and sustainable things to do that can be implemented immediately, even if summer has already begun, to finally shine in your own light and feel good facing the swimwear try-on. It’s time to see your body as a beach-friendly body!

10 tips to feel good and confident in your favorite bikini

From nutrition to training, from mindset to fashion style advice, here’s how to shape a good summer silhouette and appear confident on the beach, first of all learning to love your body more and more with 10 simple tips to adopt.

1. Choose a nutrition plenty of seasonal and colorful food

A balanced diet that provides the right energy, hydration and essential nutrients is the first step towards the shape of a more agile and slim body, allowing to make the most of the opportunities offered by the summertime. A good summer diet should favor especially the consumption of seasonal fruit and vegetables (including products like watermelons, melons, cucumbers, tomatoes, peppers, peaches and apricots), very rich in precious minerals, vitamins and water, the key elements to replenish fluids lost through sweating and maintain a good level of body hydration.

You shouldn’t underestimate the importance of proteins too, preferably lean ones, contained in legumes, fish, eggs, but also dried fruit and seeds, fundamental for building and repairing muscle tissues and for maintaining good levels of energy throughout the day, promoting a long-lasting sense of satiety. Healthy fats are essential as well, which can be found in foods such as avocados, nuts and olive oil, supporting heart and brain health.

Finally, your plate must contain also a source of complex carbohydrates, such as whole grains (millet, brown rice, quinoa, or oats) and potatoes (both sweet and white), capable to provide the body with slow-release energy supporting the intense rhythms of summer days, and fibers, essential to improve digestion and intestinal health, therefore to prevent that very annoying and unhealthy sense of abdominal swelling.

2. Don’t give up on some food pleasures

Adopting a balanced diet doesn’t necessarily mean to deprive yourself of the pleasures of good food, which are an important part of summer holidays after all, especially when it comes to try cuisine from a different land. The key lies in balance and moderation, which allows following an overall healthy diet while sometimes indulging in some happy treat.

For example, delighting the palate with a good ice cream, a slice of your favorite cake, or still a refined gourmet dish in some exceptional starred restaurant, can undoubtedly be good for your mood without compromising your health and your silhouette.

On the contrary, often indulging in small treats is key to sustain a long-term healthy diet, even aimed at losing weight, as deprivations just do nothing but lead to exaggerate as soon as you decide to give yourself that free treat moment, a situation which only takes further and further away from the goal of shaping a lovely beach-friendly body. Furthermore, you should know that even vegetables, if consumed in large quantities, cause abdominal swelling and heaviness, potentially undermining your well-being in swimsuits.

Thus, adopting a balanced diet helps to feel good physically, but also positively affects your mood and the ability to face everyday with vitality and joy. An approach that allows to keep a long-lasting healthy and positive relationship with food, enjoying a varied and nutritious diet that supports long-term overall well-being.

3. Drink enough water, or even healthy flavored water-based drinks

Correct hydration (experts recommend consuming at least 2 liters water per day, distributed evenly during the day) is essential to aid weight management (hunger can often be confused with thirst) and improve metabolism, so the body’s ability to burn calories; but it also keeps your body and facial skin elastic, providing a more comfortable feeling when it comes to wear your bikini or also your favorite dress.

Furthermore, water plays a key role in regulating body temperature, especially during hot days. Maintaining good hydration helps your body dissipate heat via sweating, feel more energetic and active and prevent the terrible heat stroke.

If you can’t consume a proper quantity of water, you can opt for unsweetened teas or herbal infusions, or still naturally flavored waters sumberging pieces of fresh fruit and aromatic herbs (the combination of watermelon, blueberries and mint is excellent). These solutions, in addition of providing a good hydration boost, are also rich in antioxidants and nutrients which are beneficial for well-being. You should limit instead soft and alcoholic drinks, rich in sugar and unhealthy substances, that could instead cause body dehydration providing it with empty nourishment without any nutritional benefit.

4. Have a cup of espresso (without sugar)

Consuming a cup of espresso (preferably bitter) under the beach umbrella can be surprising in terms of benefits. In fact, coffee’s caffeine has thermogenic properties capable of stimulating the body’s ability to produce heat, so to burn calories.

In fact, caffeine stimulates the central nervous system, increasing the production of adrenaline (epinephrine), the hormone that signals fat cells to release fatty acids into blood in order to be used as a source of energy, contributing to greater expenditure energetic even at rest. It’s the same hormone that helps feel more focused and awake, therefore also ready to achieve your training routine. Furthermore, hot coffee also has a thermo-regulatory effect, helping body to adapt quickly to the increasing summer temperatures.

At the same time, it is important setting a limit to coffee consumption: too much caffeine can in fact lead to terrible side effects such as anxiety, insomnia and digestive problems, as well as dehydration. So the key is moderation. Remember to drink plenty of water to stay hydrated, especially if you are consuming caffeine in the scorching sun, never exceeding the recommended dose of 400mg of caffeine per day (approximately 4/5 cups of espresso). Be careful and take into account also the potential consumption of energy and soft drinks, which usually contain some dose of caffeine as well as other similar chemicals.

5. Get used to a specific summer training routine

Keeping your body active by practicing your favorite sport and physical activity, whether it’s running, walking, weight training, or mountain biking, is very useful to get and maintain a fit and beach-friendly silhouette, feeling more energetic, serene and at peace.

Physical activity is responsible for the production of endorphins, the hormones of happiness, and of dopamine, involved in the brain’s reward system thus responsible for pleasure and gratification sensations; as well as serotonin, a neurotransmitter that regulates mood, sleep and appetite, therefore essential to properly listen to your own body’s signals of hunger and satiety and maintain correct nutrition habits.

In summer is particularly functional keeping a routine made up of workouts to tone some of the most critical areas of the body, such as the abdomen, buttocks and legs, a good routine which also avoids excessively inflaming to lower limbs, causing that unpleasant sensation of heaviness and swelling.

Therefore, prioritize toning sessions with weights (total body workouts are excellent) including exercises such as dead-lifts and glute bridges, which are perfect for toning your buttocks and legs, as well as crunches and planks to strengthen your body core and define the abdomen. You can then alternate these sessions with low-impact workouts, like yoga and pilates. This training routine can be performed even on holiday, for example by replacing the weights with elastic resistance bands or simply some water bottles. However, remember to avoid too high impact exercises, such as running, which could be cause to the inflammation of lower limbs tissues leading to water retention and cellulite.

6. Take long walk into the sea water

Another excellent tip for feeling fitter in summer, especially if you spend holidays by seaside, is to integrate a good training routine with walks in the water, taking advantage of the fresher hours of the day, such as early mornings or sunsets, avoiding the extreme heat and the risk of dangerous sunstroke.

Walking in the shallow sea water of the sea is a simple, effective and low-impact exercise, suitable also for people suffering from joint or muscular problems, excellent to have deflated and lighter legs, burn calories and feel more energetic and fit. This type of activity exploits the natural resistance of water, which is greater than the one of air, making each movement intense and therefore toning the leg muscles, also promoting venous return, essential to improve blood circulation and drain excess fluids, counteracting water retention.

Not to mention that practicing physical exercise in a natural environment such as the sea, abandoning yourself to the gentle rhythm of the waves and sounds of nature, also brings significant benefits to your mood by reducing anxiety and stress, the main causes of the production of cortisol, a hormone that can hinder weight loss. Just thirty minutes of walking per day, even distributed on several times, is enough to see the first tangible results!

7. Use a good sun filter and hydrate your skin properly after spending time outside

Taking care of your well-being is a powerful weapon to feel better and confident in your own skin, wearing your favorite swimwear or dress. In this sense, a homogeneous tan enhances your natural luminosity and makes you appear even more toned and deflated!

A must of your summer beauty routine is therefore a good sun filter (designed to block both UVA and UVB sun rays) with a high SPF, capable of preventing sunburn and skin damage caused by UV rays, responsible to accelerate skin aging and increase the risk of developing skin cancers (so-called melanomas).

The correct application of sunscreen is equally crucial to guarantee optimal protection: the recommendation is to apply a generous amount of product at least 20-30 minutes before exposure to the sun, in order to make it completely absorbed. The sun filter should be applied again every two or three hours, or sooner as you bathe in water or sweat intensively.

After exposure to the sun, hydration is key to restore the proper skin’s water balance: investing in a good after-sun cosmetic help soothe and hydrate stressed skin, promoting cell renewal and keeping the skin soft. This should then be integrated in your skin care routine with a good exfoliation, carried out by using a good scrub (even homemade) to remove dead cells, keeping the skin smoother and promoting a brighter golden tan.

8. Choose a beach outfit that makes you feel comfortable

The idea that only a certain body type with a very slim silhouette can be worthy of wearing a bikini is a myth to dispel. The swimwear try-on does not really exist: every body is valid and deserves to be shown with pride and without fear of judgment, regardless of shape, size or weight. If understanding that beauty is not a size and that self-confidence can be achieved regardless opinions is something that cannot happen immediately, requiring a long process (even years) of questioning and redefining beliefs and visions about your sense of self, it’s still possible to start immediately enhancing the silhouette of your body, appreciating it and enhancing it by choosing the best swimsuits and beach outfits for you.

For example, if you have a pear shaped body (wide hips and narrow waist and shoulders), you can opt for a bikini with high-waisted knickers, which helps to support the hips and define the waist highlighting your natural curves. On the contrary, an apple shaped silhouette (with shoulders and butt of the same width, curvy breasts and hips) can be enhanced by knickers with designs or side prints, a good way to focus the attention elsewhere, and wide straps and V-neck bras, enhancing shoulders and more abundant necklines.

To this basic outfit you can then add accessories that remark upon your personality, such as particular earrings, necklaces, hats, hair bands or bracelets, precious details to feel more authentic and comfortable in your own style, conveying greater confidence to others and especially to yourself. Accessories can help you focus attention on the parts of your body you love most: for example, a necklace that frames the neck well or earrings that add brightness to your face can bring the gaze away from any critical points that you want to hide from external point of view and judgment.

9. Give yourself enough rest and relax

Learning to unplug and take care of yourself is key to live summer (and, actually, everyday) with serenity and joy. We all live in a fast-paced society, always active and productive. On the other hand, relaxation and rest are indeed crucial factors to reduce stress levels, calm the mind and promote correct muscle regeneration, which is essential to be able to continue training with the right intensity and effectiveness, but also to have a clearer and brighter skin and a fresher pleasant appearance.

Small relaxation breaks can include simple activities such as reading a book in the shade of an umbrella, listening to music, practicing meditation, or simply closing your eyes and enjoying the sound of the crashing waves. These moments of tranquility positively impact on your mood, reducing anxiety levels and improving the quality of sleep, when the heat and high temperatures can make it difficult to actually fall asleep and maintain continuous sleep. Even dedicating time to personal care, with small rituals that improve your physical appearance and also your mood, such as taking a refreshing bath, applying a facial mask or taking care of your hands and feet, contribute to that pleasant sense of well-being.

Nevertheless, lack of sleep negatively affect metabolism of leptin and ghrelin, respectively the hormones that control satiety and appetite, thus making it more difficult to achieve or maintain your desired silhouette. Excellent tips for improving the quality of sleep in summer include the use of light and breathable sheets and taking a shower before sleeping to cool the body and help relaxation. Additionally, to enjoy a regenerating sleep try to go to bed and wake up at the same time every day, avoid excessive consumption of stimulants such as caffeine and alcohol in the evening hours, and limit the use of electronic devices before going to bed (blue light screens interfere with the production of melatonin, the sleep hormone).

10. Treat yourself with a body treatment even on holiday

Treating yourself to amazing body treatments even on holiday can really do wonders for your appearance and self-confidence. If Ayurvedic massages and mud therapy can help to relax muscles, calm the nervous system, improve circulation and reduce cellulite, making your skin appear more beautiful, there are other beauty treatments capable of minimizing skin blemishes, tone body and reduce fat deposits.

These include pressotherapy, sofwave, cryolipolysis and the innovative Body Sculptor treatment by Dr. Joanna Hakimova, who for years has collaborated with Acquaforte Thalasso Spa in Forte Village, the most awarded five-star resort in Sardinia, to cuddle guests with the opportunity to feel more beautiful and confident in their own skin on their stay!

Body Sculptor, the innovative Dr. Joanna Hakimova’s treatment to shape a fitter body

Sculpting your silhouette, shaping a more toned and defined appearance, improving the quality of the skin and activating the skin’s cellular metabolism: this is what can be achieved, right from the first session, with the Body Sculptor treatment by Dr. Joanna Hakimova, one of the most acclaimed make-up artists and beauty experts on the international scene, creator of many methods of manual face and body rejuvenation which, used in synergy with the NaturalBioLifting line of professional cosmetic products, aim to slow down the cellular aging process and obtain a more relaxed and luminous appearance.

Through a set of techniques to stimulate the peripheral circulation of blood and lymph (the liquid that circulates in the lymphatic vessel system and which acts as a drainage system of the interstitial fluid surrounding the cells in body tissues, thus helping to keep a proper water balance and prevent edema or water retention), the Body Sculptor helps to dissolve stagnation in the adipose tissue, reducing localized fat and eliminating the signs of cellulite. The treatment also gives an anti-aging effect on the entire body, improving the elasticity and firmness of the skin.

The Body Sculptor can be carried out both independently and in synergy with other anti-aging treatments, including Facial NaturalBioLifting, a sculpting technique for facial skin which activates the biological rejuvenation process at a cellular level, or Body Release, which instead re-establishes a good psychophysical and bodily balance working on the unlocking of large joint groups and on muscle mobility, while at the same time promoting the production of collagen, elastin and hyaluronic acid, in order to effectively operate on different fronts and promote a feeling of true total well-being.

For further information or for booking the treatment, please phone call to the number +390709218818 or write an email to holiday@fortevillage.com.

Do you want to shape a fitter summer silhouette feeling more toned and confident and spend a dream holiday in a true paradise? Book your stay at the Forte Village Resort in Sardinia