Summer brings us long, sunny days meant for enjoying the outdoors. It is also a time in which we are often made to feel we don’t measure up to a standard of health and beauty portrayed in magazines that line the supermarket checkout line. Those magazines tell us that if our bodies are not “summer-ready” we can’t enjoy all the fantastic physical activity that summer has to offer. Maybe we should just cover-up instead.

The World Health Organization suggests a more inclusive definition of fitness: “Being healthy simply means having the energy to do the things we care about on an everyday basis”. In other words, we fuel ourselves with real food, water, adequate sleep, and keep our bodies active and strong to enjoy all that we can. Run. Splash. Walk. Stretch in the warmth of the sun. We don’t need to look a certain way to put on a bathing suit.

This summer, put on your shorts, pull on your swimsuit, and define beauty and health for yourself! Make the most of the long, sunny days and get out and get active!