Image Source: Getty / Rich Polk / E! Entertainment
Ahead of the summer season, “Riverdale” actor Lili Reinhart posted a message to her Twitter account and Instagram Story yesterday afternoon reminding people that there’s no such thing as having a “summer body.”
“These ‘summer body’ trends are toxic,” Reinhart wrote. “Your body is ready for summer no matter what it looks like. Don’t let it stop you from enjoying anything.”
Reminder to myself, and to all— you don’t need a flat or perfectly toned stomach to wear a crop top. These “summer body” trends are toxic. Your body is ready for summer no matter what it looks like. Don’t let it stop you from enjoying anything 🥲🙏🏻
— Lili Reinhart (@lilireinhart) March 22, 2022
Reinhart is no stranger to calling out unrealistic beauty standards and harmful body-editing apps. In January of this year, she shared in her Instagram Story that she faced “severe” obsessive thoughts about her body and weight. “It’s challenging to look at your body with love instead of criticism,” she wrote. “It’s a practice I’m still learning. I didn’t think being in this industry, that is so obsessed with women’s bodies and weights, could ever mess with my own body acceptance and positivity . . . but it has.”
Reinhart also shared a poem on her Instagram Story, titled “a love note to my body,” by Cleo Wade. In the poem, Wade thanked her body for its heart, gut feelings, and ability to recover and “for today, for waking up.” Reinhart continued, “I know my body deserves equal love and admiration at any size. To not feel at home in my own skin is a devastating feeling. As if my body has betrayed me by changing.” She concluded, “I know I’m not alone in this toxic way of thinking about my body. And it’s heartbreaking that this feeling is understood by so many of us. Let’s continue to talk about it. Normalize it. Empathize with others. Show compassion and kindness.”
As a reminder, using words such as “beach body,” for instance, equates appearance with health, when they aren’t always synonymous, registered dietitian Ashley Lytwyn, MS, RDN, previously told POPSUGAR. Lytwyn, who works with people who are chronic dieters, have disordered eating habits, or are diagnosed with eating disorders, explained that thinking there’s only one healthy body type can lead to “malnourishment, nutrient deficiency, poor sleep, and poor mental wellness.”
For that reason, it’s important to remember that every body is a summer body — no matter the shape or size. “You want to have a beach body? OK, have a body, number one. Number two, go to the beach,” Lytwyn said. “There you go. You have a beach body.”