WHY SWIMSUIT SEASON DOESN'T SUIT ME Anymore

Swimsuit season has been striking fear in women since we transitioned from leaf loin clothes to bikinis I actually had a brief period when I looked decent in bikinis, and it wasn’t when I was 10 years old In my early 40s, I experienced the “divorced diet,” and for the first time in my life, I could rock a bikini. I was unhealthy as hell, but I looked good. That was a nice three years.

Hard pass on the male attention

Since my late 40s, I’ve found myself doing something I said I’d never do – wearing a one-piece swimsuit (GASP). That’s because overnight, I got a belly, which was determined to be my new best friend it followed me EVERYWHERE.

Now that I’m in my early 50s – as is true in so many other areas of my life – my give-a-f*ck has straight-up left the building regarding swimwear

There are a couple of reasons for that. For the first time in my life, I give zero sh*ts about male attention I craved that when I was younger, after I was divorced, and as I moved into midlife, hoping to find someone to spend the second half of my life with I’ll spare you the details, but let’s put it this way – I no longer crave male attention.

Hello, Meno-belly!

The second reason is that I am learning to become friends with my body After decades of being disgruntled because the scale has never really said what I want it to, I’ve had cellulite since I was 13, and now I have a meno-belly, I’m learning acceptance and gratitude.

Let’s talk about those extra mid-life pounds I intermittent fast every day (mostly because I’ve never really been a breakfast eater, so why not), and I eat two small meals daily I work all the time so I’m not super active, but that is nothing new If I ate like this in my 30s, the weight would melt off in no time. Now the scale reflects a weight that does not align with how I eat. I’m learning acceptance around that. I’m exhausted from having to fit into some social weight norm all my life I’m tapping out on that for now That meno-belly showed up out of nowhere to help my unpredictable estrogen levels According to the Metabolic Research Center, “Belly fat acts like an organ in its ability to create hormones in this fatty tissue through a process called ‘aromatization.’ Estrogen increases as a result of belly fat, so can testosterone.” So I'm nicer to my belly now I mean, I’m not taking it on luxury vacations or anything, but I’m more appreciative

Thank you, old friend

My body has given me the two people I love most in the world, my son and daughter. I always tell people I’d want to be friends with my kids, even if I wasn’t their mom. My body made them and those relationships that I treasure possible That’s pretty f*ckin cool When you start to think in these terms, all of a sudden whether or not you look good in a bikini doesn’t seem to matter anymore.

My hands are starting to show signs of aging, but they make a living for me – they keep a roof over my head and food in my fridge, so we’re gonna look the other way on the sun damage My feet, which have never been my best feature, started to get weird when I turned 50 The skin on my feet got REALLY dry – like elephant skin. I’ve been lathering them in coconut oil all winter, and they look and feel great now! I’m thankful for my feet – they keep me mobile and take me on fun adventures

I’m thankful for all the scars on my body – specifically my appendicitis scars that remind me of that time when I didn’t die. I’m very grateful for the scar on my neck, where I had a cystic hygroma removed when I was nine. I didn’t know then that my parents had to wait for a week to learn if the cyst was cancerous It wasn’t

My face is starting to show laugh lines around my eyes and mouth, from years of perpetual smiling and laughing my ass off. My sense of humor is a personality trait I have thanked God for numerous times I don’t know where the hell I’d be without it, and if I have a few lines that prove it, I’m OK with that

So there it is. I think I’ve finally matured out of resenting my body, face, and skin for doing exactly what they’re supposed to do. I’ve matured out of giving a sh*t what anyone else thinks. I’m retired from worrying if I look middle-aged in my swimsuit because here’s the thing – I AM MIDDLE-AGED The anxiety of swimsuit season doesn’t suit me anymore, but this midlife mentality suits me just fine.

Kat Hobza

HAVE A SEAT,