Five Ways to Feel More at Peace With Food Before Summer Gets Here
Summer isn't here yet. But the anxiety around it? That tends to show up early.
The swimsuit thoughts. The cookout dread. The quiet mental math that starts before the season even officially begins. If any of that is already creeping in, this one is for you.
Not to add pressure. Not to give you a to-do list before June. But to offer something actually useful: five practical ways to start feeling more at peace with food right now, before summer gets here, so you can actually show up for it when it does.
A Note Before We Start
Before I get into any of this, I want to name something important.
I have thin privilege. I live in a body that is generally accepted and accommodated by society. I can walk into most stores and find clothes in my size. I don't face weight-based discrimination at the doctor’s office, at work, or from strangers on the street.
The experiences I share here, including the swimsuit shopping, the pool days, the slow road to body neutrality, all of it exists inside a body the world treats as acceptable. And that is a privilege I did not earn and do not take lightly.
For someone in a larger body, summer comes with an additional layer of systemic bias and external judgment that I simply do not navigate. Not just the internal noise, but the external messages too. The stores that don’t carry your size. The comments from family. The medical appointments that go sideways before they even begin. I don’t live that. I won’t pretend I do.
What I can offer is a practice that’s truly inclusive, real empathy for the clients I work with across all body sizes and life experiences, and an honest commitment to never glossing over the fact that this work looks different depending on where you’re starting.
The peace I’m describing is available to everyone. The path to it isn’t the same for all of us.
What Summer Anxiety Actually Costs You
Think back to a summer where the body anxiety was at its loudest.
Maybe it was a pool day where you spent more time in your head than you did in the water. Maybe it was a vacation where you mentally tracked every meal and felt the guilt creeping in every time you ate something off plan. Maybe it was a family gathering where you were physically there but completely somewhere else.
The cost of that isn't just physical discomfort. It's the emotional tax of going into every summer situation already braced for it. It's being half checked out at your own family vacation because your brain is running a loop you can't turn off. It's the memories that didn't get made because you were too busy being at war with yourself to actually show up.
That's worth naming. Not to create urgency or pressure, but because I think a lot of people carry that experience quietly and assume it's just how summer is.
It doesn't have to be.
Where I'm At Right Now (An Honest Update)
I'm six weeks postpartum as I write this. My body has changed. Things look and feel different than they did before. And I want to be honest that I'm not standing here with complete confidence every day. I'm still in the thick of it. And anyone who promises 100% body confidence 100% of the time is a red flag…run!! Bad body image days are simply part of the human experience.
BUT - something is different now compared to where I used to be.
When I notice my pants are tight, it registers as feedback, not a verdict. It tells me to change my clothes, not to spiral. When my husband mentioned I should have a swimsuit I feel comfortable in for an upcoming trip, my response was genuinely just: okay, noted, I'll try those on and if they don't feel good I have time to grab a new one before we leave.
No emotional charge. No dread. No days of quietly restricting my food intake in preparation for a dressing room.
There are still passing moments of discomfort or annoyance. There are still split-second thoughts I have to let move through. But they are moments now, not lingering themes. And I don't let them steal anything from me anymore.
That shift didn't happen overnight. But it did happen. And it came from doing the work, not from waiting until I felt ready.
Five Ways to Actually Enjoy Summer Right Now
You don't have to have a perfect relationship with food to have a good summer. Here are a few things that actually help, wherever you're starting from.
1. Try things on before you need to.
The dressing room experience is so much less charged when it's not attached to a trip that's two days away. Give yourself a low-stakes window to figure out what feels comfortable, swap what doesn't, and move on without the time pressure adding to the emotional weight.
*Pro Tip: don’t look in the mirror. If you try something on and it does not FEEL good, don’t turn around. Simply take it off and move to the next item.
2. Eat before you go.
This one sounds small but it changes everything. Showing up to a cookout, a party, or a vacation meal when you're already ravenous means your brain is in survival mode before you even fill a plate. Eating a balanced snack or small meal beforehand takes the desperation off the table and makes it easier to enjoy the food that's there without the all-or-nothing spiral. Learning to honor your hunger and fullness cues is a game changer.
3. Give yourself permission to be in the photos.
You don't have to feel confident to be in the photo. You just have to decide that the memory is worth more than the discomfort of seeing yourself in it. The photos you opt out of are the ones you'll wish you had in ten years.
4. Practice noticing without narrating.
When a thought about your body comes up at the pool or the beach, try noticing it without adding a story. Your brain might say something. You don't have to respond to it, agree with it, or act on it. You can let it pass and go back to being where you are. This takes practice. It gets easier. We can help.
5. Give food its actual role.
Food at a summer gathering is not a test, a reward, a punishment, or a problem to manage. It's just part of the day. The burger and the potato salad and the slice of watermelon and maybe the brownie are all just food. They get to be that. So do you. Neutrality is the goal so you can eat what you want, when you want, as much as you want.
*Spoiler: Intuitive eaters don’t just eat fun foods all day! Your body can be trusted.
What's Possible Before Summer Even Gets Here
When the food noise gets quieter and the body anxiety loosens its grip even a little, summer starts to feel different before it arrives.
Not perfect. Not free of all discomfort. But different.
You're thinking about the trip with excitement instead of dread. You're not already planning how to compensate for the meals you haven't eaten yet. You're in the photos when you get there. You're in the water. You're actually there for the parts that matter.
That's what I want for you this summer. Not a transformation. Just presence.
And if you're ready for real support in getting there, that's exactly what we work on inside the Reboot Bootcamp. Twelve weeks of nutrition, fitness, and mindset support designed to help you build a relationship with food and your body that actually holds, before summer, during it, and long after.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Katie Hake, RDN, LD, CPT is a Registered Dietitian Nutritionist, Certified Personal Trainer, and the founder of Katie Hake Health & Fitness, LLC based in Carmel, Indiana. She and her team of non-diet dietitians specialize in helping folks break free from dieting, rebuild trust with their bodies, and create sustainable habits that support energy, confidence, and health. Through both in-person and virtual counseling, Katie and her team proudly serve clients across Indiana and beyond, empowering them to use their insurance benefits to access compassionate, evidence-based nutrition care and fitness coaching.