Local gyms often see more people coming in trying to lose weight in the early days of summer. (File Photo/paNOW Staff)

By Rob Mahon

Body Positivity

No quick fixes: local gym owner cautions against beach bod craze

Jun 2, 2022 | 5:00 PM

If you’re connected to the fitness industry on social media in any way, you’ve almost certainly seen people talking about wanting to lose fat for the summer.

The “beach bod” craze hits hardest about this time of year, but it comes with some negative pressures.

“Definitely, we see the odd person come in ‘I need to get my beach body’ or ‘I need to work off the indulging meal I ate last night’,” said Desiree Hesson, owner of The S2DIO in Prince Albert. “I think you see it more in the diet and fitness industry as a whole, as they target these people who these thoughts and feelings about themselves.”

In a world where we’re inundated with images of a certain body type as the ideal or standard, Hesson said she sees a lot of people unhappy with their bodies coming to her for help. She also says it’s hardly a surprise.

“It’s the mindset that’s been ingrained in us as human beings that that’s the way we’re supposed to think about ourselves,” Hesson said. “People get into that mindset because the fitness and diet industry and social media and targeted ads have conditioned our brain.”

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Hesson knows full well, however, that simply losing weight isn’t going to make you a happier person. She herself was deeply unhappy with her body in her younger years but even after losing over 50 pounds she didn’t feel much better.

“A lot of times, once you get talking with people… getting down to the nitty gritty of the why will open up a lot more of an open conversation with people,” said Hesson. “A lot of times, a woman will come in and say ‘I want to lose 20 pounds.’ Ok, why do you want to lose 20 pounds? They’ll poke at their belly or their thighs or whatever, ‘I don’t like this.’ Ok, why don’t you like it?”

The fitness industry has seen almost an entire offshoot industry based on crash diets, home workouts, and, what Hesson called, quick fixes. Most of those, however don’t work in the long run.

“It’s very easy to hone in on negative stuff and quick ads and quick fixes,” Hesson said. “But if you come to a gym or hire a personal trainer, whoever that may be, who changes the narrative for you to help you become more knowledgeable about how to deal with that stuff, that is the key.”

Hesson added part of her mantra is that there’s nothing wrong with wanting to change your body, but getting people to respect and even love the bodies they already have is the first step before they can start to change them.

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rob.mahon@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @RobMahonPxP