Your Body Isn't a Summer Project: Stop Waiting

Jun 16, 2026

Elegantly Unhinged

Episode 11

Your Body Isn't a Summer Project: Stop Waiting

Description:

Summer is here, and with it comes a familiar set of messages:

Get your summer body. Get back on track. Lose the weight. Do the challenge. Start over Monday.

But what if summer doesn't need another diet?

In this episode, I'm sharing a personal realization I had while looking at my summer calendar—and how it sparked a bigger conversation about the pressure so many women feel this time of year.

We'll talk about:

✨ Summer body culture and perfectionism

✨ Why doing everything "right" still isn't working

✨ Under-fueling, over-exercising and nervous system stress

✨ The connection between metabolic health and feeling supported

✨ How to stop treating yourself like a project

✨ What a truly healthy summer actually looks like

If you've ever felt caught between wanting to enjoy your life and wanting to improve it, this episode is for you.

Because maybe the goal isn't to spend the summer becoming someone else.

Maybe the goal is to fully participate in the life you already have.

More From Rima Kleiner, MS, RDN:

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For questions, contact: rima@smartmouthnutrition.com

Disclaimer:

This podcast is for educational purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. Always consult with your healthcare provider before making changes to your diet, supplements, or health routine.

Elegantly Unhinged is a podcast for women who look fine on the outside—but are doing deep, brave, disruptive inner work behind the scenes. Hosted by integrative and functional dietitian-nutritionist Rima Kleiner, this podcast explores midlife, body trust, nervous system health, nourishment, identity shifts and what happens when women stop playing small.

New episodes drop weekly.

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 💛 Learn more, read the blog and download free resources at Smart Mouth Nutrition.

Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:27

Hello, friends, and welcome back to Elegantly Unhinged. Thanks for joining. And if you're new to the podcast, a very big welcome to you. And I'm so glad you stopped by for a listen. Okay, so we have a short episode today, and I'm going to start by telling you something that happened to me. Okay, so my kids finished school last week at the time of this recording, and like I do every year, I sat down with my calendar to look at the summer ahead. The trips, the camps, the soccer tournaments and games. Yes, we're still having those over the summer, the work projects, the family stuff, the things to somehow hijack every square on the calendar before I've even had that first slice of watermelon of the season. And I'm sitting there with my coffee last weekend and I'm looking at June. What's left of it anyway? Full. Then July. And July is pretty full. And then I look at August, fuller than I'd like. I flipped through the weekends. Many are gone, gone, gone. And I just stopped.

Summer Felt Over Before It Even Started

SPEAKER_00 1:19

Because summer had barely even officially started, yet it already felt overwhelming and like it was over to me in that moment. And then, and I swear this happened in about 45 seconds. I immediately made it my fault. Maybe I wasn't organized enough. Maybe I wasn't planning well enough. Maybe I wasn't appreciating it enough. Maybe I was working too much. Maybe not enough. Maybe I've already failed at summer and it's not even mid-June. Which, if you're a woman listening to this, you probably didn't need me to explain that spiral. You've been there, maybe even recently. And if you're one of my male listeners, I've got you because you've probably got your own version of that too. Different details, same feeling. You know, that moment where something you've been looking forward to, like summer, suddenly starts to feel like yet another thing that you're trying to keep up with.

The Summer Cocktail of Pressure and Guilt

SPEAKER_00 2:10

And here's what I kept thinking: a lot of us are walking around carrying this strange cocktail of pressure and guilt right now. We want to enjoy summer, we want to be present, we want to make memories with our kids, our partners, our friends, and honestly with ourselves. And yet at the exact same time, we're being absolutely bombarded with messages telling us that we should also be improving the summer, especially around improving our bodies. But also maybe improving our habits, our mindset, definitely improving our vacation photos. Apparently, we are supposed to be having the best summer of our lives while simultaneously becoming a completely different and better person.

The Summer Messaging to Be, Look and Feel Better

SPEAKER_00 2:52

No pressure. And maybe nowhere is that more obvious than in how we talk about health and bodies this time of year. Because right on schedule, every June, if not earlier, the messaging starts. Get your summer body, earn that margarita, do the cleanse, cut the carbs, start the challenge, lose 10 pounds by July 4th. And look, I'm a nutrition professional. I've spent years thinking about how people eat and why. And I'm here to tell you that messaging is not about your health. It's actually about poking at your anxiety. And it is remarkably effective at making you feel like shit. Somewhere along the way, summer stopped being a season and became a performance review. And well, I say it's time to give that message the middle finger.

The Waiting Game...

SPEAKER_00 3:38

Because here's the thing that gets me. I know women who won't wear the shorts, won't get in the pool because they don't want to put on a bathing suit, won't be in the pictures, won't eat the ice cream, won't let themselves fully show up in their own lives because they're waiting. Waiting until they lose the weight, waiting until they feel more confident, waiting until they become some future improved, more acceptable, they think, version of themselves. And I can't help but think, how many summers do we get? Like genuinely, how many? And how many of those are we willing to spend on hold? Because I've never heard once a woman say, God, I'm so glad I spent that summer obsessing over five pounds. But I have heard many people, especially women, say they don't have pictures of themselves with their kids from entire years of their growing up lives because they were always the one holding the camera or hiding from it. That's not a health strategy, that's a loss.

Supporting, Not Shrinking is the Strategy

SPEAKER_00 4:41

Now I want to pivot for a second because this is still a health and wellness show, and I'm still a dietitian, and I want to give you something useful to take into the season. Most of the clients, especially women, that I see in my practice are already trying hard. They're eating pretty clean, they're tracking their calories and their macros, they're walking, they're working out, they're trying to get more protein and more sleep and manage their stress and do all the things. And a lot of them still feel stuck. But here's what I want you to hear. Sometimes your body isn't stuck because you're not doing it enough. Sometimes it's stuck because you're asking it to survive too much. Underfueling, over-exercising, running on cortisol and willpower and four hours of sleep, and I've been there, and a salad, and your nervous system never gets to exhale. And then we wonder why our bodies feel tired and resistant and completely uncooperative. Now I know we've said this before, but your body is not being difficult. Your body is not a stubborn toddler throwing a tantrum. Your body is adapting, it's responding to every signal you're sending it, consciously or unconsciously. And when that signal is less food, more pressure, more criticism, more stress, it doesn't always respond by getting leaner. In fact, it usually doesn't respond by getting leaner. Sometimes it responds by getting protective. Which is why I think the conversation we need this summer is not about shrinking, it's about supporting. Because a healthy body isn't built through punishment, it's built through support.

Yes, Do the Things To Be Healthy This Summer, But That's Not All

SPEAKER_00 6:14

So this summer, yes, we want to do the things that keep us healthy. Eat enough protein, eat enough food food, full stop, drink your water, move your body in ways that don't feel like punishment or a consequence of guilt. Get some sleep, take the rest day, sneak in a nap, spend that time with your loved ones and your friends, manage your blood sugar by doing all of these things. And, and this part matters, actually live your life. Enjoy that margarita with your friend. Have that ice cream with your kid. Enjoy that slow morning on vacation where you don't do a damn thing. That is not the opposite of health for a lot of women. That is health because chronic stress, chronic self-criticism, and chronic restriction are doing far more damage than a scoop of ice cream ever could.

What Do You Want to Remember About This Summer?

SPEAKER_00 7:08

So here's what I want to leave you with as we head into the heart of summer. At the end of August, when the kids go back to school and the calendar clears somewhat and you sit down with your coffee again, what do you want to remember from this summer? Do you want to remember three months of white knuckling it through a diet? Or do you want to remember the people you spent it with, the sunsets, the dinners on the patio, the random Tuesday that turned into something that you'll talk about for years? Because summer is going to pass either way. The season is coming whether we spend it criticizing ourselves or actually inhabiting our lives. Those photos are being taken either way. The memories are being made either way. So maybe this is the summer we stop waiting. Stop treating ourselves like a renovation project that must be completed before we can enjoy life. Stop trying to earn our lives before we're allowed to enjoy them. Eat the protein, drink the water, take the walk, wear the swimsuit, get in the damn picture, order the ice cream, take the trip. And stop. Please stop. Spending the best parts of your life waiting to become someone else first.

Closing and Sneak Peak into Next Episode's Guest!

SPEAKER_00 8:28

Now, I'll see you for our next episode in two weeks. That's all I have for you today. And speaking of the next episode, I'm bringing on a trainer that I really love, and you are going to love her too. We're going to talk about something that I think is going to reframe how you think about your body entirely. Not about getting smaller, but about getting stronger. And honestly, it's one of the most liberating conversations I've had in a long time. You can literally listen from your lounge chair by the pool or that slow morning when you're still in bed doing absolutely nothing. Which after this episode, I fully support. See you then. And until next time, take up space, nourish your body, actually enjoy your summer and stay unhinged in the best way. Bye, friends.