Lana Del Rey’s Summertime Sadness captures something most of us know but rarely name out loud. That ache of longing, loss, and emotional heaviness that doesn’t always match the brightness of the season. Summer is supposed to feel light and free. But for a lot of people, it doesn’t. And if you’ve ever dreaded putting on a swimsuit, avoided a pool party, or spent the months leading up to June trying to shrink yourself, you know exactly what we mean.

This post is for you.

When Summer Feels Heavy

There’s a particular kind of sadness that shows up around this time of year. It’s not just about the heat or the longer days. It’s the quiet (and not-so-quiet) pressure to look a certain way before summer arrives. To earn your body. To fix it. To make it acceptable enough to be seen.

That pressure is real. It’s exhausting, and it can push people toward habits that feel like solutions but are actually harmful.

The Harmful Side of “Getting Ready for Summer”

When the pressure to achieve a so-called “summer body” becomes overwhelming, many people turn to behaviors that feel urgent or necessary in the moment. These can include:

Restrictive dieting or skipping meals in an attempt to lose weight quickly
Over-exercising: pushing through pain, guilt, or exhaustion to “earn” food or change the body
Relapse into eating disorder behaviors for those in recovery, as seasonal pressure can be a powerful trigger
Stimulant abuse: using caffeine, diet pills, or other stimulants to suppress appetite or boost energy
Laxative abuse as a form of compensatory behavior after eating
Medication misuse: including diuretics or other substances marketed for weight loss

These aren’t signs of weakness or lack of willpower. They’re signs that someone is in pain and trying to cope with an enormous amount of pressure in the only ways that feel available to them.

The Real Cost: Mental, Physical, and Emotional Harm

These behaviors don’t come without consequences. The effects can be far-reaching and serious

Physically:

Nutrient deficiencies, fatigue, and hormonal disruption
Digestive damage from laxative or stimulant use
Increased risk of injury from over-exercise
Cardiac complications in more severe cases

Mentally:

Increased anxiety and obsessive thinking around food and body
Difficulty concentrating, brain fog, and mood instability
Deepened shame cycles where restriction leads to overeating, which leads to more restriction

Emotionally

Isolation and withdrawal from social situations involving food or bodies
Loss of joy and spontaneity around eating and movement
A growing disconnection from your own body’s signals and needs

Where Does This Pressure Come From?

It would be easy to say “just ignore it,” but the pressure to have a certain kind of body in summer isn’t just internal. It comes from everywhere:

Social media: filtered images, before/after posts, and “summer shred” content
Advertising: diet products, fitness programs, and clothing brands that center thinness
Cultural messaging: phrases like “bikini body,” “beach ready,” and “summer slim-down
Family and social dynamics: comments about weight, food policing, and diet talk at gatherings
Healthcare settings: where weight is often centered over actual wellbeing

These messages accumulate. They tell us our bodies are problems to be solved before we’re allowed to enjoy our lives. And when we internalize them, they become the voice in our own heads.

The Cycle That Keeps People Stuck

External pressure leads to body shame. Body shame leads to disordered eating behaviors. Those behaviors often lead to physical and emotional consequences, which then fuel more shame. It’s a cycle, and it’s incredibly hard to break alone.

Disordered eating (even when it doesn’t meet the clinical threshold for a diagnosed eating disorder) can cause real harm:

Disrupted hunger and fullness cues
Damaged relationship with food and eating
Increased risk of developing a clinical eating disorder
Chronic stress and nervous system dysregulation
Long-term impacts on bone density, gut health, and metabolism

You don’t have to be in crisis for your relationship with food and your body to deserve care and attention.

There’s Another Way: Introducing Body Talk

At Alo Nutrition, we believe you deserve to live your life fully, in the body you have right now, this summer and every season. That’s exactly why we created the Body Talk series.

Body Talk is a 6-week virtual group program designed to help you explore and reduce negative body image and body-based shame. It’s led by Alana Walling, MS, RD, LDN, a registered dietitian who brings a warm, weight-inclusive, and deeply compassionate approach to this work.

Here’s what you can expect:

Live weekly group support: a space to process, connect, and feel less alone
Self-paced content: so you can engage at a rhythm that works for you
PDF fillable workbooks: practical tools to use between sessions

Throughout the program, you’ll have the opportunity to:

Understand the origins of body ideals and where these messages actually come from
Name the “why” behind your body image struggles, because awareness is the first step toward change
Practice tangible tools for decreasing body shame in real, everyday moments
Begin to reclaim your life from disordered eating, eating disorder behaviors, and the exhausting noise of diet culture

This isn’t about fixing your body. It’s about healing your relationship with it.

Body Talk begins June 30, 2026, and is limited to just 10 participants, so there’s real space for connection and individual attention.

You Don’t Have to White-Knuckle Through Another Summer. If summer has historically felt more like something to survive than something to enjoy, we want you to know: that’s not how it has to be. Healing is possible. Support is available. And you are worthy of both, right now, exactly as you are.

If Body Talk sounds like the right next step, we’d love to have you. Visit this link to learn more or reach out to us directly. We’re here.