Content warning: this article discusses weight loss, dieting and medical interventions in aiding weight loss.

The summer months for me, well they’re complicated. Luckily not too complicated, as my simple life changing solution to everything is Piriton. Skin rash? Piriton. Hayfever? Piriton again. The more expensive solution is a great deal of time spent in a different country (don’t ask me how it works, unless you are looking to become my soft-life sponsor). 

Unfortunately, not every summer burden can be so easily lifted. From achieving an ideal beach body, to securing coveted school holiday vacation spots, to a very muggy two-weeks in July that I know will happen – the burden of keeping up appearances in the summer are even more challenging to lift, including trying to lose weight.

When I took the subject of cosmetic enhancements to the girls’ brunch, I was surprised that our general consensus was one of ‘if I don’t need it, I won’t get it’. This suggests feelings of empowerment and overall valuing of what we already had – hardly revolutionary given our nuances and lived experiences (all church girls, now married women, some children in the mix).