Bikini or Burkini?

It's one of the bravest things I've ever done. I bought - and wore! - a two piece bathing suit this summer. Not a coward's two-piece like a tankini but an honest to goodness bikini. This has been my second summer at my post-LA Weight Loss weight. I started about six months after I had Benny and couldn't shake the baby weight. I lost 22 pounds and now wear a size 6. I feel great but I'm no model. I'm still pretty self conscious even in a regular bathing suit. I just decided it was now or never. I didn't want to look back in 20 years and think, I should have done it while I had the chance. I found a great suit in the Eddie Bauer catalog - definitely a bikini but with a bottom that's a little higher cut than the itsy bitsy kind no one over the age of 18 should wear. I still feel like a need a few more sit ups whenever I put it on, but the reaction of my friends has been very interesting. They all say, "I wish I could do that." These are great looking women, many of them slimmer than me. But recently the ideal for women has become a size zero. Even a new size zero/zero is coming into some stores. I think that stinks. It's unattainable and it's not healthy. How can I teach my daughter to eat right and be strong if she thinks she's supposed to have a body fueled by only diet coke and microwave popcorn? (By the way, here's an interesting option. Have you heard about the burkini? Featured in Time Magazine recently it's a full-body bathing suit that's all about modesty. Hmmm. Maybe next year.) I know my wearing a two-piece bathing suit won't change the world - but if we're going to teach our daughters that a size 6 or 8 is healthier than a zero we need to walk the walk. We may walk it carefully while sucking in our tummies a bit and not necessarily sitting down, but I say walk it none the less. There are still a few weeks of summer left. Still time to take the plunge and join me. Courage! And don't forget your sunscreen.