Hibernating all winter can take a toll on your body. When it’s cold outside a warm blanket and spot on the couch is all too appealing. It’s easy to fall into a more sedentary lifestyle for almost half the year. And then spring arrives. Flowers start to bloom, birds begin to chirp, and you actually want to spend time outdoors for the first time in almost six months. You can’t wait for summer to arrive!

And then it hits you. All of that time on the couch has left you with a more jelly in the belly and junk in the trunk. Unless you stuck hard to your New Years Resolution to lose weight there’s a good chance you’ll be self-conscious about how you’ll look in a swimsuit at the beach. Perhaps you wonder whether you should even bother going. Will you look that hideous?

Relax! Trust that you’re amplifying the magnitude of your “trouble areas” 100 times in your mind. It’s rarely as bad as you think!

But, yes, regardless of whether you have any plans of heading to the beach or the pool it is in fact time to pay the fitness partner and shed the winter weight. The good news is that it really doesn’t have to be all that difficult. It’s not realistic for most of us to have a ‘Baywatch’ body. Don’t let the magazines and movies fool you. Being fit does not require six-pack abs.

Watch as I give the crew at WJLA my seven easy ways to make sure you look and feel your best at the pool and beach this summer!