Holiday booked, petrified of the pool!

I think my title tells most of the story... But to elaborate, on the 14th of march, my family is going to centre parcs for my Nan's 70th. Anyway, I was cool with this, it sounded pretty fun and all that, and its all very active, so I was really looking forward to it.

 Anyway, I just discovered there is a pool there.  This wouldn't be too bad, but there is one little fact I would like to use this date to overcome...I have never owned a bikini.  Ever.  Hell, the only swimsuit I've ever owned was my compulsary school ones, which I used when I went swimming a lot in the summer, but now its too big, so I'm going to bite the bullet and get a :gulp: bikini

Does anyone have any advice for confidence? I am going to work my butt off (hopefully literally lol) to get in shape for then, but I have a feeling I need to get over my nerves, or I'll end up getting there and wimping out.    

 Thankyoooou  

Everyone has hang ups about their bodies - even the Victoria Secrets models for Christs sake, heh. Remember that people aren't looking at you to pick fault and will probably be just as self-conscious as you.

Well, if you are going to, as you say 'work your butt off' you should hopefully be proud to wear that bikini (and I even think you look pretty great now!) Just remember that the majority of people do not look too great in a bikini, so they will more than likely be too focused on their own bodies to notice any flaws in yours.

Also remember that you do not neccessarily have to wear a traditional bikini. Tankinis, which are similar to a bikini, but have a longer top piece offer much more coverage and come in a variety of cute styles.

You should use this holiday as motivation! Everytime you are tempted to binge, remember how fantastic you want to look and how fantastic, with a bit of dedication, you WILL look!

 

just took a quick look at your pictures and you have more than enough time to get down to a very nice bikini weight... i mean you could do it in 3 weeks if you pushed it so no worries... Just keep eatting somewhat healthy and keep up the cardio AND weights... since you are younger you can prolly just get by on body weight exercises, not a ton just maybe 20 mins 3 times a week is all youd need of those.  And if you can tan, shows deffinition a lot better and makes anyone look good.

I am going on vacation to florida this month. I am totally freaked out about a swimsuit so i got a suit thats basically a halter(with more of a tank coverage) and boy short bottoms. You dont need a bikini bod to have fun!

I agree with gurlywurly about the tankinis. I absolutely refuse to wear a traditional bikini because I am a little self-conscious about my tummy area and also I get cold really easy and I don't like to have cold water directly on my belly. With that said, I usually wear tankinis when I go to the pool or beach. They really do have a lot of cute styles out there and I think they actually look better on a lot of women than the traditional bikinis. It is something to look into if you don't want to wear a bikini.

Most of all, when you are on your vacation, just have fun! You don't want to waste your vacation time away worrying about your body and what other people are thinking of you. Like some of the other posters said, others are probably just as self-conscious about their body as you are and probably won't be paying attention to how you look. I have learned that most of the time, we are harder on ourselves and think we look worse than we actually do. And, I think that you look wonderful! Good luck on reaching your goals. :)

i love tankinis but hate the tan lines...shallow i know. i just wanted to say when you do go shopping for a bikini/tankini whichever, keep in mind that they are not all created equal! i usually try on 10 swim suits before i find a couple that i like or that accentuate what i've got and take attention off of what i wish i didn't have =)

good luck and congrats on your first bikini! 

I first started wearing a tankini that showed about a quarter inch of skin.  Each year I got one a little smaller until I was comfortable wearing a bikini.  Even though I was't getting any smaller, but confidence was getting larger so my suit could get smaller.  If you're really uncomftorable, you might want to try a tankini. 
Also, I've seen some very large (300+) women in bikini's.  Personally, I don't really care what they look like, it's all about the fact that they are confident enough to wear that.  Besides, you're in your teens, I bet people would think that you were weirder for wearing a 1 piece than a bikini.
And if you're at your Nan's how many people are you going to know that aren't your family?  Hopefully, your family woln't judge you, and the other people will probably be her age, and wishing that they had a body like yours.

you are in such good shape! at least from what i see in your pictures! you shouldn't be worried at all! But if you feel you need to, go ahead and 'work your butt off' just to firm yourself up more i guess. i mean you could look at my pic and say i don't need to be on here but that's just the upper half of my body & I so badly want to be in a bikini by the time my neighborhood pool opens. no by the time my whole 8th grade class and I go to six flags marine world.

It is a family outing and you are going to be just judged by your looks? Unlikely- they will pick on you for way more things- your marks, you taste in boyfriends,etc. Still most people are self conscious because relatives will look - who never wants to see the new baby - it goes on till that child is fully grown. The criticisms and approvals of course NEVER stops.  You are likely nervous because it it the first bold thing you are doing that will entirely reflect on you- or does you Mum still veto your clothing choices?   If you have younger cousins and you think you would likely have fun with playing with them -wear some thing more practical. If forced to be in company with family think of things you would enjoy. By all means get a bikini also if you can giggle with your cousins about what guys attention you got. Also get something more comfortable if you think a revealing bikini will attract unwelcome teasing. Alternating wearing something less reveling (rather than  having no choice because you brought nothing else) is an excellent way to show you ARE not showing off without having to say a thing to shut them up. Having two costumes means you can always make an excuse about hating to wear wet clothing to wear the one you want- it has not dried since you rinsed it of chlorine,saltwater,etc. or its wet and you want something dryer.  people always have odd fancies.

Thanks for all your replies!

I think I will stick to a tankini, I suppose its all about working out what suits me!

And the pool at centre parcs is very much public, so it won't be just my family seeing me in the outfit! But at the end of the day, I suppose the rest of them can think what they like, chances are I'm never going to meet any of those people again...

I just don't want to be the girl on the beach wearing a long sleeved tee and board shorts over her swimsuit for another summer lol