Oh great, it is that dreaded bikini season again and there is no place to hide. Toss aside the leggings and the long sweaters, it is time for summer's cruel joke and sick game. To add to the news, your diet might have stalled or you just thought that you would start back up in the spring. Still, it's no wonder. Losing weight is never easy and for most people, it is a lifetime struggle at the scale, no matter what the season is! The body can work against you outside of cravings and makes it harder to lose weight. Combine all this with the emotional aspect of watching other people seemingly have it all together and it makes you feel like crud. If you are a dealing with bikini envy, hold onto your sanity with these 7 ideas.

Reduce the stress.

Stress from being disappointed with yourself for wanting to be one of those who is brave enough to wear the bikini is rough. It is equally as tough on the body. Stress and anxiety release cortisol, which has been to linked to weight gain put the body in a stress mode and kicks the adrenal system up. WebMD found "While the immediate response to acute stress can be a temporary loss of appetite, more and more we are coming to recognize that for some people, chronic stress can be tied to an increase in appetite and stress-induced weight gain.” Stressing about your body could make you gain weight!

Be realistic.

We are hammered with images of beautiful women in their bikinis in magazines, social media and on television. Psych Central reported that over "90 percent of women don’t have the ideal body type portrayed by the media and 60 percent of all women and girls eat in a dysfunctional fashion." Start treating your body by making the decision to start exercising and eating right. Be realistic with yourself and what you can do. You might start by taking the stairs instead of the elevator or walking after work. Focus on the positive, not on things that are wrong with you. By the way, toss those women’s magazines out!

Accept yourself.

As you head out to the beach this season know that you are in good company as most of the people there have the same body insecurities. Start looking around you, do you see anyone concerned about their weight? We are more than our weight and the way we look. If you like to swim, swim. If you like to dance, take a class--do something that you love and invest in the total you, not just part of you. Stop allowing your physical features from keeping you from accepting yourself.

Work on your confidence.

Put your bikini on if you gained weight, who cares? To build confidence, you have to take and jump into uncharted waters, even if it is the ocean or taking a walk on the beach in your bikini. You don't need a bikini body to get in a bikini. Put a bikini on and boom, you have your bikini body. Confidence doesn't just happen, you need to work towards it. Don't allow the way you feel to dictate if you are worthy or not. While you are working on this, pray, create a thank you journal or meditate on the good things that you do have in life when you start feeling bummed.

Put your mental filters on.

You know the saying "garbage in, garbage out?" If you allow your feelings and thoughts to be geared towards how bad you feel or look, you will never overcome any envy. Just like we need to guard our hearts, we need to guard our minds against comparisons and things that are bad for us like envy. We are told in Proverbs: "The good man brings good things out of the good treasure of his heart and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil treasure of his heart." You wouldn't purposely drink poison, would you? Then, make sure you put on your mental filters and start taking more control of what you allow into your life.

Work on your gratitude.

Jealousy becomes problematic when it starts to consume you. It is a never-ending battle that will eat at your core. “There is an endless supply of people to whom you could compare yourself and your accomplishments, but, inevitably, you’ll always end up on the losing side of the comparison," author Lisa Quast explained. Gratitude can help you overcome jealousy in any area of your life. When we focus on what we do have, it will help with jealousy and our own insecurities that tend to show up unannounced. Gratitude will make you feel good and this will help love people more.

Learn to be happy.

"Life is beautiful and can be amazing if you want it to be," writer Alex Blackwell wrote. Maybe life can be great, despite that you do not have the body of your dreams. We may not be where we want to be in our lives or in our bodies, but we can enjoy life by redirecting your energies towards something more positive. "Just because life is giving you a hard time doesn’t mean you can’t laugh or see the beauty around you," he added. Redirect your energy in enjoying life no matter what body you have.

Yes, bikini season is here, but it does not need to keep you locked inside the house in shame. This summer make a choice to live life no matter what fat you hate on your body. You decide if you have a bikini body and you decide if you love yourself. We will assume that we will now see you at the beach. Right?