Saturday 12 October marked 50 days until the official start of summer and despite it being the most social of seasons, it’s the one Aussie women dread the most.

According to the latest national research, the Special K Confidence Report*, more than half of Australian women will put their social life on hold as the warmer weather approaches because of their plummeting levels of self-confidence. Over two-thirds of Australian women will enter summer with their lowest levels of self-esteem, having felt most confident during winter.

Social and style expert Zoë Foster Blake says confidence needs to come from within, and is rallying women across Australia – particularly those aged over 35, as they are the most affected by negative body image perceptions – to take a positive approach as they count down to summer.

“Over 40 per cent of women say the person who has the greatest positive impact on their body image is themselves. We have to love the skin we are in – the person we are – and start working on this now,” says Foster Blake

Foster Blake emphasised the importance of setting long-term goals, not succumbing to fads or crash-diets in the lead up to the warmer weather, or becoming fixated on a specific area of their body. The report says forty three per cent of women feel less confident because they don’t like a particular body part.

“Confidence is obviously multi-tiered, but a lot of it comes down to having a ‘plan and prep’ mentality – if we focus on eating well and getting regular exercise, we'll be well on our way to looking and feeling great this summer.” she continues.

Fifty five per cent of Australian women recognised the best way to build their self-confidence was to maintain a balanced eating and exercise regime.

Some other key findings that resulted from the Special K Confidence Report are:

• 17 per cent of Aussie women can clearly say they are confident and comfortable with their body image
• 55 per cent of women ranked maintaining balanced eating and exercise regime as the activity that makes them feel more confident
• 44 per cent of women rely on their favourite outfit or applying makeup (36 per cent) to boost their confidence
• 43 per cent of women claimed that the main reason they lose confidence in their body image is because they don’t like a particular part of their body
• 43 per cent of Aussie women are most confident about their body image in winter
• 39 per cent of women said they feel most confident when they are with their partner or family

My Special K provides women with free exercise and eating plans to help them plan their long term goals and a healthy lifestyle. For more information on how to achieve your goals, visit: www.myspecialk.com.au

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