Entries tagged as ‘body image’
I remember looking in the mirror last April before I headed to the gym and thinking, Damn. Look at my butt. It’s AWESOME! When I stretched out in bed I could feel my hip bones. My thighs were still jiggly but I could feel firm muscles underneath. Shortly afterwards I gained back twenty pounds during what I affectionately refer to as The 2009 Summer/Fall of Doom. Good-bye adorable bubble butt. So long hip bones and quasi-toned thighs…
That’s what I think about now when I don’t want to go to the gym. What a difference those twenty pounds made. And for now that’s all I’m thinking about as a goal. Losing those damn twenty pounds. I will still be fat when I hit that goal (290) but I don’t care. Do you hear me, Internet? I DO NOT CARE. I refuse to worry about what lies beyond those twenty pounds. Obsessing over more than a hundred pounds is overwhelming and counterproductive. I’ve never lost a hundred pounds before so I automatically convince myself I can’t do it. But I know I can lose twenty, and twenty more after that, and if that’s what it takes for me to keep making progress then so be it.
One small chunk of weight loss? Piece of cake.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: body image, chunk 1, dieting, goals, motivation
Resolutions are supposed to be positive, right? Things that make you feel good and make a positive change in your life? So this year that’s what I’m focusing on. And I have to say I’ve never been this excited about my New Year Resolutions.
- Buy fresh flowers once a week for myself or to give to someone else. Why didn’t I think of this one before? It’s so simple! There’s something about flowers that make any day better.
- Eat right, exercise consistently. Weight loss be damned. I feel my best when I’m eating healthy food (with the occasional splurge) and working out on a regular basis. If that means I feel great and haven’t lost a single pound then so be it.
- Give more. I feel so blessed that my life is my life. This year I’m going to start giving more to help other people, especially locally. There’s a park two blocks from my house that’s filled with homeless folks every single day. Every morning I drive past the food pantry that helps feed some of my neighbors. There’s more I can do to help.
- Make myself a top priority. No more toxic friendships or running out the door wearing an outfit I just threw together without a stitch of make-up. I’m going to take time for myself — to sleep, to relax, to shop, to read — and I’m not going to feel bad about it.
- Go big for Lent. Last year for Lent I pushed beyond my comfort zone to workout every single day, and even though I ended up slacking off toward the end of the year it was life-changing experience for me. I know that I’m capable of seemingly impossible things and I want to go outside of my comfort zone again this year. I’ve got an idea about what to do this year and the more I think about it the more it scares the hell out of me. So I’ve got to do it now. More details to come on that little project…
I’m so excited you guys! 2010 is going to be an amazing year.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: body image, eating habits, exercise, goals, Lent, motivation, rest, yay!
I’ve been trying to stretch my budget lately (hello mortgage and Christmas presents!) and experimenting with cutting back on some of my non-life sustaining expenses. Since my frequent visits to the hair salon were a big money suck I decided to skip my normal 6-weeks between cuts and try to stretch it to 8-weeks. Look at me! Saving money!
I made it, but it wasn’t pretty. At five weeks I started noticing more bad hair days. Six weeks in I had firmly transitioned from Chic City Girl into Exhausted Suburban Spinster. When I called the salon to finally schedule my wash and cut the receptionist told me my stylist was out of town and wouldn’t be back until after Christmas. Did I want to wait until then? Are you kidding?! In nine weeks I would be in full-on mullet mode. And just in time to see all of my family at Christmas!
So I booked an appointment on Wednesday with someone else and even though she talked too much, scrubbed and tugged at my head like it wasn’t attached to my body, and generally annoyed the hell out of me, she did give me a good cut.
And lo and behold I woke up yesterday feeling absolutely adorable. I got out of bed with a spring in my step and put on a nice outfit. I even snapped a picture on the way out the door because hot damn if I wasn’t cute as a button.
(under that cute hat is a mop of cute hair)
And it all started with a good hair day, shallow though that may be. For weeks I’ve been phoning it in with my appearance — not applying myself like I normally do — all because my hair wasn’t looking so hot. (Apparently my hair is way more important to me than I realized.) So okay, no more long waits between visits to the stylist. I’ll cut corners somewhere else. Lesson learned, Universe.
It seems silly but we’ve all got one small, seemingly insignificant element of our lives that ends up influencing so many other things, often without us realizing it. Or is it just me? Is there something about your routine that can throw everything else in your life out of whack?
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: body image, cravings, photos, questions
There’s been a lot of buzz around the blogosphere about this show More To Love and up I’ve treated it like every other reality TV dating show by completely blowing it off. But last night after the roomie fixed the most amazing stuffed peppers I’ve ever had we settled into the living room to watch Hell’s Kitchen and ended up watching More To Love right after.
You know what struck me the most about that show? Here’s a hint: it wasn’t that the bachelor dude was a stocky jock-type or that the girls were all more toward the “normalish” side of curvy. It wasn’t that the basic premise of the show was exactly like every other dating show this side of The Bachelor, or that the elimination ceremony took twice as long as it should have.
What struck me the most was that all six of the female contestants remaining on show were overly affectionate with the guy. If he showed them one second of attention they were leaning on him, holding his hand, or in most cases, kissing him.
Internet, I’m not sure what to make of this. On the one hand I’ve skeeved out that this guy could sit there and kiss all of those girls and say he has feelings for all of them when it seems like he’s just trying to get as much action as possible. That’s a dick move Dude, but not completely surprising. On the other hand, I’m more creeped out that these women are using so much physical affection with someone they, really, barely know. Two of the six went so far as to say they were in love with this guy, and one went on and on about how she couldn’t imagine her life without him.
Now maybe I’m just cynical but really? Really?!
I’m all for being physically affectionate with someone you’re dating (all for it!) but something about this reads like desperation. Six women left in the house and they’re all making themselves sick with worry when the Dude is out on his other dates. Then as soon as they possibly can they pounce on him to stake a claim. All that kissing wasn’t about genuine affection; it was about marking their territory.
I realize the show is edited for increased dramatic entertainment and, in comparison, the kissing and whatnot on More To Love is nothing compared to shows like Rock of Love or I Love New York. It wasn’t scandalous or vulgar; it was just kind of sad.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: body image, rant, tv
Two years ago Stephanie at Adventures In Babywearing wrote a post encouraging other bloggers to post a self-portrait wearing no make-up. Not a scary “the horror! the horror!” kind of photo. Just a regular picture of you in which you happen not be wearing any make-up.
Back in the day I posted my entry here. (Oh, young twenty-four-year old FB; there’s so much I would tell you if I could.)
I like make-up as much as the next girl, but I really loved the idea behind posting a photo like this. I like the idea of letting people see the “real” you without any bells and whistles or flashy distractions…
…You see where this is going, right?
Tomorrow instead of posting a weekly question I’m posting a photo of me without any make-up, that will NOT be touched up in Photoshop. And instead of answering my question in the comments I think you should post a link to your own no-make-up photo blog post.
Come on. Do it. I dare you.
Categories: Uncategorized
Tagged: body image, no shame
