I'll tell you how the sun rose a ribbon at a time
-Emily Dickinson
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Wednesday, June 15, 2011
SIX WEEKS TO SKINNY
When I initiated this blog, the first title that came to my mind was “Six Weeks to Skinny.” My intention was to try and have six weeks of devoted “mindful eating” and exercise as I was staring a beach trip in the face and felt with some level of desperation that it was really, finally, absolutely time to get my ass in gear. Sixteen months ago I gave birth to an amazing little girl, and my life has pretty much been chaos ever since. To say it’s been organized chaos would actually be a stretch. I got pregnant 5 months into my marriage (there goes the honeymoon phase) quite unexpectedly, and on some days feel that the level of adjustment being a wife AND a mom require are just too much for me. And I have a full time job. And I fancy myself a writer. Most days I wander around in a sort of functional haze, trying to find creative ways to fix my hair so it’s not painfully obvious that I haven’t showered in a week.
At any rate, when I found myself eating ice cream every evening as a way to make myself feel like I’d really “enjoyed” something that day, I knew it was time to re-think things. Getting in long and torturing work-outs was not an option because
A) I don’t do long and torturous work outs- really, why would I? and
B) My time and our financial resources are as tight as they’ve ever been
The solution I was looking for had to be realistic, pleasurable, affordable, and at least kind of interesting.
So I started a blog.
I know, I know- not the most active of pursuits. But hopefully it’s a way for me to rally my spirit, do something I love (communicate!), and hold myself accountable as I re-fashion my image as a super fabulous 30-something young, hip, attractive mommy who thinks. A stretch? Maybe. Hence the name of the blog. Most days you would have to feed me quaaludes on top of a margarita to convince me that I could be a skinny optimist, but we all need something to strive for.
Skinny is obvious. I want my bikini back. Not that I’ve ever had a hot bikini body, but I do feel very convinced that diet and exercise are essential to my well-being and only come through self-care. I suppose it's really about feeling good in my own skin. Though it would be awesome to feel good in my own skin in a bikini- is that too much to ask? Skinny remains an ideal as much as anything- albeit abstract at times- and I look forward to unpacking the concept of skinny more in these entries.
I’m guessing that optimism is self-explanatory. In these days of functional haze, hope and faith are the gold standard in my life. Present, sure, but not always accessible. It’s only in my ability to really imagine and envision a better me, a better life, a better marriage, and a better future for my daughter that the tiny articulations of the skinny optimist begin to take shape. Ambitious? Yes. Possible? I think so. There’s beauty, after all, in the valor of attempt.
At any rate, when I found myself eating ice cream every evening as a way to make myself feel like I’d really “enjoyed” something that day, I knew it was time to re-think things. Getting in long and torturing work-outs was not an option because
A) I don’t do long and torturous work outs- really, why would I? and
B) My time and our financial resources are as tight as they’ve ever been
The solution I was looking for had to be realistic, pleasurable, affordable, and at least kind of interesting.
So I started a blog.
I know, I know- not the most active of pursuits. But hopefully it’s a way for me to rally my spirit, do something I love (communicate!), and hold myself accountable as I re-fashion my image as a super fabulous 30-something young, hip, attractive mommy who thinks. A stretch? Maybe. Hence the name of the blog. Most days you would have to feed me quaaludes on top of a margarita to convince me that I could be a skinny optimist, but we all need something to strive for.
Skinny is obvious. I want my bikini back. Not that I’ve ever had a hot bikini body, but I do feel very convinced that diet and exercise are essential to my well-being and only come through self-care. I suppose it's really about feeling good in my own skin. Though it would be awesome to feel good in my own skin in a bikini- is that too much to ask? Skinny remains an ideal as much as anything- albeit abstract at times- and I look forward to unpacking the concept of skinny more in these entries.
I’m guessing that optimism is self-explanatory. In these days of functional haze, hope and faith are the gold standard in my life. Present, sure, but not always accessible. It’s only in my ability to really imagine and envision a better me, a better life, a better marriage, and a better future for my daughter that the tiny articulations of the skinny optimist begin to take shape. Ambitious? Yes. Possible? I think so. There’s beauty, after all, in the valor of attempt.
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