It's officially May! And trips to the pool or the beach may either be in your immediate future or a few months down the line. No matter how confident we women are, the first thing we tend to think about is that one problem body part we dread having to bare. For me, it's my butt and my thighs. Do you feel me? No matter how much I work out, it's the one area that refuses, and I swear it refuses, to lose the pounds. (Now that I'm pregnant, I definitely see the benefit of squeezing a watermelon baby out of a bigger hip/thigh area.) Judging from the number of bikinis with skirts, sarongs, and the popularity of surf short swimwear, it's safe to assume I'm not alone. The bathing suit industry makes me feel so much better when they parade their swimwear on sickeningly skinny, supposedly beautiful women (note my sarcasm here). (Aventura Clothing, which features recycled polyester swimsuits, uses healthy looking models.)
What do I do? Ignore the ads. Be happy with my natural beauty. Easy as pie, right?
No, I know it's not. Gee, if it was, life would be a lot easier. The best way to overcome insecurities about weight and appearance is to start paying attention to health and fitness. According to one Mayo Clinic article, exercise improves your mood, boosting self esteem and confidence. Obviously, regular exercise isn't going to alter my natural body shape, but it will help me lose weight and/or tone up (granted, I have to weight until after the pregnancy to really do either). Plus, I'm less likely to eat that extra scoop of ice cream when I equate it to 300 extra calories to burn off.
I like to use the "lack of money and time" as an excuse for not regularly working out, but I have a feeling I will regret this when I'm 70 and I can't get my saggy butt out of bed because my stiff, poorly exercised joints hurt too much. Time to change that people! Below are a few resources to help get me, and you, started:
Fitness Magazine
Discover Burn Rate Calculator
Ivillage Health
Fitness.alltop.com
5 comments:
I'm also a fan of finding wedding photog web sites to check out brides who *aren't* bridal models or, worse, runway models. Nice to know I'm not the only one with hips and thighs!
I love this. We should all put on purple hats and sit in front of the sea (with proper sunscreen of course), and just enjoy ourselves!
I recently found your blog and I'm in love! Great, GREAT info!! :)
Love your point about how you'll feel when you're 70. Honestly, that's what keeps me motivated to exercise...knowing that what I do now is creating a foundation for a healthy body that will help me feel much better when I'm older.
Thank you everyone for the kind comments!
@Christa - Excellent point! So many bridal models look like they really need a sandwich! LOL :)
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