pic of the week: exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing right now

summer: bring it

For more inspirational pics check out my weheartit.

I'm at a human head, where are you?

My goal would be the cheese.

pic of the week

gimme gimme, want want

For more awesome inspiration, check out my weheartit.

the best feeling in the world

After a week off of ballet because of my cold, and still not feeling my best, I had to get back on that horse this week. I usually do two or even three sessions a week when I can fit them in. I couldn't believe it, after a week off, I could tell a difference in my muscle strength and flexibility. If you don't keep it up, you lose it quick! I also was still feeling a little weak and shaky from the virus, and I could tell my balance was off. All that being said, it felt GREAT. I was a little poopy at first, but by the time I was into the tendus, I was focusing on winging, pulling my abs up, holding my hips level, etc., and all my other cares, feelings and stresses started to fade away. Ballet form requires so much concentration on your body, you literally can't think about anything else. It's really the best form of meditation out there. It's also good for self-judgement and self-reinforcement. Before anyone tells me my form sucks, I know. Before anyone tells me I held a balance well, I can feel it. You learn to understand your body better than anyone else.

I always finish feeling super refreshed and glad I did it. I always feel like I learned a little something about my body and pushed my boundaries a little further. (And judging by how sore my legs feel today, it did them some good too.) Get out there and dance. It's the best feeling in the world.

make your grocery bag look like this

I know this video has already been going around for a few weeks, but it's so greatI had to share it just in case someone hasn't seen it yet.

Besides having an awesome job, awesome house, an awesome adorable cutie of a boyfriend, and awesome clothes, this chick totally eats in an awesome way. I love the scene where she's shopping at the farmer's market. She fills her bag with fruits and veggies and nothing else. (Which kind of makes sense, being that they usually don't sell slabs of margarine at the farmer's market, but still.) I know it's just a promo video for Zara, but it's still well made and great inspiration. I think about it whenever I'm shopping at the supermarket. What does your grocery bag look like?

Keep it skinny!

the decision to put down the spoon

Check out this clip from the Triplets of Belleville. I know what you're thinking, either, "WTF is that?" or "How can a weirdo French cartoon help me with weight loss?" But trust me, this scene has a great moment that always occurs to me when I'm thinking about having a second helping at dinner. This character is a Tour de France cyclist, so he has to control his weight. His granny helps him rig up a system that lets him know when he's had enough food for one meal, but after the bell goes off, it's his decision to put down the spoon. You can see it in his face and in the reluctant but determined way he sets it next to the plate. He doesn't want to, but he has a goal and he's committed to achieving it. Trust me, it's worth two and a half minutes of your time.

actually, if my food looked like that, not eating would be no problem

When you decide to put down the spoon, do it like that. It feels so final, like you've made that choice, you're strong and in control, and you can do this.

Remember, YOU can make that choice
you ARE in control
you CAN do this.

(BTW, if you've never seen the movie, you should watch the whole thing sometime. It's pretty freaking fantastic.)

heart it

I have recently fallen in love with weheartit and started my own page skinnydancing. It's a service that let's you grab any image you like from the web, categorize it and it maintains the link back to the original page. So in theory, ownership and photo credit are maintained. It's stupid easy to use. Check it out if you like to collect and share images. I use it to share images that inspire me in my weight loss, and just images that inspire me. My current sets are:

thin inspiration
ballet (yeah, I know I have a thing about legwarmers)
photography (just stuff that inspires me in general)
food (great low-cal food photos that link back to the recipes)

and my personal favorite, goal, which is a set of photos that represent where I personally want to be body and fashion-wise in a year. Except this, which is exactly where I want to be and what I want to be doing and what I want to look like this summer:

Look ma, no tan lines!

Check it out, let me know what you think, and start sharing images that inspire you. Stay skinny!

ballet + skinny jeans = hot

Mental notes:
1. gotta get a pair of those
2. gotta take more dance classes
3. gotta increase the number of men wearing jeans in ballet

Seriously, maybe more dudes would realize dance isn't just for gay guys if we just ditch the whole tights-wearing thing.

top five reasons you need to go to a ballet class right now

Ballet is absolutely at the core of my body's transformation. It's something I work at and something I work for. It's an incredible source of inspiration and power, and here are the top five reasons why:

1. Nothing, not a bathing suit, not looking at yourself naked, nothing gives you a better assessment of where your fit situation is right now (and how far you've got to go) than a leotard and a pair of pink tights.

2. Every class you will get stronger, more flexible, more capable of the positions, and more toned. Some people see results faster than others, but you will notice progress in EVERY class.

3. Unless you're a dancer, ice skater or horseback rider you have crap posture. And crap posture means you stand with your belly poked out. Don't believe me? Go to a mirror, look at your profile, and try tucking your butt under and rolling your pelvis forward. Wow, makes a difference, huh?

4. Experience the joy of movement. Think about sprinters and skateboarders and how much fun they have just moving around in space. This simple joy is denied to a lot of un-fit people. Ballet gives you grace, balance and a taste of that joy.

5. The world can be a mean, cruel, competitive place. This is especially true in teenage dance classes. (Adult classes tend to be more relaxed, but as all grown-ups know, just because someone's an adult doesn't mean they act that way.) If you can learn to deal with it there, you can deal with it anywhere. Remember, you are doing this for you. Be strong for you.  

(Seriously though, it doesn't matter what your preferred style of exercise and movement is, just get out there. Do it, love it.)

hangry

This interview with Anna Paquin doesn't reveal any secrets to how she maintains the best little body in the business (seriously, she rocks short and curvy in ways that make the long and lanky jealous.) Instead, she does something I find far more inspiring. She basically admits that there is no "magic pill", no being naturally thin, Hollywood stars have to work just as hard and suffer just as much as anyone to have those figures. But apparently, it's a battle you can win:

...so keep strong!

P.S. Love, love, love her use of my new favorite word, hangry. We all know how that feels, don't we girls?

super sexy thin inspiration

Be still my beating heart.

...on second thought, go nuts! It'll burn more calories.

invent yourself

What I am today, I deserve it. If I am an example, it’s that of a person who has the power to overcome a hard reality through imagination: each human being has the right to invent his or her life, and to reinvent himself or herself to take on the tyranny of nature. -Aimee Mullins

One of my favorite quotes (ever), from actress, model, Paralympic athlete and all-around hottie Aimee Mullins. 

She achieved all this, with no legs. The rest of us are excuse-less.  

Get on the bike!

My last trip back home I visited my good friend. The poor girl seemed to have nothing but bad news. She still hadn't found a new job and had to give up cool car. She was now riding her bike everywhere. I said how sorry I was for her. Her response, “Bitch, don't be sorry! I've lost 50 pounds!”

I stand corrected.

(I'll keep you updated on her progress. She's quite an inspiration herself!)

gorgeous yoga inspiration (NSFW)

I've had an off and on relationship with yoga. However, I do a twist similar to this one almost every day. It's great for wringing the stress out of the back that we all seem to carry. And knowing that soon I can do it shirtless and look like this, is great skinny motivation.

Photos: Steven Meisel / Vogue Italia July 2007, via a fun Finnish beauty and lifestyle blog: kaikki mita rakastin

role models

Good tip: adopt a fashion/body role model that suits your build and coloring, so you know when you're dreaming about their clothes and makeup, they will look good on you. Try to choose someone who maintains their weight, not someone who yo-yos. It will be better inspiration.

My favorites:

Charlotte Gainsbourg – damn straight good looking girl, and a snappy dresser

and:

Nina Dobrev – great legs, great attitude and proof that natural brown hair and eyes are hot

What do you think? Who has the looks that would look good on you?

daily battle

Today at work they've broken out the toaster oven, cheap sliced white bread, and the most disgusting, gloppy strawberry-like jam you've ever seen. But as soon as I walk past the manager's room, the smell of toasting bread hits me like a baseball bat. I don't let it tell me I'm hungry, but it does smell tempting. My boss asks me “Do you want?” in the most friendly way. She doesn't understand the problem she's caused. I know it's just the toaster oven fooling me into thinking that pseudo-bread is going to taste good, but it's all I can do to politely say no, finish my copies and run back to my room. I know it's not real bread with real butter and real jam actually made from strawberries. I know I can have some water and wait out the last couple of hours before I go home and have real dinner. I shut the door against the smell. This is my choice. I am strong.

wear what you like

"Eat to please thyself, but dress to please others." - Benjamin Franklin

I don't want to tell ol' Ben he got it wrong, but he so did. Here's my edit:

"Eat what you want, wear what you like, and screw everyone else's opinion."

I currently live and work in South Korea, culture and beauty-standard opposite land. Americans want to be tan and fit. Here, they want to be pale and waify, resembling a disjointed doll apparently. But that's cool, cultural differences are cool. You like what you like.

One afternoon I show up to work after a great morning hike, one where I actually managed to get some sun. I think I look good with a tan. My skin looks more even, it brings out my cheekbones, and freckles are awesome. So I'm happy, feeling swank, and my boss says, "Oh, you look tired." Which in Korea means, "You look like an old lady who has been out gardening. That's the only way we get tan here."

So, in Ben's opinion I should fold to the local expectation and rock my paleness. Or, in my opinion I should say, "Bitch, I got a tan! I look good!"

Ok, so I didn't actually say that to my boss. But I still rock my tans whenever I manage to get them here.

Always look good for you.

the reason I'm here

I am not thin. I am average. I've been average since before the start of puberty. I'm 5'7" and about 155 pounds. It's an ok BMI according to whoever decides the healthy BMI thing, but it doesn't feel good. I feel chunky, squeezed into my clothes. My body type means I have good legs, but a wide middle. I hate it. I'm tired of it. I'm ready to do what it takes to change. I want that feeling of slipping into clothes and knowing I look good, not that I need to change again and find something more flattering. I have a lot of good things in my life, a lot I want to accomplish and feeling this way is distracting me.

I'm a big eater. I eat good food, vegetarian, high quality, but I do EAT. A lot. I try to balance it out with exercise, but it's obviously not enough, because I keep staying the same size.

I am strong, I am worthy and I'm a good person. I can do this. Here's my new plan:

1. Three meals a day, small, high quality, balanced. Maybe a small dessert after dinner if something REALLY good is available. No snacking. Ever.

2. Limit of only 2 alcoholic drinks per day. Max.

3. Maintain my exercise routine of one additional hour of exercise a day.

4. For freaking sake, drink more water.

Goal number 1: 130 pounds

The last time I was at this weight, I remember that as a time I felt ok about my body. I'm working to get back to that. Once I'm there, we'll see. I want to think my ultimate goal is 120 pounds. That is on the low end of of the healthy BMI range for my height, but still healthy.

This is simple, easy, and maintainable. I can do this. I've been operating on this plan for a week now, and I can already tell a difference in the way my belly feels. I feel less bloated after a meal. Less full. It feels great.

So, why the blog? I really believe that for weight loss to work, you can't tell anyone what you're doing. You can't share it with your family, your friends, your boyfriend, your co-workers, no one. The pressure of meeting other people's expectations will sabotage you. But I'm too giddy about the whole thing to not tell anyone. And I'm sure along the way I will need support and encouragement, and when I succeed maybe my journey will inspire someone.

Also, I believe it's important not to talk about how others view you. I am not doing this because I want other people to like me. I am doing this for me. No one else. You. No re-enforcement based on what others think. The best way to do this is to only think about how you look at yourself and how you feel.

My plan is to do this positively. No negative re-enforcement. You will never find the "f" word on this blog. No mean girl talk. I will only share (and only want to hear) inspiration, motivation, good advice and tips. The point of getting skinny is to feel good, not bad.

The journey begins. Awesome awaits!