motivation: sweat pants

Good reason to lose weight:

So you can wear sweat pants and sandals and look like this:

Not this:

Motivated yet? I just put down my fork... to laugh my ass off without stabbing myself in the eye!

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

My goal would be the cheese.

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.

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!

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.

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?

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!