Health & Body
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10 Tips to Celebrate Without Gaining Weight!
[Guest Post by Marcia Ramsland] – 10 Tips to Celebrate Without Gaining Weight! 1. Drink a Large Glass of Water Before Facing any Food Temptation. Water not only fills you up, but reminds you of your goal to eat with purpose at social events. 2. Get a Reality Check. Most holiday cookies, candies, and other treats are at least 150 calories per ounce. That’s more than a full tablespoon of butter. If you eat 10 morsels, you could gain a half pound of fat at one party! 3. Practice the Ten-Minute Delay Rule. Every time you have an urge to eat one more goodie, make yourself wait ten minutes. If…
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I Love My Real Smile
[Guest Post by Emily Maynard] – This is my real smile. This is what I look like when I’m laughing, before I cover my mouth with my hands, before I wipe away the mascara inevitably melting onto my cheeks. This is what my friends and family see every time I come alive around them, when I laugh at one of my own jokes or snort over their funny stories. This is what I look like when I get excited about a puppy or a gluten-free cupcake or a gorgeous pair of shoes or a fresh idea burning in my heart. This is what I look like when I’m happy. This…
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I Love My Post Baby Body
[Monthly Columnist – Jaimie Bowman] – I’ll be honest–I’m not sure how to love my post baby body. It started in the 6th grade–didn’t it for most of us? I was in P.E. class, bending over for our warm-up, when the muffled laughter came from behind me and then grew louder and louder. I turned around and asked what was so funny. Three girls looked at each other, then back and me, and said, “It’s just that….your butt…it’s as big as Mrs. Rowan’s!” Mrs. Rowan was our P.E. teacher–I was 12. I stuffed that experience way back in the deep dark corner of my soul, hoping to never remember it…
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I Love My Body – Quitter
[Guest Post by Aurora Vilchis] – I quit. I have no intention on returning and I won’t even care if you call me a quitter. You know why? I quit the club. The club of self hatred, self loathing and self focus. You’ve been there, a bunch of gals get together and suddenly it becomes one big hate feast; one hates her thighs, another her ears, something too big, not tight enough, too small. I thought that I had to join in because I’m a girl. But then it hit me. The light bulb turned on. It is true that they say we will do anything to be healthy except…
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I Love My Body – Heart
[Guest Post by Sundi Jo] – The heart is something we obviously can’t live without. When it stops beating, so do we. But how often do we really live, even though our heart is pumping life into us? There was a time in my life that yes, I was breathing. My heart was beating. Blood was running through my veins. But there was no life in me. I was simply surviving. I used food to build walls around my heart. For each wall that was built, the harder my heart became. Calloused. Stiff. I was a 330 lb., little girl living inside the body of a 25-year old woman. I…
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I Love My Body – Unique Beauty
[Guest Post by Melissa Thomas] – When I was 4, I knew I wanted to grow up to be a ballerina. They have such a unique beauty. I used to dance in my parents living room. I would play Tchikovsky’s “The Nutcracker,” and “Swan Lake,” and dream of being on stage with a giant tutu. I took dance lessons and learned how to twirl around, point my toes and stand in second position. When I was 11, I had my first seizure. I was waking up, getting ready to go with my family to breakfast. My dog jumped on my bed, excited to see me and greet me. I got…
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I Love My Body – Compared To Yours
[Guest Post by Amber] – I’m just going to come out and say it–I love my body–no matter what yours looks like. It took me many years to stop playing games. You know–the comparison game? I once was a: cheerleader, softball player, National Honor Society, top 5 percent of class, homecoming princess, voted most spirited, and the prom queen runner-up. All of these phrases described me in high school. Sounds pretty stellar on the surface, right? Except that I was: lonely, insecure, tired, disappointed, and scared. Those are words that also described me in high school, despite the fact they were less noticeable. Sure, I had lots of friends and…
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I Love My Face
[Guest Post by Songine’ Clark] – I love my face. Yeah, I said it. I love my brown eyes, I love my big nose, I love my round lips, I love my small ears, and I love my brown skin. There was a time when I definitely could not say those things confidently though. I remember back in high school growing up and going through those lovely body changes. I developed pretty early, so I guess my body decided to just let acne run rampant during my middle and high school years. I tried it all to make the acne disappear, but nothing worked. It did suck going through those…
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I Love My Body – Fat Girls
I once thought I had this really great idea for one of my next books. I wanted to call it: For All The Fat Girls: Who Never Thought Their Dreams Could Come True. Whew. Long title. It took me even longer to realize it was kind-of-offensive. Whoops. Maybe that’s because I was used to carrying around the label that: I Was Fat. One thing I know: labels might lie, but clothing labels sure don’t! Just try putting on a size 9 when you’re a ballooned sized 24. Yep. That was me in high school. Last week, I mentioned in more detail about my health issues related to eczema, and how…
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I Love My Body – Stretch Marks
[Guest Post by Alice Sullivan] – Because of my stretch marks, I have struggled with body image for as long as I can remember. I started puberty early, had a woman’s figure by the age of twelve, and never felt comfortable in my own skin. I was always active with sports, but by the 8th grade, my soccer coach pulled me aside during a practice and said I was putting on too much weight. I might have weighed 150. At 5’4” I wasn’t rail thin, but I wasn’t that heavy. Still, I knew I needed to lose weight or I would get benched. So at age 13, I dieted for…
