You look pretty. You're thinking about maybe eating a salad this week. Hence, you are ready for...

Day Four

Shut up and stop worrying.

This is mainly for me, but since you're here, you get to hear it too. A few extra pounds do not a crisis make. Unless it's seriously affecting your health. (In which case, get thee to a doctor.) Otherwise, aside from developing good habits, you have better things to do with your time than obsess about the donut. Like knitting animatronic weasels or catching up on back issues of Boy's Life.

In the end, a few extra pounds registers absolute zero on the This Matters scale. It's far more important that you enjoy yourself. So go do something that makes you happy. Hedge: that doesn't mean stuff your gullet with 16 deep fried twinkies. I was thinking more along the lines of reading a good book with some tea or watching your favorite movie.

Go ahead. I'll wait.

Labels: fitting into the skinny jeans, holiday

Thanksgiving is over, my friends. Has been for nearly a week. Time to quit stalling and get off the couch. I hate that part of getting in shape, the one that requires getting off the couch. I walked to work today, I went to a dance class yesterday - probably burning off about three bites of pecan pie in the process. I am unfazed. An object in motion stays in motion, just as an object in sloth stays on the couch, happily watching reruns and burping Cheetos.

Sorry. The Cheetos burping may have been unnecessary.

Day Three

Get off the couch. Which I guess means you need to read this on the treadmill. (Or on the bus. I've never personally been on a treadmill so recommending it to you would make me a dirty hypocrite.)

Mireille Guiliano's French Women Don't Get Fat has practical eating advice that includes chocolate. What more could you want from a diet book? French Women for all Seasons promises similar advice for the upcoming Season o' Gluttony.


Confession: This review officially sucks because I haven't actually read the book yet. It's sitting on my night stand, but I suspect that doesn't count. At least not in the world of legitimate journalism. Luckily, I never claimed to be a legitimate journalist. Instead, I will flip through the book and share my findings.

Main holiday advice from Madame Guiliano: think about everything you put into your mouth. Take walks. Also, eat oysters.

If you're like me, you need something solid to launch you out of glutton mode. By solid, I don't mean fruitcake. December means parties, and parties mean fitting into those party dresses. Staying healthy and keeping your mitts off all the holiday crap people bring into work is mostly about being in the right frame of mind. This book can you get there. (Maybe reread a few chapters toward the end of December, when the real feasting begins. It will help, trust me.)

So take a gander at this book and then take a walk. Nothing long, don't climb any mountains, but get yourself into the forward moving frame of mind. Oh, how you will feel better. Just by getting those little legs moving. Move, legs! Move!

[Avail yourselves of Days 1 and 2 here. Oh, and here.]

Labels: book tips, fitting into the skinny jeans, holiday

When a bowl of inconveniently placed Halloween candy resurrects that loathsome holiday in your oh-so-prone-to-temptation psyche, don't let a few slips (say, 7 mini baby ruths and 5 mini butterfingers) push you into dropping your efforts all together. Nor should you tell yourself, "Not to worry, self. We'll just walk up stairs to burn the calories - for an hour and a half." You know you won't do it, and you'll just be discouraged.

In the face of minor setbacks, simply put yourself back in the game as soon as possible. Spend a little extra time on the stairs and then recommit yourself to the smaller portions and one cookie instead of, say, 17.

(Refresh your memory with tips 1 and 2 here.)

Tip 3: Drink water

Drink water like it contains extra IQ points, the key to world peace, and a pair of red patent Manolos. Seriously. Lots of water will freshen your skin, ease your hangovers, and help keep the pounds off.

Tip 3: Invest in a good Pilates or Yoga DVD

I recommend this one and this one. I use this one most often, as it's a quick 15 minute work-out that even the most dedicated slug-a-bed (me) can do before work in the morning. Starting out the morning with a short workout (key word being "short") will get you in the right frame of mind to drink the water, watch the cookies, and fit into those damnable skinny jeans that don't seem to be going away.

Labels: fitting into the skinny jeans

I'd be willing to bet you know exactly which weight works best for you. The one where you slide gracefully into your favorite little skirts, but don't have concerned relatives plying you with deep fried turkey and whispering behind their hands to other great aunts, "Do you think she eats?" We all have that magic number. If you're already there, brava. If not, allow me to share what I'm currently trying. It's not a diet. I don't do "diet." I don't do anything that will attempt to wrest the chocolate chip cookie from my hand.

I feel best at about 130 pounds. I'm 5'6 or 5'7 (I haven't stood against a wall with a measuring tape in a really long time) and that's the weight where I don't have to stare suspiciously at my reflection in store windows as I pass, convinced that my butt is following me at a distance of three feet. I'm currently floating about 5 (fine, 7) pounds above that. There were several weeks (fine, months) where I was eating whatever I wanted. While enjoyable in the bacon sense, it wasn't the healthiest plan.

Tip 1: Write it Down

This week I've recorded everything I eat into an online food diary. It doesn't tally up the calories but, frankly, I just don't want to know. I think that it's better not to become obsessed with calories anyway. Recording intake is a good tool to help you be conscious of what you eat and make that consciousness a habit, so you can then forget the whole thing. (While still actually doing it. Brilliant, no?) Entering everything I eat has certainly made me less liable to shovel pounds of mini snickers bars into my gaping maw. I've been eating more fruits and vegetables, smaller portions and fewer sweets. I feel better - I have more energy without the bogged down crankiness of eating 67 starbursts in two hours. (Not that I've ever done that. Ahem.)

Here's what I'm using, if you want to give it a whirl: My Calorie Counter. It has a few minor annoyances, but it's free. I have more time than I have money, so I'm happy to spend my plentiful time searching for things like actual-real-from-the-cow cheese in the neverending lists of Kraft singles and Cheez Wiz.

P.S. If the food lists in this thing are any judge, it's amazing the junk people put in their systems. Bonus tip: Don't eat junk. At least not regularly. (We all need a Reese's cup every now and then.)

Tip 2: Move your Butt (a little)

My other small change for the week is to take the stairs to the bathroom instead of using the one on my floor. In case you were interested, the second floor smells like evergreen, the third floor smells like candles, the fourth floor smells like fresh blueberry muffins. Guess which floor is my favorite? (Hint: you can't eat candles.) Stairs, even just a few flights, burn an amazing number of calories. Calories that translate into another small piece of chocolate cake you can eat without it ending up on your thighs.

Bonus: Moving around on a regular basis gets the blood flowing and wakes you up, very helpful if you're a desk monkey.

Small incremental changes will make an enormous difference to your weight, because you can sustain them once they're habuitual. It's amazing how those little things add up. Little things like 67 starbursts. Luckily, it also works the other way.

[Disclaimer: Most of what I'm trying came from the popular and highly useful book French Women Don't Get Fat. I encourage you to check it out.]

[Disclaimer 2: Please excuse the lack of red shoes in this post. Or really anything shopping or fashion related. Which, yes, defeats the whole purpose of a shopping/fashion blog. I'm trying something new. Namely, not spending money. My lack of self control requires desperate measures in these desperate Must Save Some Money Before I'm Smartly Dressed But Living In a Shoebox On Market Street times.]

Labels: fitting into the skinny jeans