Think yourself thin?

I come to you today with a brownie in hand to enlighten you on my perspective of America's overweight/obesity epidemic. (Yes, the brownie is all part of my plan.) I kid you not, all of the following scenarios have happened to me today and I've only been awake for about five hours-

1. On an online forum I participate in, one witty, intelligent, sweet young lady posted a thread called something like 'show me your tummys!'


2. I am in the habit of reading Psychology Today pretty religiously and I woke up to this topic this morning.


3. I'm currently tuned into Project Runway that is known for tall, slender, gorgeous models working with fashion designers.


4. I thought about all the media I've been bombarded with in regards to body image in just the last few hours so I go to the kitchen, pour a glass of milk, and grab a brownie to satisfy me while I step up on a bloggy soapbox.

What? I do have a reason for this brownie!

Do you see the problem here? America has become obsessed with all things diet, exercise, and healthy living but the problem is we don't actually follow through with all of it. We research it, decide 'that would totally work', and then we go get a brownie while we "plan" on changing our behaviors.

See, I'm only eating to prove a point ;)

Additionally, I realized I was very much a part of this thinking problem when I became annoyed that the Olympics meant that I couldn't watch Biggest Loser. What do ya mean- I should be excited about the Olympics?! hehe What does that say about our country that I would rather watch people try to lose weight than tune into see the world's greatest athletes?  Gah, I'm terrible.

Anyway...

Unfortunately, we can't think ourselves to thinness or health. We CAN, however, think our way to happiness. My mother has told me that my entire life and I'm pretty sure she's on to something! I think the two should be able to entertwine. Lord knows, I'm no advocate for healthy living, but I do know how to make myself happy.

Example number one-



But I also value feeling good about myself physically so when I start to not like what's staring back at me in the mirror, I try to do something about it. I think it's about that time again. Don't get me wrong, I've embraced my body but I would love to have that "in-shape" feeling again. You know what I'm talking about- I want to feel like I could take on anything, that I'm prepared for a summer in Alaska with my Army Ranger. I can barely keep up right now.

So here's my pledge. It's P90x time again! I'm going to Walmart this weekend, buying a video cable, and then I'm tackling that program again. The brownies are gone so there's no excuse now. Who is with me?