physically speaking, not such a happy new year

I can't believe we're heading into the third week of the new year already! Where does the time go? There never seems to be enough time in the day/week/month to get everything done, yet somehow it passes like a blink of the eye.

Now if you asked me "where does the fat go?" I could tell you exactly where. Right around my middle. Ugh! As I mentioned in November I have a muffin top; one that's increased since then due to my not doing a damned thing about it. Part of it is the time factor, but basically the most of it's been falling back into some bad habits I thought I'd broken and sheer laziness.

I realized the other day after eating out 3 times in one week (3 times more than I've done in a single week in a long, long time) that not only were the eating out food choices I'd made very poor, but my at home eating has plummeted to an all time low. When you can't remember the last time you ate a vegetable, not counting the salsa (if you can even count that) on your chips or the single slice of lettuce and tomato on your roast beef sandwich, you've been making very poor food choices. Yup, that sums it up for me! I'm spiraling into the carb overload mode and my body is feeling it in more ways then one.

First there's the waistline, or to be more accurate the "disappearing" waistline. Second, the interrupted sleep pattern. And third, the complete lack of energy. The crazy thing about all of this is the scale doesn't show any change. I always fluctuate 2-4 lbs. whether I'm strictly watching myself or not. And this is the time of the year when all of these things occur - post holiday - so on the surface it seems normal.

But it isn't. Believe me when I tell you after working hard to lose the 40 lbs. I've lost I know this is my "wake up call" to do something about it. Which circles me back to the time and laziness factors. Grrr! Why is it always the neverending boom-a-rang cycle that kills us?

As I pointed out this morning, Liss has started trying out healthier menu planning for the week and, being that she loves to cook, is trying out some really yummy sounding recipes that she was willing to share. I want to try this out as well though might not use all of her recipes with having to feed the little man too, but it's a good start. But I also know what I really need to do, and the thought of it frustrates me. I honestly need to GET OFF MY ASS and get doing something. This stupid climate we live in really makes it hard to get outside most days (except for days like today when I should have taken the opportunity while it was there but chose to park it and watch football all freakin' day) so that leaves me either joining a gym (yeah, fat chance - no pun intended - of that happening with my tight budget and limited time) or finding something at home that will get me moving again.

So help a girl out. What sort of activities have you found that work? And, maybe even more important, how do you incorporate them into your schedules and actually stick with them?

Do You Know the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man, the Muffin Man...

*Low-fat brownie points if you know the reference in the title.

A couple of years ago I watched the movie Match Point. I'd picked it up on a whim one weekend when the kiddo was gone to his father's. It's a Woody Allen film - a director I don't usually necessarily get or care much for - about a young, male tennis pro who's at a crossroad in life and looking for change. The movie stars Scarlett Johansson, an actress I really didn't know much about at the time but came to find out is one of the hotties the males of our species ogle. Apparently she's got the "best boobs in Hollywood". Do you know what else she has? A muffin top.

At the time I was watching Match Point I might have heard the term "muffin top" only once or twice, yet during the one hot, sexy scene in the movie as her shirt moved up from the waistband of her pants, her muffin top was exposed. For the first time ever I sat there looking at an actress adored by millions and thinking to myself "Wow, I guess we don't all have to be rail thin to be attractive."

Now don't get me wrong here, I'm certainly no Scarlett Johansson. Not by any stretch of the imagination. But it was comforting for a moment seeing a very beautiful, talented woman who not only had but was showing some curves. It sickens me how skewed the view of the perfect body shape is. Take for example Courtney Yates, the sickeningly anorexic looking contestant on Survivor China. This girl is wicked thin. And you can't tell me it's all from playing the game. She was a rail when the show first started and is simply wasting away to nothing. Her co-contestant Frosti thought it was "really cool that somebody like Courtney" would like him. Gah!

So now that I've rambled on about actresses and reality teevee show contestants, you're probably wondering what in the hell this has to do with anything related to this blog. Well, I'll tell you. I have a muffin top. I've also got big boobs, but that doesn't balance it out I'm afraid. And then there's my not exactly toned up abdomen that really bugs me, but that's a subject for another day.

Back to my muffin top. It really bugs me. And heading into the heart attack on a plate feeding frenzy we like to call the "holiday season", I'm trying to figure out how to keep my already rolling muffin top from expanding any further. When I reach for a muffin - a real one, from the bakery case - the top's the best part. But this one I'm carrying around my middle... it's got to go!

Not sure how to go about getting rid of it, but that's what's on my mind right now.

Any suggestions?

Slackers-R-Us (Really Just Me!)

I started this blog in February and only posted a few things through the beginning of April. Then I stopped. Why? Because I'm a big, fat slacker. That's right, slacker.

Can you spell slacker? S-L-A-C-K-E-R. There, I knew ya could!

The original intent of this blog was to track my journey to a better, healthier me through diet, exercise, and overall self awareness. Having accomplished none of these things in the past 6 months I seriously considered just scrapping this site alltogether. Until I started reading about the changes Kevin is trying to incorporate back into his life, that is. And then, of course because that's just how she does things, Hilly had to go and work up yet another blog for me to read about her self journey.

Well, with all this peer pressure, there was just no way I could close the doors and not play along. You see - I am not just a slacker, I'm a follower as well - and I succumb to peer pressure at the drop of a hat.

So, with that in mind, because obviously having to post on my other blog every day during the month of November isn't enough to think about, I am relaunching Girl Redefined. Let's see how it goes this time, eh?