Back in skinny jeans

Better Than Nothin': 16 Quick Ways To Love Your Body

Tuesday is the day of the week we give you a high-five for taking any small action or step towards your health goals. Choosing to drink one less soda or do cardio just 5 minutes more than your usual, is better than doing zero.

Every small choice we make adds up over time. Plus, those baby changes are more likely to stick in the long term because they are doable and the work required won't trigger any of your fears or that pesky Inner Resistance Monster of yours.

This month, I am one of the featured bloggers in Glamour.com's "16 Ways to Love Your Body." I'm #5 on the list amongst some other healthy living, fitness, and body image bloggers you all know and love.

Each of the 16 ways are nice little tidbits, a 3 sentence paragraph from topics like becoming your body's BFF, stopping the comparisons, and stepping off the scale, my two cents. In order to have the healthier life we want, we have to first start with the relationship we have with our bodies.

In a quick sentence, what is one way you learned to love your body?

Another Kind of Cleanse: The Media Fast

There was a time when I used to subscribe to almost all the women's magazines covering fashion, fitness, and home stuff. I also regularly read all the celeb pubs like People, US, Star, and The Enquirer, for the pictures, of course. I'd also watch TV programs that dealt with fashion and lifestyles of the rich and famous. It dawned on me that consuming all that media kept me in the fashion and trends loop, but afterward it also made me feel inadequate and not pretty enough.

Moderation is fine, but when you read over half a dozen mags and watch countless TV shows all the time, you are bombarding your psyche with tons of messages from all those media outlets. As far as the magazines go, there is always an article about how to lose 10 lbs quickly, how to disguise your figure flaws, how to make "him" love you, and how to make yourself over.

Then, couple the beauty rags with the celeb rags, and you see what glamorous life you "don't" have, and wish you could experience. If you had the chance to walk down the red carpet, wouldn't you take it? Admittedly, I'd be all over it. Glamour can be intoxicating.

So, if you do find that you inundate yourself with all kinds of magazines, shows, and even blogs and websites, try a media fast for a few days, a week or up to a month to detox yourself from all those messages about what you should look like, what you could look like, or what our youth perfection media culture says you should look like. Ease into the media fast instead of going cold turkey. Start by cutting your media fix by 1/3 of what you normally consume. Do that for a few days, then cut another 1/3 and so on.

Do some journaling. At the end of your media fast, summarize how you feel. I bet you will notice a difference in how you feel about yourself for the better.

There was a time when I used to subscribe to almost all the women's magazines covering fashion, fitness, and home stuff. I also regularly read all the celeb pubs like People, US, Star, and The Enquirer, for the pictures, of course. I'd also watch TV programs that dealt with fashion and lifestyles of the rich and famous. It dawned on me that consuming all that media kept me in the fashion and trends loop, but afterward it also made me feel inadequate and not pretty enough.

Moderation is fine, but when you read over half a dozen mags and watch countless TV shows all the time, you are bombarding your psyche with tons of messages from all those media outlets. As far as the magazines go, there is always an article about how to lose 10 lbs quickly, how to disguise your figure flaws, how to make "him" love you, and how to make yourself over.

Then, couple the beauty rags with the celeb rags, and you see what glamorous life you "don't" have, and wish you could experience. If you had the chance to walk down the red carpet, wouldn't you take it? Admittedly, I'd be all over it. Glamour can be intoxicating.

So, if you do find that you inundate yourself with all kinds of magazines, shows, and even blogs and websites, try a media fast for a few days, a week or up to a month to detox yourself from all those messages about what you should look like, what you could look like, or what our youth perfection media culture says you should look like. Ease into the media fast instead of going cold turkey. Start by cutting your media fix by 1/3 of what you normally consume. Do that for a few days, then cut another 1/3 and so on.

Do some journaling. At the end of your media fast, summarize how you feel. I bet you will notice a difference in how you feel about yourself for the better.

Struggling With Your Work?

One of my mentors told me that struggle is the universe's way of telling you that you are barking up the wrong tree. She told me to look at struggle as a good thing because it is guiding you to the fact that there is another path, plan, or attitude that will get you to your goals and dreams with more ease.

Here's an example of career struggle that eventually led to fame and fortune. Lucille Ball had a dream to be an entertainer. She began her career in modeling which led to a stint on Broadway. She'd land parts, but would soon get fired from each one. Moving on from theater, Lucille went to Hollywood to be a movie star. She landed movies parts but soon became the Queen of B movies, a position that was not for her.

Everything changed when Lucille met Desi Arnaz. He told her that drama wasn't her suit but rather comedy. Lucille got hired for a comedy radio show which became a hit. CBS then wanted to turn the radio program into a TV show. Lucille would only do it if they hired Desi to play her TV husband. CBS said no because they thought viewers would not be interested in watching a bi-racial couple. Determined, Lucille and Desi took their act on a vaudeville tour where it became a hit. CBS then reconsidered and "I Love Lucy" went on to become one of the most beloved shows in TV history.

If you're struggling in your career right now, and not getting any where but frustrated, perhaps it's time to look at going down another path or creating another plan of action. If what you are currently doing really was the best course, you would be moving in a direction of flow and least resistance. Get your creative juices going. Your dream is yours to have. It just may be a different picture than you imagined.

NSFW but Okay For a Beauty Mag. This Is What 43 Looks LIke When...

...you're rich and a former supermodel whose job is to continually look like the genetically blessed which like, um, 95% of us could never attain even with some good old photoshopping. Even Cindy here has got photochopping action going on amongst all that froth.

This is Cindy Crawford in the April issue of Allure, the book of make believe issue. Yeah, that's what I'm calling it because seriously this is fairy tale hocus pocus. Yeah, the lifestyle mogul, 43-year-old mother of two looks hot, but really Allure, you expect us to believe that this is reality, using some creams and microdermabrasion is going to help any of us look like lather queen over here when we're 43.

And this woman is not just some everyday woman, she's Cindy Crawford one of the most celebrated supermodels of like ALL time. Ever.

Okay, time to take the red pill and get back to the Matrix.

Better Than Nothin': Eliminate Just 10 grams

High five people to all of you who are making even the most minuscule of actions and steps in the direction of your health goal. Tuesdays here at BISJ are all about celebrating the small stuff because all these teensy actions do add up over time.

You won't get results lickety split, but you will get changes that have a much higher chance of lasting long term because you did them gradually without shocking your system, namely your Inner Resistance Monster.

This week, take two days, and one day eliminate just 10 grams of sugar, and the second day eliminate just 10 grams of fat preferably a saturated or trans fat. MUFAs like in avocado, nuts, and fish are good, you want to keep eating those fats.

For example, one packet of Sugar in the Raw, you know those brown packets of sugar at Starbucks, is 5g of sugar. So, if you normally use 3 packets of that Sugar in the Raw, use only one packet, and boom, you've trimmed 10g of sugar.

By starting off eliminating just 10g of sugar and fat, you're making a step albeit small that is better for your health and will lead you to cutting out more sugar and fat from your normal diet (way of eating), again in a way that is slowly and that doesn't trigger your deprivation mechanisms.

Quote on Plan B

You Can't Go Back and Start Over, But....

...you can start today, right now, and create a new ending. I just love this quote. It got me thinking about the past, and how we can let wounds, mistakes, and regrets keep us stuck or immobilized in fear in our present. Many of those wounds from the past are often times the root of why we self sabotage, give up or over indulge in things like food, shopping, sex, alcohol, and drugs.

Those pains from the past are very real, and they can live a lifetime, and you can feel like you'll never be the same again or that you're damaged beyond repair. And you have every right to feel those things. We all have the right to be angry, mourn, and be sad or depressed about injustices that happened to us. We should give ourselves time to grieve and heal.

But then at some time, it's time to let go and move forward. There is no perfect time, and it doesn't have to be graceful, smooth, or well planned out. We just need to move, take a baby step foward. We need to pull our ship out of the harbor and head toward our destination. We can always course correct later. The point is, we're in the sea moving in our journey. At some point, we have to face why we continue to feed our pain and fears because really it only serves to keep us from the life we really want.

I like to believe that the universe has a much bigger plan that I cannot see...yet. And perhaps those things that happened to me were just possibly the catalyst for me to become more evolved, more loving, and more forgiving. 

I find comfort in the story of the caterpillar who at one point has to die, live in a cocoon, and then re-emerge into the world as a butterfly. The caterpillar had to experience great pain and suffering and loss, was kept hidden from the world for awhile, but now can fly high and beautiful. I like to believe that one day I'll have my butterfly moment.

We can't ever go back and start again, but we have today. It won't be easy. It won't be a cake walk, but it's a new possibility. It's something to believe in and never give up hope on. We can decide right now and take steps at this very moment even tiny ones to create our new ending, the ending where our dreams and goals are waiting for us:) So, what are you waiting for?

Enter to Win a Starbucks Gift Card for a Breakfast Pairing

Yummy, Reduced-Fat Turkey Bacon Breakfast Sandwich.

Over at Noshtopia, you can read about the six breakfast pairings Starbucks is now offering, and drool over some more sandwich pictures. At the end of the post, you can enter to win one of three Starbucks gift cards to try one of these breakfast pairings. So, mosey on over to Noshtopia.

Original Story: Dropped 80 Pounds and Featured in Self

Remember how I clapped like a proud big sister when BISJ reader Meghan Clifford was featured in February's Self magazine about how 5 Self readers came to find body bliss through attitude adjustment and self-appreciation? Only a small snippet of Meghan's story was shown in Self, but today, you'll get to see the original story Meghan submitted. It's very inspiring, and again high-five to Meghan!

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If you see a woman running through the streets of with a huge smile on her face, it may just be me. I'm not smiling because of something amusing on my ipod but rather out of pure joy. The simple act of lacing up my sneakers and running fills me with such gratitude at what the human body can do. About what MY body can do.
 
Over the past 3 years I have lost over 80 pounds and it wasn't until only recently that I have really been able to process what it was like to grow up overweight. The idea that I could fit into a size 12 let alone run a 10K still amazes me.

I'll never forget lining up for my first race, nervous but excited, loving the feeling of being part of something bigger than myself. When the horn went off to start the race I had tears in my eyes. I was no longer the heavy girl in grade school praying I wouldn't be picked last for kickball. I was an athlete. It was then that the magnitude of it all really hit me.
 
There were some lonely moments on that first run, stretches of the route I had to walk, and times when I wasn't sure if what I was feeling was runner's high or an impending heart attack. But what kept me going was the voice in my head that kept saying, 'You are in a 10K! YOU!' It didn't matter to me if I finished last; I was just so grateful and happy to be in it at all.

I lost the weight the old fashioned way, by eating healthy food and exercising regularly. I took my time because I knew a quick fix wasn't going to work for me.

Watching my body and most importantly, my relationship with my body change over the past 3 years has been an amazing journey. I can't say I ever actively hated my body when I was heavy, I just chose to ignore it. It was as if I didn't acknowledge I was fat, then maybe no one else would notice.

Now I can honestly say that I am happy I had to go through the first 30 years of my life heavy, because I will never take what I have now for granted. We are blessed with these amazing bodies, and I plan on celebrating that with every run I go on.

Beauty Where You Least Expect It: Excel...Yeah, the Spreadsheet

For a brief moment, I worked at Microsoft, and while I was there I worked with Ani Babaian. I remember fondly having no clue what .NET was or how it worked, and Ani explained the whole thing to me using, wait for it....a makeup metaphor. Yes, makeup!

So, if Ani can explain a complex software thing like .NET and get a geek noob like me to see the light, just imagine how fun and clear she can make Excel sound. To help girls (and us big girls) get more comfy in the techie subjects, Ani has written a book called, "The IT Girl's Guide to Becoming an Excel Diva." Nice part about the book, Ani is donating 50% of the proceeds to the Girl's Scouts of America for a special program which she shares later in our interview.

Ani is going to share with us some very interesting tidbits about Excel like tips on what you can do with Excel for non-work related things like I used Excel to track my 25lb. weight loss journey, and for you bloggers, did you know Excel has a plug-in to help you with SEO and your keywords? Oh yeah! So, let's jump right in.

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Steph: So Ani, you have done something that I think is absolutely phenomenal. You wrote a book that makes Excel actually interesting. I didn't fall asleep once or get that deer in headlights look. Who knew spreadsheets could be chic and intriguing. But why do a "girl's guide" to Excel? Some people might interpret that as saying that girls just don't "get it" so they need their own book. Why isn't something like the Dummies book series fine enough?

Ani: Funny you should mention that Steph, because Wiley, Inc. the publishing company also created the Dummies series. When I spoke with Katie at Wiley at TechEd many years ago about this idea, it was all about creating something that women/girls could relate to and use as a reference every day.

A book that was not big and heavy, a color that was pleasing, Do It Herself step by steps that would apply to their everyday life, would be fun and would teach many things at the same time. A book that would take the boring out of tech and put chic back in. Show me a tech book that does all that…

Steph: Why is beautifying the data important? Does the look and feel of a spreadsheet really make that big a difference?

Ani: Imagine how it feels when we go out with our girlfriends, we don’t all just get out of bed and walk out with our PJ’s do we? We spend time to beautify ourselves, put on cloths and jewelry for the occasion. Once we meet up, we notice the little things about the other person and comment about their hair, makeup, shoes, bag, cloths, etc.

In short, how the other person is dressed tells a story about them which we love analyzing, data is very much the same way. So more than just beauty is the meaning of the data, how easy is it on the eye when you see a list of numbers, but when you add colors and graphs, the numbers come alive and tell a story.

Steph: Quickly, what are three really cool things about Excel that most people don't know about but would say "awesome" if they knew.