OLDER, WISER, HEAVIER??

A group of girls had decided to all get together for dinner and drinks on a Saturday night and we made plans to try a new and trendy restaurant in town.  As is typical with my fashionista gal pals, one checked in with me via text to find out what outfit I planned on showcasing that evening.  My response:  "I will be wearing all black as I am mourning the death of my metabolism."

My entire young adult life my weight has fluctuated between 123-128 lbs.  A healthy weight for a moderately active female of about 5'5".  At some point during the last 6 months my metabolism decided to let off the accelerator and without any real changes in diet or exercise I found myself weighing in at 135 lbs.  I have never been that weight in my entire life and not a single pair of pants would fit.  I don't remember much of a gradual change, I simply remember the day that my favorite pair of skinny black jeans could no longer be pulled over my legs and the scale registered a weight I had never seen.  I was on the verge of a full blown emotional breakdown fueled by my plummeting self esteem.

I have spent the last 3 months battling these extra 10 lbs that have mostly taken residency on my ass and thighs.  I began addressing this issue by trying to watch what I ate and complaining about it to friends and loved ones.  The typical response was to empathize, feed me the compliment that I was fishing for, and then shrug and change the subject.  

That is, until I turned to my younger sister who happily fills out her jeans with a rounder butt than the average magazine cover model.  She found an image on Pinterest with a quote and showed it to me:  "The only thing keeping you from achieving your ideal weight is YOU".  It was a wakeup call. 

I really never paid much attention to my lifestyle as a young female constantly 'on the go' because my health seemed to be on autopilot.  I enjoy salads as much as pasta, I feel no guilt indulging in cheese and wine, and every now and then I go to yoga or on a walk for exercise.  I'm quickly approaching 30, my body is changing, and the reading on the scale quickly called my attention to the notion of consciously living a healthy lifestyle. 

Body image issues are rampant in females and I am in no way supporting the notion that we all need to be a Size 2 in order to feel beautiful.  However, I do believe that we feel most beautiful simply when we feel our best.  For me, that means drinking more water, exercising more regularly, reaching for sugary sweets less often, and trying to substitute a heavy lunch with a power juice at least once a week.  I am consciously striving to be healthy while still allowing myself the (less) occasional indulgence in pasta or wine and cheese nights. 

The result?  I now weigh in at 132 lbs, dating someone new who compliments me frequently on my personality and character, and wearing dresses to play up my femininity when I don't feel like facing the pinch of my jeans from my early 20's.  It's a work in progress, but not a bad start!  I encourage you to make healthy lifestyle decisions about diet and exercise so that the smile in your eyes is reflective of how good you feel inside and out.