WEEKLY WELLNESS// how and what and why

to say that laura is a friend i met through blogging seems (and sounds to my ear) false. it's more like... i was destined to meet and know this person and then spend quite a bit of time on long phone calls with her and planning trips and on and on and blogging just happened to provide the introduction.

this is all to say, she's for keeps.

a little while ago, on one of our long phone calls i hold so dear, i suggested that we tag-team a health discussion that have nothing to do with body shape and weight loss and everything to do with what's good for our us--a whole body sort of health.

so laura and i came up with twelve ideas--one a week--of things we want to try. it's a grand experiment! a sort of try this, how does it feel? how does it affect us? game, if you will.

the first week is basic: water. more water.

start with today. have an extra glass. resolve to have one less diet coke. one less lemonade. buy yourself a soda water instead, squeeze in some fresh lemon.

i do need to say, that for me, it's not just about the twelve experiments, it's really about thirteen.

the one small thing i want to do for each of the next twelve weeks in addition to whatever that week's challenge is is this: cut out fat-talk.

what is fat-talk? i feel fat today. oh, i'm so bloated. you look thin, have you lost weight? oh, i'm such a cow. i wish i had your legs. i can't believe how much i just ate. and on and on and on. it's one of those things that once you're tuned into, you realize is everywhere. you do it. i do it. and everyone around us does it. and the thing is, it's incredibly damaging, whether we realize it or not.

{for more information: read this. watch this.}

words are important. how we speak about ourselves is important. i want to accentuate my waist is very different from i have to accentuate my waist. can you see that?

a few months ago i noticed that all of the girls in my closest circle had a hit a body-image wall, all of us struggling. and i began to wonder why we'd hit that wall at the same time. had one person's poor joke about her thighs turned into another's rant about her stomach? had the language we used to belittle our bodies (even in jest) in some way contaminated the people around us? had our ugly thoughts begotten their ugly thoughts? and i have to tell you, yes, i think so.

so for the next three months, i pledge, right here right now, not to engage in fat-talk. i pledge not to confuse self-deprecation with body bashing. i pledge to call people on it when they're doing it. and when i can't do that because i don't know them well enough and it'd be rude i pledge to change the subject, lovingly, or walk away.

and in place of fat-talk i'll discuss the benefits of water. of unplugging my computer before i climb into bed. or giving up television for a week (that's going to be a doozy).

you with me?

i want to see how small changes can add up. how just the simple act of eliminating one bad behavior can transform my life.

it's an experiment, remember?

laura has put together a list for us (and described the whole thing with a bit more clarity on her blog):

we want you to join us. whether it be just for a week. or two or three, we invite you to get in on this. and to let us know what you think. 

alright, off to set down my coffee and pick up a water bottle...