tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-41063791286320998992024-03-05T06:25:15.226-08:00Fun Fit Foodie!Moving to feel good and eating to feel good moving!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.comBlogger42125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-5507855331544719742012-01-02T14:23:00.000-08:002012-01-02T14:48:13.376-08:00Regaining ConfidenceI realized the other day: "Goodness! I've lost my confidence!" It came as a surprise to me. I'd been feeling down, low self-esteem and all, and then I realized, holy moly, I gained weight and now I feel like those 10 pounds are my failure.<br /><br />Granted, this year has been hard. Two of my dear friends died this year.<br /><br />I got sad. I started smoking again. I kept exercising but it was much less than before. Oh, and I became a omnivore again after 10 years of being vegetarian.<br /><br />The good news: I've gotten less colds (yay). I've felt really strong (double yay). I go to yoga twice a week now (triple yay!). I quit smoking. (woo hoo!)<br /><br />And yet, I also gained a size and a half, and it's like the world is ending. Am I incapable of practicing what I preach?<br /><br />Perhaps it is a wake up call that what I preach--moving to feel good and eating to feel good moving--can be overshadowed by self-esteem issues. I guess the question is how do I make what I preach more powerful than self-esteem issues? I'm going to have to ponder on that one!<br /><br />I swore I would never waste a second worrying about my weight or my size and here I am doing exactly that! It's because I'm thinking of working at a gym as a personal trainer. I'm supposed to be fit (and I am at some level) but I'm certainly not without fat.<br /><br />Here it is then. I'm going to do it anyway. I guess that's all you can do about self-esteem. Just do it and ignore all that fear talk and say screw it to any doubters or nay-sayers (even if that naysayer is yourself).<br /><br />Here's to day 1 of not listening to the nay-sayers.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-75467095211519312242010-04-23T14:15:00.000-07:002010-04-23T14:22:00.322-07:00Research for my bookLately I've been really thinking a lot about food, mainly because I'm researching scientific studies for my exercise book I'm eternally writing. And, I've found more and more that we all have so much information, contradictory information to sort through. In the end, we should trust our own instincts, stop shelling out money to advertisers who tell us we look bad, and enjoy food and movement.<br /><br />But I, like so many others, am also very vulnerable to magazine and TV images of what I am trained to consider "perfect". I get all wrapped in it. It takes a while to back my brain down from the "come on, let's just try to lose five pounds or workout harder" ledge.<br /><br />But for me, it's so much more important to work on healthy body image, healthy and fun choices in food and exercise than to have the perfect body. Plus, I feel like I do have a pretty awesome body.<br /><br />Check out this <a href="http://bust.com/blog/2010/04/19/the-conscious-anti-diet.html">article</a> in Bust. It refers to this New York Times <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/18/magazine/18fob-wwln-t.html">article</a>.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-24650280723332427322010-04-15T09:20:00.000-07:002010-04-15T09:50:10.524-07:00Good Meaning People Create Much HarmWhen I read articles like this <a href="http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article04091001.aspx">Smart Set Article</a>, I am reminded of my own journey to healthy eating, how even in these blogs, you can see that I struggle to resist trying to be that ideal female form and exercise not out of fear of becoming fat (cuz fat isn't something to fear), but out of a genuine need and love to move. <br /><br />I am also reminded, in my years-long journey, of the mistakes I've made. I was so self-righteous sometimes. A few years ago, I talked obsessively with one friend who was a recovered anorexic about this new counting-caloriees spreadsheet I had made. The poor girl was getting so sucked in to my diet mania that she had stop meeting with me. I had no idea that my mania would end, like every diet ends, and in a month or two I'd no longer tout the amazing qualities of my calorie-counting plan. I was hurting her by trying to convince that my diet was so good.<br /><br />I also remember talking about being fat in front of my good friend who is larger than I am. She turned to me and said, "if you think you're fat, then what am I?".....Uhhh, awesome? Ooops.<br /><br />Another friend was complaining about her weight. I had made significant changes in my life, and I wanted her to make them, too. So I just said what you're not supposed to say. "If you want to lose weight, go to the gym and exercise. Eat better. Do something!" That was when our friendship fell apart. We haven't been the same since. And what good did my advice do? She'd already heard that advice from every weight-loss expert around. Wouldn't it have been great if I'd said, genuinely, "Why would you want to lose weight? You're incredibly beautiful, sexy, and sensual in the body you have now. Besides, you think a smaller body can possibly house all the incredible gifts you have to offer?"<br /><br />But it's hard to communicate about fat. It's a taboo subject. I don't think it should be.<br /><br />My friends are still on diets, Weight Watchers and South Beach. But unlike my self-righteous days, I was quiet, and tried to only talk about the parts of the diets that I agreed with--cooking good, wholesome food and sharing it with friends, and exercising.<br /><br />I just hope that the diet doesn't damage their self-esteem because anytime I fell off the wagon during my diet days, I felt shitty about myself, like I had failed.<br /><br />I never want my friends to feel that way, especially since they have such kickin' bodies.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.thesmartset.com/article/article04091001.aspx"></a>Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-82831356208631896582010-03-24T08:40:00.000-07:002010-03-24T08:43:13.287-07:00Healthy Choices at SchoolsI also read this <a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/03/a_north_portland_school_battle.html">article</a> from the Oregonian which I thought offered a very healthful approach of encouraging healthy habits by offering buffet-style fruit carts and walking buses. They also offered cooking classes for parents and kids. This to me is the best way--instead of saying "no" to junk food, give them other options.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-61736130565721832862010-03-24T08:27:00.001-07:002010-03-24T08:33:53.373-07:00Overweight...I recently read this <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/news/ci_14743446?source=email">article</a> from the San Jose Mercury News about a new study requiring an hour of exercise for women as they get older to maintain a healthy weight. What got me is that they didn't say one word about the risks of being overweight. I'm not sure it's even a risk. I read one book that found several studies saying that women in the overweight category of BMI actually lived longer than their normal counterparts. So what's the big deal?<br /><br />The one redeeming aspect of this article were two small sections at the end:<br /><br />"Still, Lee emphasized that the benefits of exercise extend beyond what you see in the mirror, helping keep the heart healthy and protecting against chronic disease even if you don't get enough activity to lose weight.<br /><p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">"I think an hour a day is hard, but I think you can do it if it's for your health," said Beth Orso, 45, of San Jose. "As it is, I squeeze in what I can five days a week, and it's certainly not for an hour. I hope to just be active and feel good."</p><p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0in">These two non-weight focused sections follow the FunFitFoodie philosophy. The rest are too focused on weight on for me to be intrigued. What do you think?</p>Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-80728545868993004912010-03-23T11:24:00.000-07:002010-03-23T11:32:20.191-07:00Once a Week Exercising is Not EnoughAfter exercising at least four days a week in Chile--three days biking to the top of cerro san cristobal, two days at the gym (yes I know it's five but normally I miss one of these somehow)--not exercising as much comes with some serious side effects.<br /><br />I went to a three hour dance class/rehearsal last Saturday which was beautiful and fun. But I was sore, sore, sore all week long after. Then this week, I skipped the class but went running and same thing--sore, sore, sore.<br /><br />Plus, my ability to emotionally handle some hard decisions that are coming my way (do I stay in the US or go back to Chile?) seem insurmountable when I haven't exercised. When I have exercised, they seem difficult but not overwhelming (and here's the other thing, walking which used to help doesn't anymore--it's got to be a hard workout!).<br /><br />Why do I take off these weeks from exercising if I KNOW that I emotionally I'm a wreck without exercising?<br /><br />Cuz I'm human. And humans aren't robots. They don't always follow schedules. They don't always do what they're supposed to do.<br /><br />So, I guess my lesson today is to be a human. If you'll feel better exercising, do it. If you won't today, don't. Be human. Don't be a robot.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-12929956352126012382010-02-24T10:16:00.000-08:002010-02-24T10:26:29.556-08:00Fitness Tests for HomeI have to admit, I'm a sucker for health tests. Really, I want statistics to show that I am a healthy individual.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.oregonlive.com/health/index.ssf/2010/02/safe_simple_health_tests_you_c.html">This article on simple health tests you can do at home</a> is really interesting because it reveals the risks of having a poor result for each of the tests. Even though it doesn't offer many solutions if you do get a poor result, I'm going to offer you one big solution: move more. Find an activity you really like to do, and do it more often.<br /><br />You may not be able to change how you look on the outside, but you can change how you feel on the inside.<br /><br />Good luck!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-24641631190885173342010-02-22T13:01:00.000-08:002010-02-22T13:03:51.922-08:00Cerro San CristobalI have recently begun biking up the hill here in Santiago, with a goal of three times a week. Not because I think it's good for me (I do) but because I love it. Somewhere beneath my heavy breathing and pounding heart, after I pass through that threshold of ten minutes of suffering, it feels, how can I say it, if not good, it feels right. It feels like medicine.<br /><br /><a href="http://cathysbigadventure.blogspot.com/2010/02/cerro-san-cristobal.html">Check out</a> what I wrote about it at my other blog.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-20232528691397478832010-02-05T06:32:00.000-08:002010-02-05T06:41:13.842-08:00Vacations--Death to WorkoutsVacations are essential. Essential to your mental health, and I believe physical health, too. If you work fourty hours, or have kids, or are basically alive, you probably aren't getting the amount of sleep you really need. Having vacation to finally sleep in for more than two days in a row can be a livesaver.<br /><br />But...vacation can also interrupt your workout and movement routines. We go on vacation with the best intentions: we'll workout every day, or every other day. But vacations are for relaxing and for getting away from your normal life. Certainly you'll benefit from moving, but since you're taking a break from your normal life, take a break from exercising too...or at least the way you normally exercise.<br /><br />I recently went to the beach for two weeks. I took my exercise mat and foam roller, thinking I would workout every day. I worked out once in two weeks. It just didn't happen.<br /><br />I did take my bike and every day rode for a half hour to an hour--not because I felt I had to, but because I love biking, and my absolutely favorite is biking by the ocean. So I biked because I wanted to, and because it was the most convenient way to get to the little town by the beach where all the cinammon ice cream was.<br /><br />So maybe instead of going on vacation with the best intentions, we should go on vacation with realistic intentions: that we're not going to do what we normally do, but that, when we want to, we'll move our bodies. It certainly beats feeling guilty about something we weren't ever going to do.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-20139940244224804622010-02-01T07:12:00.000-08:002010-02-01T07:14:49.438-08:00Fat Thighs are GoodCheck out this <a href="http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/8451674.stm">article</a>. All fats are not made equal.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-14141868282940458742010-01-16T06:10:00.000-08:002010-01-16T06:17:31.896-08:00Getting Back to the Chispa (spark)Have you ever just felt off-kilter? Like you're going through the motions of your life but you don't feel entirely like yourself?<br /><br />Perhaps it is just the reaction I've had lately. I've been living in Chile for a year and a half now. Lately, it's been hard. The whole thing has been hard, but this is a different kind of a difficulty. I've lost my spark.<br /><br />I've been making up jokes in Spanish to push my mind toward funny things. I also recently went back to a Bikram Yoga class. It helped tremendously. If you're ever feeling down or confused, I highly recommend this type of yoga. It is so engaging that you really can't think about anything else except the present moment. It's hot yoga so be warned--you'll sweat a lot! You might not resolve your problem right away but you'll feel at least calmer about not knowing the solution.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-33854135297057585322010-01-07T06:13:00.000-08:002010-01-07T06:17:41.118-08:00New realization; New YearJust yesterday, after an hour workout, I was stretching and thinking about how exercise continues to change my world. I could be in the worst mood, and after an hour of sweating, I feel fantastic. What was bothering me before doesn't bother me after.<br /><br />And so I thought, if working out changes my perspective to a happy one, why would I not want to be happy as early as possible each day. With this in mind, waking up to go for a run was surprisingly easy today. Before I was working out to relieve stress. But lately my life has very little stress.<br /><br />What better motivation to workout than one's own happiness?<br /><br />Each day, when I feel tired or lazy, I'm going to ask myself a simple question. How early do I want to be happy? If the answer is now, then I'm going to exercise.<br /><br />For a long time now, I've understood that in some way I'm like a child. With a good night's sleep, good food, and movement every day, I'm a happy camper. It's so simple and yet, sometimes, I have trouble fulfilling even these three requirements. If one has the secret to one's own happiness, why, oh, why, don't they do what it takes to be happy?<br /><br />If there's any New Year's resolution I have for this year, it is to fulfill the three simple things on my list to be happy. Every day. Wish me luck!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-74850305903578185212009-12-17T10:38:00.000-08:002009-12-17T10:41:57.386-08:00A Leap in ThoughtMy friend recently made an incredible leap in her thinking about exercise. I hope she continues along this new path. She said to me, "Before my goal was to lose weight and the byproduct of that goal was exercise. Now my goal is to exercise and the biproduct of this goal is increased strength. Losing weight will either happen or not, and it's okay regardless."<br /><br />Go girl!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-47211858332900341702009-12-15T07:48:00.000-08:002009-12-15T07:50:39.363-08:00Inspiration Poems and Quote about FUN and FREEDOM!Great lions can find peace in a cage.<br />But we should only do thatas a last resort.<br />So those bars I see that restrain your wings,<br />I guess you won't mind if I pry them open. --Rumi<br /><br />With passion pray<br />with passion make love<br />with passion eat and drink and dance and play<br />why look like a dead fish<br />in the ocean of God?--Rumi<br /><br />Don't let the fear of the time it will take to accomplish something stand in the way of your doing it. The time will pass anyway. We might just as well put that passing time to the best possible use. --Earl NightengaleCathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-301635979630285072009-11-30T07:59:00.000-08:002009-11-30T08:11:33.646-08:00When a Life is at StakeRecently I was misdiagnosed with a serious disease. Further testing revealed that I am fine and healthy. But between the first test and the second were two serious weeks when I thought I might die early.<br /><br />I want to say that I'll never look at myself in the mirror without thinking of what I could improve, but I have a feeling that years and years of living may diminish the shock that this moment brought me.<br /><br />But for now, I'm just happy to be able to eat a wide variety of foods, foods that due to the original diagnosis I could not eat: cheese, wine, chocolate, espresso, bread, butter, ice cream. These are foods that make me happy. They give my life more dimension. They aren't a necessity of course, but they're nice to have.<br /><br />I am thankful for all parts of me. For having the curves I have. That the body I have is strong. It can lift weights, can lift me, can dance, can make love.<br /><br />When your life is at stake, the body you have has to be strong. It has be healthy. It doesn't have to be a certain size or number or shape. It just has to be vigorous. That's what we should be striving for. A vigorous mind and a vigorous body. Nothing more, nothing less.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-85164873345757677252009-11-30T07:57:00.000-08:002009-11-30T07:59:09.301-08:00Go Operation BeautifulI read this <a href="http://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/most-popular/general/positive-body-image-campaigns.html">article</a> about the strides body diversity is making in the minds of women. It's a start. Now where's my post-its. I'm ready to post a million on the door of every gym!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-78248697382318739402009-11-19T06:39:00.000-08:002009-11-19T06:44:42.429-08:00Passage from A New Earth by Ekhart Tolle"In the West, it is the physical appearance of the body that contributes greatly to the sense of who you think you are: its strength or weakness, its perceived beauty or ugliness relative to others. For many people, their sense of self-worth is intimately bound up with their physical strength, good looks, fitness, and external appearance. Many feel a diminished sense of self-worth because they perceive their body as ugly or imperfect.<br /><br />"In some cases, the mental image or concept of 'my body' is a complete distortion of reality. A young woman may think of herself as overweight and therefore starve herself when in fact she is quite thin. She cannot see her body anymore. All she 'sees' is the mental concept of her body, which says 'I am fat' or 'I will become fat'."<br /><br />p. 49-50Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-24482430906336868732009-11-14T07:02:00.000-08:002009-11-14T07:07:42.405-08:00Personal Training the TrainerMy roommate and I are both interested in being personal trainers so we're going to train each other for the next couple of months. As we were talking about trying to eat healthier to correspond with our healthy exercise routine, she said something that stuck with me. She said, "You have a contract with your body. When you take care of your body, your body takes care of you." It's true. When you give your body good food, your body functions really well--it protects you from illness, you're regular, you're full of energy, you can do the things you want to do, it carries you through life. When you break that contract, it breaks that contract with you, too. When you consistently choose food high in fats, you break that contract. When you don't give your body the veggies and fruits it needs to function at a high level, it doesn't uphold the contract either. You feel tired all the time. You want to sleep instead of run. You want to watch TV. You get more exhausted. Interesting. Just a little thought for today...Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-28762032040990262912009-10-30T07:04:00.001-07:002009-10-30T07:05:06.358-07:00All About GivingChange your life in 29 days with the <a href="http://today.msnbc.msn.com/id/26184891/vp/33478623#33478623">power of giving</a>. Sounds like a nice idea to me.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-72058481673980311102009-10-28T07:18:00.000-07:002009-10-28T07:39:02.183-07:00Really, really cool Web siteI promised myself I'd write at least once a day and when I saw this site, I got really, really excited. For a while, I've been wondering how one goes about boosting up one's self-esteem. It's one thing to say "Love yourself and your body." I get that part. I just didn't really get the "how" part. I've been on a search for the "how" ever since.<br /><br />And in this site, I found some ideas. I especially enjoyed the inner parent meditation (mine gives me hugs).<br /><br /><a href="http://www.bodypositive.com/">Check it out</a>!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-42893295688312776532009-10-27T09:49:00.000-07:002009-10-27T10:00:56.893-07:00Fat-Talk Free Week<a href="http://www.bust.com/blog/2009/10/20/3681.html">One more article</a>, about removing the word "fat" from our conversations with ourselves and others. But here's the interesting thing. <a href="http://funfitfoodie.blogspot.com/2009/05/fighting-for-weight-diversity-interview_13.html">When I spoke with Marilyn Wann about fat</a>, she talked about removing any stigma from the word and of being proud to use it.<br /><br />Here, then, is the opposite approach. Their intentions are good but their approach is incorrect. Just because you don't say that you hate your body doesn't make you stop hating your body. It certainly doesn't make you love it.<br /><br />It would be better, instead of erasing fat from our vocabulary, that we added the phrase "I love my body, including all my fat" to our own internal dialogue, as well as in conversations with everyone else.<br /><br />Perhaps if repeated enough times, we will begin to believe.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-70128033238152451712009-10-27T09:44:00.001-07:002009-10-27T09:47:37.890-07:00"I don't like celery. I like sandwiches."I read a <a href="http://www.mercurynews.com/entertainment/ci_13454627?source=email">review</a> last month in the San Jose Mercury News about the new TV series Drop Dead Diva.<br /><br />My favorite part is the quote from the creator of the show:<br /><br /><span id="mn_Global"><span id="mn_Article">"The show's creator, Josh Berman, said he wanted the series to make a statement about diet, weight and beauty. 'I don't believe it's about willpower,' Berman said in an interview. 'If it were, then the assumption would be that if we all wanted to be a size zero, we could be a size zero. Everyone has different needs and desires. If someone finds a doughnut to be comforting, who are we to judge them?'"<br /><br />Go Josh Berman!<br /></span></span>Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-69798357225430677262009-10-27T09:37:00.000-07:002009-10-27T09:40:47.726-07:00Craving Chocolate? Eat Nuts!I am always interested in the body. I found this chart from Natural Solutions magazine. I'm astounded by the fact that I might be lacking magnesium when I crave chocolate. I'm also astounded that the suggestion of what to eat when I want chocolate is raw nuts and seeds. There is absolutely NO substitution for chocolate.<br /><br /><a href="http://www.naturalsolutionsmag.com/article-display/15328/subTopicID/163/Combat-Your-Food-Cravings">Check it out.</a> Tell me what you think!Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-16863429009899477682009-10-26T10:27:00.000-07:002009-10-26T10:35:56.475-07:00Losing My WayI said I'd be honest in this blog, so here it is. I lost my way. I started thinking all those self-doubts, and they just got bigger than my vision until I could no longer see my way out.<br /><br />I didn't like the pressure of having to eat like a personal trainer, having to have the body of a personal trainer (and it was pressure I created without anyone's help). I started thinking that if I worked as a personal trainer, my colleagues would think I wasn't really qualified.<br /><br />I trained my friends twice and absolutely loved it. And then I broke up with my Chilean boyfriend and lost my way.<br /><br />Now, I'm slowly picking myself up by my bootstraps and starting again. I can do this.<br /><br />There is this quote on "The Secret" I love. A philosopher says, "When the voice and the vision on the inside is more profound, clear and loud than the opinions on the outside, you have mastered your life."<br /><br />I don't know how one continues moving forward even when they lose their vision and motivation. I don't know yet how to fortify my vision against opinions from the outside. But if and when I find out, it will be the way I will help my clients get past their own fears. Sometimes we just need at least one supportive person to tell us, "it's okay if you're afraid. It's okay to take baby steps. Just as long as you keep moving."<br /><br />I like this idea of just moving. And I mean it in all ways--to move ahead with your dreams without fears, to move physically, to keep the soul churning and bubbling with the razzle dazzle of the world, to keep the heart pumping with love for friends, family and lovers.<br /><br />No wonder Finding Nemo is my favorite movie. "Just keep swimming..." resonates perfectly with me.<br /><br />So, I will borrow from Finding Nemo and add a little of my own. My new motto will be simple. "Just keep moving."Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4106379128632099899.post-72424423974998605972009-08-14T10:57:00.000-07:002009-08-14T11:10:36.661-07:00Self-Esteem CampaignWe need a self-esteem campaign nationally. Here's why I think we need one:<br /><br />--one person with an eating disorder is one too many--<a href="http://www.state.sc.us/dmh/anorexia/statistics.htm">and it's estimated that 7 million women and 1 million men have one</a><br /><br />--they have tons of ads on TV for how to hate your body, for example, when did not having a lot of eyelashes require medicine? I learned what things were bad to have from magazines and TV (unwaxed eyebrows, hairy legs, hairy armpits, any yellow cast to your teeth, etc.)<br /><br />--since TV has taught me this, I demand TV to teach me as well how to be happy with who I am, regardless if I do or do not meet the many requirements of beauty.<br /><br />--almost every woman friend I have ever met thinks they're too fat, regardless of size<br /><br />This ain't healthy! Sharing how much we hate our bodies is a discussion I will not take part in anymore. No more body hating.<br /><br />Let me know if any of you know about a self-esteem campaign. If there isn't, then this blog will be the beginning of one.Cathy in America!http://www.blogger.com/profile/18396864634279146152noreply@blogger.com0