It's time to come clean...

Okay...I admit it...I want to be a size 4. I have always said that I just want to be healthy and I only want to lose a few pounds, but the truth is, I hate my body. When I look in the mirror, I hate the parts I can see...my flabby arms, the extra pounds around my middle, the pieces I can pinch on my back. However, when I reflect on this, I realize that it is unhealthy to wish to be that small. With my bone structure, I would look like something out of a Dr. Suess book....or Stephen King, depending on your literary flavor.

So, I am coming clean and admitting it out loud.And now that I can admit it to everyone, how do you change that image? Because I love magazines and T.V. and I don't see too many "hefties" on the boob tube. So what is the first step to improving my acceptance of myself?

First of all, being healthy doesn't equate to skinny. Many health professionals agree that health is a cultural problem. We are a "grab and go" society, always moving, never stopping- unless it involves our couch and T.V. And the moves we throw out aren't the right ones- otherwise gym dues would be included in our health care plan, right? I wish!

So here are Miss Mad's tips for being healthy:
1. Don't be sedentary- it is linked to disease. Walk around every hour, even if only for five minutes.
2. Get at least 7 hours of sleep each night, unless you can't. Then talk to your doctor cause you are weird.
3. Eat fewer packaged foods- and don't throw the "expense" excuse. you don't have to have fresh blueberries every day, but you can buy fresh veggies and fruits like apples and oranges inexpensively. Money is better spent on good food than expensive face cream....
4. Have breakfast- not McDonald's, either...it is not hard to grab some yogurt or oatmeal...and they do make a whole grain waffle.
5. Dump the five food felons: saturated fat, trans fat, added syrups, simple sugars, and any grain that isn't whole grain (took that from Dr. Michael Roizon).

Ultimately, I know I will always battle not my weight, but my PERCEPTION of myself. But I also know the more information I have and the harder I work to be healthy, not skinny, I can win the war. I don't want to mold myself into something I am not; it is an unnatural state to be skinny, shaved, waxed, Botoxed, plucked, and have no hips....it's stressful for the mind and body and will never create happiness in life.

So my struggle goes on, but I feel a little better putting it out there that I will not give in or give up on myself in my journey toward loving myself and being healthy. Top that, Gisele.....