It’s funny, because two years ago I probably was the unhealthiest I’ve ever been, supplementing a diet of cigarettes and coffee with the occasional delivery pizza and gin martini.\u00a0 Even though mentally and physically I felt like crap, I had no problem bearing all in a bikini then.\u00a0 Looking back, I realize that my ultra-thin figure tricked me into believing that I must be taking okay care of myself.<\/p>\n
But now, fifteen happy pounds later, I am a cigarette-free vegetarian future-law-studying bona-fide-runner, a title that should bring me all the confidence in the world.<\/p>\n
![\"Julia](\"https:\/\/www.nomeatathlete.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2010\/04\/julia-louis-dreyfus-shape-magazine-april-09.jpg\")
Yet here I am, uncomfortable in my new skin.\u00a0 I guess I figured feeling so healthy would naturally bring about looking like someone on the cover of Shape Magazine, instant abs and all.<\/p>\n
Confidence in three easy payments of $33.33<\/h3>\n
In a low moment while watching an infomercial (when most low moments are bound to occur) I considered springing the $100 for an AbRocket.\u00a0 The idea of pumping up and down on shoddy brightly colored metal goes against all the themes of balance in my life.<\/p>\n
Could the AbRocket ever bring that zen-like running trance I’ve come to rely on?\u00a0 Could I be motivated to do crunches on this thing out of pure vanity?<\/p>\n
Of course, I could tell myself the real motivation to tone my “core” (oh, that dreaded buzzword!) would be to improve my running, prevent injury by relieving my other muscles and joints as the sole workhorses, and possibly improve my strength as a camogie player.<\/p>\n
But I would know the real reason I’d be doing it, and somehow directing exercise towards a superficial goal makes me feel ashamed.\u00a0 It’s as if I’d be admitting that I am not above the crappy Cosmopolitan-Slimfast marketing.<\/p>\n
In other words, I drank the girly kool-aid.<\/p>\n
I like to imagine yoga as an ideal solution for my slightly irrational woes.\u00a0 The ancient postures that move the body’s muscles together in meditation seem directly opposed to violently crunching six muscles into some sort of sexy pack.<\/p>\n
The trouble is, I’ve never been able to get into yoga.\u00a0 I find the positions confusing and always wondering if I’m hurting in a good way or just doing it incorrectly.\u00a0 I would whole-heartedly welcome a recommendation for a good book or video to help me get over my beginners hump.<\/p>\n
Does anyone else have nagging insecurities about an otherwise healthy body?\u00a0 Do you other runners (male or female) grapple with perceptions of fitness?<\/strong><\/p>\n I would really appreciate your thoughts on this.\u00a0 The point here is not to fish for compliments or just beach<\/em> and moan– I really would like to turn this anxiety into something productive instead of a pseudo-pity-party.\u00a0 It’s just so frustrating to see my happy, well-reasoned, healthy lifestyle get rattled by something so silly as a bikini.<\/p>\n Thanks, and don’t worry—I’ll be back next week with some vegan cookies!<\/p>\n xoxo<\/p>\n Christine<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Hey everybody, this is Christine here for Sweet-Tooth Friday.\u00a0 I was working on a healthy dessert recipe for this week, but I couldn’t stop thinking about a weird experience I had concerning body image issues…it all started off with the simple phrase: Let’s plan a weekend and go to the beach! A trip to the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12,"featured_media":8707,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"wprm-recipe-roundup-name":"","wprm-recipe-roundup-description":"","_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[63],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-8643","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-motivation","8":"entry"},"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n