Gearing Up for the Flat Belly Diet

Now that I'm back after my extended vacation, I am ready to kick off the fall (it's almost here) with a glamorous new me. First things first - I made a hair appointment - a much needed color job to cover my grays - for next Tuesday. I am also going to be starting the Flat Belly diet this weekend, one day later than my August 1 anticipated kickoff, because we are having a party on August 1 and I want to eat my own food. But August 3, a Sunday, my husband, mother, sister, and I, as well as our au pair Adeline, will all be starting the 4 day kickstart to the flat belly diet. The entire diet is 32 days, which is supposed to be long enough to form healthy new habits.
I tend to be an all or nothing person, but this time I am going to try to start small and make it manageable. One of the rules of this plan is that you walk for 5 minutes after each meal, so even if it's just pacing the floor of the kitchen while holding Eva, it's a start. After a few weeks, I am going to start incorporating one exercise class a week and a walk 3 times a week with the girls. I think we'll all enjoy it. I will post my measurements and weight here for everyone to see. Since I tend to be underweight, I am not doing this to lose weight, but to eat healthier and eliminate that last little bit of baby belly. I would also like to have more energy and fewer tummyaches (I have a mild form of IBS). Is their more to this diet than hype? I really think so, and we'll soon find out!

Blogging on the Go

Sorry I haven't been able to blog in a while. My husband and I have been sharing a laptop while on vacation, and it's all I can do to wrestle it away from him. So I'm here in Chicago and I still have the straggly gray hairs I was moaning about, and no time to take care of them, unless I want to DIY, which I'm too chicken to do. The only thing worse than no color is bad color!
Fortunately, I did manage to sneak out of the house for a massage on Thursday - my first since Eva was born. Definitely more of a necessity than a luxury at this point! My second goal is to steal some time to make a pilgrimage to Sephora next week, when we will be staying downtown. I can't wait!

Falling Behind

Tomorrow, I am going to run to the drugstore to do something I've never attempted before: find a way to cover my own gray, temporarily. I am so worried about ruining my professional color, but I had no way of squeezing in an appointment before the trip, so unless I find an alternative, I am stuck going to Chicago with scraggly gray hairs sticking up out of my scalp. Lovely. We leave Monday morning and I can't bear to go with my hair in this state. As for the mani, pedi and dermatologist appointments... Forget it, they never happened. When I return, though, my resolution will be to schedule one of each of these appointments every month, and to start the Flat Belly Diet. Now that Eva is 7 months old, I am able to leave her for sligthly longer periods of time, though I don't enjoy it. Wish me luck...!

Destined to Tan?

Yesterday, I was admiring my little Lola, as I do most days. She wore a hot pink skirted bikini and her hair in a high, perky ponytail, and she looked tall, slim, and tan. Tan. This is the two-year-old who patiently submits to thorough sunscreen-smearing sessions at least once a day, and often twice. She starts each day completely slathered in sunscreen, and then gets another application post-nap, if she is going outside. How could she possibly have a tan? I discussed this with my friend, Marcie, whose daughter Adriana has shown the same predisposition to tan. We blamed it on genetics, and our olive-skinned backgrounds, but it really brings home the fact that sunscreen is not a perfect medium. It rubs off, smears off, washes off. I hope and pray, that before my girls' baby faces get much older, that a better (less messy, more practical, easier) method of sun protection will be available. Just thinking about it makes me jealous of future moms who don't need to struggle to apply sunscreen to squirmy toddlers.

Hot Mamas!

Is it just me, or do pregnant women look better than ever these days. Not only are our wardrobe options (thankfully!) broader than they've ever been, but women are taking care of themselves and taking pride in their appearance throughout their entire pregnancies. I just saw my friend Jen tonight, and she's 20 weeks pregant and gorgeous. She has one of those pregnancies where it's all in the belly, and she couldn't be cuter. And last week, I did the photo shoot for my column on maternity fashion, and the two pregnant models, a friend (another Jenn) and a friend of a friend, were at different stages of their pregnancies, but they both looked amazing. Cute hair, cute clothes, glowing skin. Being around all of these happy, euphoric pregnant women has had an effect on me. It (almost!) makes me want to be pregnant again!

Desperately Needing Maintenance

We leave for Chicago in one week for a family vacation, and I have just realized with horror that I have quite a bit to do to make myself look presentable for the trip. I have to:

Get my hair colored. The grays (which I've had since my late 20s) are really starting to show, and it's scary. Its' hard enough for me to find time for these things in a regular week, but with Lola's daily swim lessons, it's almost impossible. What's even scarier is that this necessitates a 2-3 hour appointment, since I have so much hair, and it's unlikely Suzie will be able to squeeze one in on such short notice.

Make a dermatologist appointment. This has been on my to-do list for months, and it might have to be postponed a little longer, until after the trip.

Waxing. Already scheduled for July 11. It's the only thing I've been keeping up on.

Massage. My husband (love him!) suggested we go for massages together this week, which I desperately need, but I think that's goin to hae to wait as well!

Mani/pedi: Have only had one pedicure, and no manicures, in the nearly 7 months since Eva was born, and much as I'd love to be all polished and chic for the trip, I don't see this happening either.

Flat Belly Diet Kickoff August 1

I know that August 1 seems like a long way off, but realistically I know that I won't be able to stick to a new eating and exercise plan during our upcoming vacation. I am going to order the book tonight, though, and have everything ready to start the plan when I return. My mother and I are going to be doing it together, and I'd love to have everyone join me. I know that my attempt to do Dr. Oz program never really got off the ground, but I think that might have been a little too ambitious for me. This seems a little more streamlined, and maybe it can be the kick start that I need. Later in the year, after I have a little more time to breathe, I will start incorporating some of Dr. Oz's anti-aging techniques in, a little at a time. So that's the plan for now. I will also begin taking one yoga class a week, and work up from there, as time permits.

Hope you will join me. I can't wait to begin!