i get buy with a little help from my friends.
We’re all looking for a magic feather. Much like Walt Disney’s darling dopey pachyderm Dumbo, who is unconvinced of his potential until the enterprising Timothy Q. Mouse introduces the baby elephant to the magic feather that makes Dumbo believe he can fly, I seem to want to rely on a gimmick to a jumpstart a better diet and excercise routine. As Dumbo learns he doesn’t need the feather to lift his heavy frame aloft, since it’s his exceptional ears that do all of the work (Do films from 1941 require a spoiler alert?), I’ve also seen time after time that novelty equipment, cute clothes, and bottles of supplements and other quick-fix solutions aren’t what gets me fit– it’s me.
“The magic feather was just a gag! You can fly! Honest, you can!” — Timothy Q. Mouse
But it’s tough to find the motivation. Somehow, despite not being any sort of a mallrat or compulsive shopper, I’ve gotten it stuck in my head that tightening up my body and shedding a few spare pounds is this unsurmountable obstacle. I feel like Hannah on Girls, sniveling self-indulgently “I am 13 pounds overweight, and it has been awful for me my whole life!” It’s ludicrous to sweat that I’ve got about fifteen pounds to work out. I see girls that I grew up with posting on Facebook about how hard they’re working to battle post-baby bodies that have put them forty and fifty pounds past a healthy weight, and other folks suffering with health issues that keep them from performing at their best, preventing regular exercise. And here I am with no excuse, pefectly healthy and with all of my physical capabilities intact, fretting about about how hard getting back to 130lbs. will be without a cart full of crap from Vitamin World or a few new sets of workout clothes from Old Navy as– what? Incentive?
I couldn’t let myself do it this time. I’m starting with curbing late-night snacking (my super-skinny gentleman has a bad reputation as a junk food junkie and he’s infamous for indulging on ice cream at indecent hours), getting back to fitting in a fresh salad at home each afternoon, and going on a water binge. I rode my bike every day this week. And I finally closed the tab from the vitamin store (I just read what malarky those “magical” raspberry ketones are and I was going to buy them anyway). I did get new laces for my old New Balance tennies. Maybe that’s all I’ll need?
What’s your “magic feather” when finding your motivation seems hopeless? Do you find that buying special gear or a suped-up supplement boosts your drive? — Casandra Armour
