I've discovered in my almost-35 years that most of us want what we don't have, or can't have.  Give a girl a head of beautiful straight hair...guaranteed she wants curls.....blondes want to have dark or red hair (yep folks that was me......and the word "patchy"does not even begin to describe the look that was then hidden for weeks under a hat), brunettes or red-heads want blonde hair....curvaceous girls want to be plankish skinny and the skinny ones would prefer a little meat...and the list just continues ad nauseam.

What is amazing to me though, through lots of introspection and careful human study (!) is that body image and self image is a constantly changing thing and once we think we have what we wanted all along, well its onto the next thing, and most times, that one dream that we always wanted is pretty much unattainable.  I say this because I am using myself as a human research subject here.  You see, I'm the classic pear shape with a bit more pear than stalk if you know what I mean....and trust me when I tell you that I've pretty much struggled all my life to just be a plank.  No boobs, hips and butt would suit me down to the ground. I imagine myself waking up and being able to throw on a pair of tights without snagging the elastic around a bump, or deciding whether the waist band should go above or below the belly button because "my stomach feels thinner today".  Yes I admit all this and I have to laugh at myself because as skinny as I ever become, this is my shape and its not gonna change, not even if every bit of cellulite gets sucked out via Dr Rey's fancy lipo machine. Sigh. And yet....I feel like I have gained a certain wisdom of late, something about being accepting of what you cannot change, and that those that can, DO. 

So, with renewed energy to change what I can, I decided that I needed to change my life.  It all started with a proposal.  It was called #POA which very plainly stands for Plan Of Action, and it was really a few pages that I wrote with some motivation for myself and 4 friends who really wanted to start to live a healthier life by losing weight, exercising and eating better.  So we started in January this year and #POA I'm happy to report is doing great.  We have a BBM group and we arrange our exercise times, we try to work out as much as we can whilst juggling work, school, kids, husbands, partners, being women and just LIFE in general.  I'm not going to lie, its not always easy to make sure you eat right after a long day, or making that effort to get up at the crack of dawn to work out, but it WORKS and 4 months on, we have all lost weight and are fitter and feel fantastic.  Its really the first time that we feel like this is becoming a way of life and that is what makes it sustainable.  Its not a quick fix, but seriously, I think quick fixes are overrated (just the way quickies are!).  This way I get to spend quality time with people I love and on top of that I decided to write a blog about life and the joy of love handles and share thoughts and ideas about losing weight, living a healthier life and overcoming challenges to become the people we want to be, not the body we want to be.  The old adage of better brains than brawn, makes a late comeback to a standing ovation!

Am I going to be the next bikini model? Hell no.  Too many stretch marks for that, and you know what? Its ok.  I want to teach my daughter that you need to have attainable goals, work with what you have, celebrate who you are and stop being your own judge, jury and executioner.  I have wasted way too much time in my life trying to squeeze into a size 10 when I could have been having stimulating conversation with a friend.   

So, with that said....till next time....I look forward to lots more sharing.  After all.... Barney says sharing is caring.........and who is this Pear to argue with a purple dinosaur? #Nuffsaid.

Yours in lovehandles
xx