Cellulite

In my quest to eradicate all cellulite from my body, I have learned many interesting things...  For instance, women's fat tissue is composed differently than men's! And we are blessed by having our fat connected to our skin tissue (instead of having it sit beneath the surface of our skin, like men's fat does). Yayyyyy us. The result is that lovely thing called CELLULITE!


In the last year I have noticed cellulite emerging in, not only my butt and thighs (fairly normal), but also my stomach and calves?! WTF?! So while I know anti-cellulite creams etc are only temporary solutions, I will attempt to battle this any way I can! Exercise and weight loss should provide a more permanent solution though, which I am already on top of.


In the meantime, I have started the Fat Girl Slim regimen today! (Horrible name, I know!) The scent of this anti-cellulite lotion is minty and slightly medicinal. It seems to absorb quickly and makes my pores feel open and my skin tingly. It costs about $34 including tax, from Sephora. (Yikes!) And it contains caffeine- the latest rage in anti-cellulite/wrinkle cream.


Now, on most of my online research, this product received rave reviews and the users could see results in one week! The instructions read that you should use this twice a day, rubbing the affected area for 20-30 seconds. I'm assuming this helps to break up those pesky fat cells clumping up in my skin.
Well, I'm the kind of person who likes to try things out for myself, so we'll see if it actually follows through on it's boasts. If so, I may quickly become a fan of this product, despite it's somewhat pricey tag.


However, if anyone knows of a better product, or has used Fat Girl Slim for themselves, please leave a comment or write to me and let me know! It would be much appreciated!

Exercise Freaks

Ok. So I hate running. Well, exercise in general, but especially running. I hate it with the fiery passion of a  thousand suns. But, as you may have noticed, one of my goals is to run one mile! It all started with a bad experience in high school (don't you just love those?!).  I had been swimming for two years but when my family moved to Georgia. The state still required that I take one semester of gym, which pretty much consisted of running four days a week. Almost immediately I got horrible shin splints and spent the next three months limping to all my classes. And my coach was no help, telling me to just "run through it." I now know that the key to avoiding this terrible affliction is to stretch like crazy before and after running. (Be the rubber-band...)


Finally, at the end of these torturous three months, on the very last day of class, I ran a complete lap around the track! Naively thinking I had just ran one mile, I was ecstatic! (FYI- one mile is actually a little more than four laps around the standard track.) I felt like I had conquered the world! Like I could run forever and ever! It was the one and only time I've ever experienced that "high' that all those Exercise Freaks talk about. And then... I promptly put my sneakers under my bed and prayed I would never have to see them again.
And here I am dusting off the same sneaks, almost 10 years later, in search of that elusive runners' high (and a cheap form of exercise). I have heard that exercise will give you a sense of euphoria by boosting your endorphins.




Please see Reese Witherspoon in the Legally Blonde clip below if you don't believe me!
(It must be true if Reese says it!)




Again, even when I was swimming an hour a day for two years, I never felt this. Mostly just embarrassment for being the slowest person on the team and that teenage awkwardness that comes with wearing a bathing suit in public.


Having said this, I once had a roommate who just had to run everyday. Even if she was sick! She claimed she would feel better after running. Sweat out the sickness. Although her doctor did tell her to cut back or she would do damage to her internal organs!


So here I am, attempting to fall in love with a sport I hate. Or at least to fall into like with it. And if any of you have some advice on how to fall in love with running or if you just have a good story to tell about how you changed your mind and fell in love with something you hated I would really like to hear about it! In the meantime I'll keep you posted on any mood/appetite/weight changes in this little experiment that is my life. Oh! I also heard that exercise can suppress your appetite. I don't know if this is true but it certainly seems to make food taste better!!

Welcome

Welcome to the blog of me, Betty Smart (and sometimes not-so-smart). This is my personal blog recording all of life's little hiccups and picnics. So, you're probably asking yourself why you would possibly care about little ol'Betty Smarty-pants. Well, I'm not too sure about that myself. At the moment my life isn't going so great. Ok, well, it's a flat out mess! But I like to think of myself as a positive person and I've set some serious (dare we say... ambitious?) goals! And I hope they will inspire all of you to make and meet your own "ambitious" goals!


For starters, a little about myself now...
Stats:

• I live in NYC
• I am a pastry cook
• I am about to turn 27
• I have $75 in my bank account
• I work 60-80 hrs a week (i.e.- no social life)
• I am 5'3"
• I weigh 150 lbs.
• I am $33,000 in debt

My goals are large and many!
(Please see the 'Goals' tab at the top of my blog if this link doesn't work.)


I know, I know... It's a lot. Especially with my limited free time. You see, a little over a year ago I was laid off from my job, as so many people have been lately, and I decided to take this as an opportunity to take a look around me and explore my options. In the end I decided to switch careers from being a wannabe fashion designer (a.k.a.- personal assistant) to being a pastry cook. I was lucky enough to find an amazing French pastry chef willing to take me on even though I had no experience or education in this field. And I was getting paid too! What I didn't realize was that I would be working twice as many hours and taking a pay-cut of about $10K a year! Not to mention gaining 15lbs. And boy did I feel the changes! I decided to move to a cheaper apartment to save money and ended up moving four times in the last year! Each place worse than the last. Don't get me wrong, I actually love what I do now, even more than fashion! But I feel I traded one set of problems in for another. Did I make a good choice? Time will tell. At the moment, it doesn't seem like it. This has been one of the most difficult years of my life. But I'm hoping that with your help, encouragement and feedback I can make the impossible, possible and not just turn my life around, but make it better than before!