~Han Myvan: Fitness and Body Image

These past couple of weeks I've been trying to get back into "bikini" shape, but it's brought up a bunch of my old friends, namely Poor-Body-Image and Never-Thin-Enough-Depression. I didn't realize I had such a poor body image of myself until my besties and hubs told me that I needed to stop losing weight. This was around my wedding, so I know I was working out a little too much. But that really stuck with me, and I thought damn, I have a horrible image of what my body is "supposed" to look like. If it wasn't for them, I probably would have worked out forever until I disappeared!

Maybe it was ballet? I was a ballerina as a kid and teen, and was constantly reminded of the ideal body type to succeed in that world...

Maybe B-Spears had a hand in it, since I basically idolized her (lets be honest, she's still awesome in my book)...

Barbie? Maybe? I don't think so though.

Victoria Secret catalogs? Oh ya, you beat-chya! Those women look fantastic, but not everyone has a model body type...

In college I gained a ton of weight. Like 35+ pounds of weight. I went from a size 00 to a size 5, and was TOTALLY HAPPY WITH IT. I was finally a medium! I had always wanted to be a medium, just a normal, middle range size that's always available. But I was way out of shape, and I needed to work out again. It was getting hard to surf and snowboard, not to mention walk across campus. So I lost all the weight, started eating healthy, and got back to a size XS. But lately my medium cravings have been bubbling up, one cookie at a time. And my skinny jeans have been a little too skinny for me too. So I decided yesterday (it's still fresh) that I'm going to be as toned as possible. No more get-as-skinny-as-possible, or guilt-trip-starving. I'm going to eat healthy, and as much as I need/want/feel like, and I'm going to workout and tone the crap outta myself. Because that's what I think true women should look like now. I'm going to change this dumb self body image I have and make it healthy. So there! (And maybe have healthy-ish cookies too!)

Anyway, here is what I plan on doing, so follow along if you want!

-Run 3-4 times a week. I usually like to do 1-2 miles, depending on time of day and the wind factor. It's ridiculously windy every day in this town, and it blows in every direction--sooo annoying!!

-Squats, lunges, arm workouts, planks, crunches, all that good stuff. If you want a great resource, Lauren Conrad actually has some fantastic routines on her sight, check it HERE, HERE, HERE, and HERE. She recently teamed up with Tone it up, HERE, and they seem to have some great exercise options too. I just got some dumbbells from Target, 3lb and 5lb sets, and use them when I work out. Also, a yoga mat is nice even when you are at home. My carpet makes my feet sweat! (gross!)

-And get some cute outfits to work out in too! It'll make you want to exercise more, trust me: