Trying to lose weight early in the year before you run into those high school friends back home, the ex-boyfriend who hasn’t seen you in 20 years or the crotchety old relative who said you’d never amount to much? Fuggetaboutid!
Give yourself the ultimate gift of self-love starting in 2012 and revel in the ribald revelry of the new year with some gusto, acceptance and balance.
Being “thin” was not always in. Being healthy and active (with good posture*; see our series on the subject. You are welcome!) is always in style — and hotter than mulled cider!
Health and beauty are inside jobs. Body image and a “perfect physique” are matters of perspective, culture, history, and whatever the mass media tell us.
Can you say “mixed messages”? Don’t believe us? Take a brief tour through past wistful wishes for va-va-voom figures. Look at what people were willing to do to achieve that “look du decade.”
Don’t make us talk about you years from now! Our gift to you as we enter 2012 — work the look you already have. Embrace it; Look it in the eye and say, “Ell-bees, you and I are going into the new year together, baby — guilt- and stress-free!”
Whoa now, you resolute resolutionists! Don’t give up yet on your new year exercise goals. We said give yourself some body-lovin’ self-acceptance while staying active, not plunk down your hiney so finey!
— Identical twins and fitness pros Kymberly Williams-Evans and Alexandra Williams have been in the fitness industry since the first aerobics studio opened on the European continent. They teach, write, edit, emcee and present their programs worldwide on land, sea and airwaves. They co-write Fun and Fit: Q and A with K and A. You can currently find them in action leading classes in Santa Barbara and Goleta. Kymberly is the former faculty minor adviser at UCSB for its fitness instruction degree offered through the Department of Exercise & Sport Studies; Alexandra serves as an instructor and master teacher for the program. Fun and Fit answers real questions from real people, so please send your comments and questions to info@funandfit.org.