So tell me. *arranges self into confidence-exchanging pose* If it’s been 6 months since your baby was born and you would like to stop wearing the goddamn gol-dang maternity clothes already, what small and easy changes would you make to get started on that path?
And listen, I do mean SMALL AND EASY. If your idea of a small and easy first step is “Well, first I cut out all sugars and flours,” or, “Well, I run an additional mile,” or, “Well, I have a salad instead of dinner,” then you and I might as well stop this little chat right here and save ourselves the grief of the ensuing “discussion,” much of which would involve (a) weeping and (b) railing, not to mention (c) sarcastic air quotes. Those things would require the kind of lifestyle change that would make digging a quarry look like planting a tulip bulb.
No, I am thinking of something more like all those articles that suggest cheerily that you can become ripped/buff by taking the stairs instead of the elevator. Perhaps this substitution makes a serious difference only if you live on one of the uppermost floors of the Burj Dubai and consistently have to go back for your forgotten keys, but I prefer to think of it as the kind of small adjustment that accumulates, for an overall improvement in health and well-being.
And that is the kind of suggestion I am looking for from you. Do you eat protein for breakfast? Do you make yourself “pay for” each cookie by eating a vegetable first? Do you see if you can wait five more minutes for lunch, and now five more minutes, and now five more? Do you swing your arms madly, power-walker-style, when you go up and down the stairs to do laundry? Do you play games that involve lifting your children up over your head?
And don’t be shy about telling me the ones that aren’t technically very healthy, like skipping lunch or drinking lots of coffee. I want your little nearly-painless tricks, so SPILL.
