So last week, when I was staying at Beth’s apartment in Chicago, I saw that she and her roommate had posted a picture of a swimsuit model on their fridge. Not surprising — I think many women choose to motivate themselves in this way. The idea is that you’ll see this gorgeous, thin woman when you go to your refrigerator and think, “Oh, I don’t need to eat.”
Well, actually, you do, in fact, need to eat (and if you stock a healthy fridge, you should feel perfectly OK opening it several times a day), so I’m not a huge fan of this type of motivation. I think it comes from a really negative place. Beth and Alicia actually agreed that it hadn’t been working for them. Why? Well, first, because everyone knows that the model doesn’t actually look like that. Hello, airbrushing! Second, most women know that they will never look like that. We all agreed that looking at a completely unattainable body just makes it easier to say, “Oh fuck it — I’ll never have those genes!” and dive headfirst into a bowl of cheesy pasta.
So I suggested they put a different type of picture on the fridge: a picture (or several) of gorgeous, healthy food! I have that pic on my Vision Board, and it’s one of my fave things on there. I think even those of us who like junk food of the “Ohs” variety (Doritos, Tostitos, Ho-Hos, Oreos) can admit that colorful, bountiful produce makes for good food porn. And it makes me want to eat really well!
So grab a food magazine and tear out the best pic of the freshest, most gorgeous-looking healthy food you can find. Post that on your fridge instead of Gisele. Put other pics in places where you might need a reminder: paste a gorgeous bottle of olive oil in your planner or make the background on your computer a picture of farm-fresh eggs and homemade bread. Look at them before you grocery shopping instead of just when you’re thinking of eating as a reminder that you are what you eat. Filling your plate with pretty, healthy food will make you healthy and pretty too!
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{ 5 comments… read them below or add one }
That’s actually a great idea!
.-= Diana´s last blog ..Diana wants to bake! =-.
Love this idea. i have a picture of what I’d like my body to resemble on my inspiration board, but it’s not a model, it’s a woman with a healthy body type that resembles mine. (read: shorter legs and junk in the trunk)
I think I should put some pictures of fruits and veggies inside the cupboard door as a reminder: you could be eating this instead, you know…
.-= Kaytee´s last blog ..Ugh, Monday =-.
I think some fruit pictures would help me, as it’s always the hardest thing to fit into my day. But as I love to cook and eat, I think healthy food everywhere would just lead me to be more-food obsessed. Instead, I have pictures from fitness magazines of women exercising to motivate me to get out more, and take care of my body in that way.
This is a great idea. One of the things that I have always been motivated by (aside from Brad Pitt from time to time – although my wife is NOT a fan and I don’t think I’ll ever look like Jay-Z
) is music. Music is my primary motivating factor when I get out of bed in the morning to get me on the street or to the gym. It really does help.
- Adam @ http://www.turnupmyworkout.com
Great post and idea. I don’t usually use photos much as inspiration or motivation, but I love this idea of turning what could be negative into a positive!
.-= maria´s last blog ..Influencing others =-.