My New York Bodylife

Hello dear readers,

I was too busy making sense of this ridiculous map
to think about trivial issues like my body.

It has been a whirlwind of a week.  It has been exciting and exhausting and definitely not a walk in the park (though I have done that, too).

My biggest struggle right now is finding time for everything that is vital to me.  That would be work, Louis, friend time, thesis research, body image research/nutrition, and taking care of my body, mind, and soul.  I'm also a big fan of doing absolutely nothing whenever time allows.

All week I've been worried that I haven't been doing enough new exploration of my body and health and that I haven't been prioritizing enough.  But now that I've sat down to write this, I am realizing that that is entirely untrue.


Here is what I've been up to health wise:


I have been walking to and from the subway every day to get to work.
I have been walking to and from lunches and dinners out.
I have been prioritizing protein, fruit, and vegetables and almost subconsciously avoiding over-produced foods.
I have been slowly adjusting my sleep schedule and having caffeinated tea only as necessary.
I have stocked my kitchen with foods that will make me feel good and energized.

Okay my lox doesn't look this good, but it works.
Maybe next I'll do a mindful food-beautifying project!

I am also definitely in a trial period with different proteins and how they make my body feel.  I'm trying out smoked salmon and lox, grape nuts cereal, hummus and veggies, greek yogurt, eggs, tuna, cottage cheese and others.  When I have some more data to report back, perhaps I'll post about the different energies these different foods give me.  I also found a vendor who sells fruit outside of my workplace and I have taken to buying different fruits from him to munch on while I intern my butt off (he sold me the MOST delicious cherries ever the other day).





So I've been doing my due-health-diligence, have I not? Just because I haven't been PREOCCUPIED with my body doesn't mean that I haven't been taking care of it.  In fact, maybe I am headed towards a place where my body image and body health won't have to overtake my life in order for me to overcome it.  If it did overtake my life, that wouldn't be much of a victory, would it?

I don't have much more of an update for today (you'd think that after a week of not writing I'd have a whole megillah for you).  But I will tell you about one experiment I just conducted:

DANCING NAKED!

I have my own apartment now.  I can dance with no clothes on.  So as soon as it got dark out tonight I put on some mood lighting in our living room/kitchen/bike storage area, plugged in Louis' new subwoofer/speaker set, stripped down and started shakin' it to my plethora of Pandora stations (tonight's favorites were Classic Rock Power WorkOut station, Halo by Beyonce station, and Dance Cardio Radio).

Tell me that doesn't look liberating.

I thought it would be nice (and experimental) to move my body with a joy and acceptance of all parts of it without any part being hidden or restricted.  And...it was great! I thought I would feel too exposed or clumsy, but instead I felt incredibly alive and sexy.  My body moves in wondrous ways and it was thrilling to let it do its thing without inhibition of any kind.  I highly recommend it.  And turn up the beats so your internal rhythm finds its way out onto the "dance floor" of your kitchen or bedroom or whatever it may be.


That's all I have for now! Check in later this week for more New York Body-Life updates.


With love, lox, and an appreciation for air conditioning,

Gabriella