Yes, I know, I'm an author. I should be posting about my books only. Psssh is what I say to that! I'm a writer BEFORE an author and so I can write all I want about whatever I want. Those of you who know me, know I sort of ramble and get off track, but I generally have a point. Those of you who are now only realizing this...I'm sorry. Anyway! Today I'm going to talk about an ugly word. No one should ever say this word, nor even think it. It's a despicable singular piece of vocabulary that should be erased from our minds for all eternity! (Did I mention I'm a writer? DRAMA.)
That ugly word is WEIGHT.
I hate scales. I hate that no matter how healthy or unhealthy we are, we're obsessed with those stinking numbers on that stinking square box! I hate that we feel like we're never good enough the way we are. I hate that EVERYTHING around us is based on looks. You could look amazingly perfect and take one look at that scale and think you're shit. It holds too much power over us, and do you know WHY it does? BECAUSE WE LET IT. Gasp! I say we take all those square boxes and chuck them out the window! (Just make sure no one is walking by when you do so.)
We're always comparing ourselves to someone prettier, skinnier, blah blah blah. And the stupid media with all these perfect celebrities prancing around doesn't help either. FYI: Their lifestyle isn't realistic and NONE of us should attempt to look like them. They have personal trainers, chefs, SURGERY to look like they do. Their job IS to look good, so yeah, toss that dream right out the window along with the scale. Our jobs are much more boring and anti-glamorous. You know why? Because we're REAL.
I should probably move on now.
I'm obsessed with my weight, I admit it. I always have been. This obsession most likely stems from a childhood set in an undesirable atmosphere, because honestly, I didn't start to have a problem with eating or not eating until specific incidences occurred. And then I turned to food. I was never obese, but I WAS chubby, and I DID get a lot of flack about it from people around me, which, you know, made me want to eat more. Then I went the other way. I stopped eating. (That's another thing you need to think about when you're on a dieting rampage. I was skinny, yes, but I wasn't healthy. I would go a whole day maybe eating one thing. It isn't worth it. Be aware, but be smart.) I starved myself. I even made myself throw up once or twice when I was in a really smart stage. No matter how skinny I got, I still saw myself as fat. To summarize: I was never happy with the way I looked.
This is not some success story. (Sorry.) I still have issues with my body, and having two sons via C-Sections didn't help in that regard either. But I'm healthy now. And when I regularly monitor my food intake and exercise, I'm okay with how I look.
That being said...
The past few months I've been trying to get back to a healthy weight/healthy body image 'cause I've sort of fallen off the Healthy Weight Wagon this winter. I've always been aware of the weight I am (Yep. The stupid scale has me within its clutches as well! But I'm rebellious and only weigh myself about twice a month instead of DAILY. Take THAT, weight judger!), food I eat, and my need for exercising, but lately I've been slacking on balancing it all. I started T25 ten weeks ago and the first five weeks I didn't see any changes (except for maybe a slight difference in my stomach, but no weight change and nothing significant), so I asked a fitness coach about it and she was like, "Are you monitoring your food intake?" My response, "Well...I'm guesstimating!" Ha ha. Not good enough!
I've been monitoring my calorie intake for the past five weeks as well as doing T25 and I have lost 8 pounds plus my pants are fitting like they should again! T25 is a 25-minute a day exercise program. Even though it kicks my A$$, it's only for 25 minutes. So even though I feel like I'm dying, I tell myself I only have to die for close to half of an hour.
I will be satisfied when I am back within a healthy weight range and my stomach has undergone some further shrinkage. I do have to say that I used to run and that I noticed the most significance as far as the toning of my body and the fit of my clothes during that period. I run sporadically, but haven't committed to it on a daily basis since then. (I got pregnant and there went that. Sigh. Plus my knees began to get sore.) But it is something to think about. This isn't to push T25 or running, this is just me saying what's worked for me. I also love walking, but you have to walk A LOT to see results.
Some things to remember: Finding an exercise YOU like to do is the first step and makes it easier to stick with it. Eating foods that are healthy that YOU like is the way to go too. Don't forget to throw out the scale. Don't give up the foods you love, even if they aren't good for you. Eat them sparingly. Except for the week before your friend comes to visit. Then all bets are off (For me anyway. Ha ha.). Try to remove soda from your diet; diet AND regular. Neither are good for you. You can lose absolutely no weight in pounds, but a good amount of inches, so I would take measurements as well. I sort of suck at that part. I go more by how my clothes fit. It's whatever works for you. You may feel like giving up, but tell yourself you can do it, AND YOU WILL.
Be smart. Be healthy. Be you. LOVE you.
Friday, March 28, 2014
Tuesday, March 25, 2014
THE BATTLE OF THE WIPS
I thought it would be fun to share a tidbit of all the many WIPs I have floating around. This doesn't include IDEAS, but the ideas I've actually started to put down on paper (computer). There are more--always more. I made a pic with a quote from each work in progress and I'd like you to vote for which one tugs at you the most. You can use book title initials. Say you like Gray Days the best, then you comment with GD. I tend to write better and faster when I know people are anxious to read what I write, so really, you'll be helping me out by doing this. Here are the pictures.
Let THE BATTLE OF THE WIPS...BEGIN.
Let THE BATTLE OF THE WIPS...BEGIN.
Monday, March 24, 2014
Thursday, March 13, 2014
Psst...I have something to tell you!
Complete is being released a day early! I actually already hit publish so it should be available within the next twelve hours. Woo hoo!
For everyone that loved Incomplete and couldn't wait to read the conclusion of Grayson and Lily's story: IT'S HERE. Complete is told by Lily and moves forward in time two years.
The thing I like the most about this two-book series is that it is extremely emotional and angst-ridden; as are young adults. When you're young, you feel everything a hundred times more deeply than when you're older. Everything means more. Everything; good or bad, hits you harder. At least, with me it did.
And wouldn't it be wonderful if first loves could be only loves? If that sick, giddy, impossible feeling you get when you fall in love for the first time, could be what you feel for the rest of your life? Lily and Grayson are the kind of couple that could have that, I think.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, March 12, 2014
Thoughts on Incomplete and Complete
Complete is releasing in three days. I know! Crazy!
One thing I found out after I published Incomplete is that 1.) People don't like sequels, and 2.) People don't like waiting for sequels. That being said, I think Complete is worth the wait. And it's worth being a sequel.
Originally I thought of putting Grayson and Lily's story into one book and having it be told by alternating POV's, but I realized it would be a SUPER long book. The longer the book; the more it costs; the less likely people will be to buy it. THAT'S why I decided to make it a two-book series.
Anywho! I can't wait to share Complete with you, and as such, I'm posting some of what others have said about Incomplete and Complete. Enjoy!
There are few authors that can truly convey angst quite like Lindy Zart. - Miss Construed on Incomplete
This book will break your heart more than once, repair it a little and then break it all over again. - Goodreads review of Incomplete
I had a serious book hangover when I finished this. I was emotionally drained (in the best possible way). There were a lot of ups and downs throughout the story but I liked it. It gave the story dimension and did a really good job of displaying how emotional teenagers can be. - Goodreads review of Incomplete
Wow what a freakin' ride! This book had me cheering and screaming, sometimes at the same time! I loved the hero and the heroine equally. - Brianne Romance Book Addiction on Incomplete
Sometimes I read a book that stays with me for days, weeks, month, or even years… yes, years – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is one of those “years” books. Complete will also be one of those books. Lindy writes with so much emotion, it literally gives me goose bumps when I read her words. - Goodreads review of Complete
Oh My Grayson! - Beta reader feedback on Complete
I enjoyed how most characters transitioned and or blossomed within the storyline. Towards the end of the book, you had me experiencing an array of emotions, which of course, made it an awesome read. There was one moment that I actually heard myself say " Oh, no she didn't" - Beta reader feedback on Complete
OMG OMG!!! I just read my absolute favorite line in the book! or in any book... my heart just dropped to my stomach! “You
weren't my first love.” He pauses and my heart cracks at his declaration. “You were my
only love.” - Beta reader feedback on Complete
.jpg)
One thing I found out after I published Incomplete is that 1.) People don't like sequels, and 2.) People don't like waiting for sequels. That being said, I think Complete is worth the wait. And it's worth being a sequel.
Originally I thought of putting Grayson and Lily's story into one book and having it be told by alternating POV's, but I realized it would be a SUPER long book. The longer the book; the more it costs; the less likely people will be to buy it. THAT'S why I decided to make it a two-book series.
Anywho! I can't wait to share Complete with you, and as such, I'm posting some of what others have said about Incomplete and Complete. Enjoy!
There are few authors that can truly convey angst quite like Lindy Zart. - Miss Construed on Incomplete
This book will break your heart more than once, repair it a little and then break it all over again. - Goodreads review of Incomplete
I had a serious book hangover when I finished this. I was emotionally drained (in the best possible way). There were a lot of ups and downs throughout the story but I liked it. It gave the story dimension and did a really good job of displaying how emotional teenagers can be. - Goodreads review of Incomplete
Wow what a freakin' ride! This book had me cheering and screaming, sometimes at the same time! I loved the hero and the heroine equally. - Brianne Romance Book Addiction on Incomplete
Sometimes I read a book that stays with me for days, weeks, month, or even years… yes, years – The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe is one of those “years” books. Complete will also be one of those books. Lindy writes with so much emotion, it literally gives me goose bumps when I read her words. - Goodreads review of Complete
Oh My Grayson! - Beta reader feedback on Complete
I enjoyed how most characters transitioned and or blossomed within the storyline. Towards the end of the book, you had me experiencing an array of emotions, which of course, made it an awesome read. There was one moment that I actually heard myself say " Oh, no she didn't" - Beta reader feedback on Complete
OMG OMG!!! I just read my absolute favorite line in the book! or in any book... my heart just dropped to my stomach! “You
weren't my first love.” He pauses and my heart cracks at his declaration. “You were my
only love.” - Beta reader feedback on Complete
Thursday, March 6, 2014
To my Readers:
This post is dedicated to YOU. Do you want to know why? Because I love you! Because you are the reason I continue to write. You are my muse, my inspiration, the thorn in my a...I mean, the wonderful encouragement I need to get my books out as quickly as I can. YOU amaze me.
I didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to self-publish. I didn't understand a lot of the rules and ways of the book world. I didn't realize people could be so heartless, but I also didn't realize people could be so exceptionally supportive either. Reading your heartfelt words makes me teary-eyed upon occasion. Not that I would ever CRY. Crying is for sissies. But I may get a wobbly lip and the stinging of the eyes that is the prelude to tears.
I've met so many people who started out as readers of my work, bloggers, fellow authors, and became friends. I know it isn't *professional* for an author to interact so often with readers, but I would feel like a snob if I didn't. I would feel wrong. You're what makes me successful and no thank you is appropriate enough to show you how appreciated you are. I write for myself, but I also write for YOU.
So thank you, again and again, for loving something I created and giving me the courage to create some more.
Lindy
I didn't know what I was getting into when I decided to self-publish. I didn't understand a lot of the rules and ways of the book world. I didn't realize people could be so heartless, but I also didn't realize people could be so exceptionally supportive either. Reading your heartfelt words makes me teary-eyed upon occasion. Not that I would ever CRY. Crying is for sissies. But I may get a wobbly lip and the stinging of the eyes that is the prelude to tears.
I've met so many people who started out as readers of my work, bloggers, fellow authors, and became friends. I know it isn't *professional* for an author to interact so often with readers, but I would feel like a snob if I didn't. I would feel wrong. You're what makes me successful and no thank you is appropriate enough to show you how appreciated you are. I write for myself, but I also write for YOU.
So thank you, again and again, for loving something I created and giving me the courage to create some more.
Lindy
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)