Happy New Year

Welcome to that time of year when you're supposed to feel terrible about your appearance. The magazines at the grocery store checkout scream dozens of ways for you to lose those 5, 10, 15 holiday pounds (yeah, the same magazines that gave you the recipes for all those goodies you ate). You can't turn on the TV without seeing advertising for various diets and exercise equipment. Perfectly muscled men and slender women fill your screen with their sweat-free pull-ups and stomach crunches. But there's no way those people got those bodies from something that arrived on their doorsteps disassembled in a box. First they won the genetic lottery and then they worked, probably for hours and hours, with professional trainers.

But for some reason we're all supposed to look like that?

Well, at least we're supposed to feel bad about how we look, so, you know, we'll buy some of those magazines, diet plans, and exercise machines (six easy payments!).

But really have you ever liked someone more because they weighed 5, 10, 15 pounds less? Having that ideal body doesn't make you more intelligent, or charming, or fun to spend time with. Some of the most boring people I've met are the ones who only talk about dieting and exercise (snooze!).

So give yourself a break this New Year. If your jeans feel a bit snug, don't think mean thoughts about yourself, remember how much fun you had making cookies with your sister, laughing with your cousins at that big family dinner... Because you're fabulous just the way you are!