My New Diet...

I'm a Nosey Nellie. I love to be in the mix and know whats going on- always have been, always will be- I really don't see that changing. I'm also an eater and more than anything an emotional eater. Last week, I read a friend's blog post that really hit home:

http://workoutmommy.com/2011/09/12/when-social-media-brings-you-down/

I've read all the articles about how social media is linked to a rise in depression, how facebook causes an inferiority complex, etc... And instead of rolling my eyes at these new causes for alarm, I'm giving in and just putting it out there that I think it's true and there is some scientific basis for this crappola.

Being the open book that I am, I've always said that I wear my heart on my sleeve and care way too much about what others think. Couple that with the fact that I love gossip and Facebook is linked to my phone... I have a problem.

It's true. I know I spend way too much looking at my status feed- and it's not making me a nice person. I read posts and compare myself to others and often am left with a sick feeling of "what am I doing wrong?" For example, I'll see that my neighbor is going to a winery on a date night with her hubby. Then, I think, man, I need to go on a date with the hubz... but oh, that's right... we didn't budget for a babysitter this month. I'll read that a random person is cruising to Alaska and think I need a cruise. I'll read that an old friend is pregnant and then try to attack my hubby to conceive. I'll read that a friend is making homemade meatballs and canning salsa from scratch and think I suck because we had cereal for dinner... and it keeps going, and going, and going. I know that we shouldn't "keep up with the Joneses" and we've never been ones to do that... but with Facebook, how the hell am I supposed to keep up with the Jones, Smiths, Waltons, and all the other hundreds of friends I have?

On my recent girl's trip, Facebook had us middle-aged women flipping the camera so fast to preview the picture to see if it had made the grade or if it should be deleted. Grown women were standing on chairs to take our picture so our double chins didn't show and so the picture would pass the vanity clause. We were checking in to places and just so giddy that we "had a life" and were going out. I caught myself writing statuses and tagging the gals I was with so other's would know we were having a blast hanging out. And the sad thing is, that's not the "life" I want at all. In fact, the most fun times of that weekend were laying in bed with my besties talking about wiping hineys and how we missed our boring life and kids. It was when we were gabbing about pinterest and not having a care in the world. And yet Facebook took us back fifteen years to being high school girls with complexes. Crazy.

Facebook allows people to give small "glimpses" or windows into their lives... but often, what you do in public or in front of the window is nothing like what happens behind closed doors- and I'm bad at remembering that.

It's time to put my plan of action of getting my ghetto booty back to superior form and to stop with this feeling inferior to anything and everything. LOL... to start my oh so dramatic knockout mama transformation, this Monday morning, I'm unplugging from Facebook for one month. We'll see how it goes and if it helps with my sanity. If you don't hear from me, make sure to check on me in case I'm having convulsions from withdrawal. I'm admitting that I hit refresh way too many times throughout the day... Hopefully I will find the time to fit in my workouts instead of exercising my index finger a hundred times a day. And hopefully I'll be able to return to the whole social media world realizing that I don't need to be as Godly, worldy, friendly, funny, and everything else as all the women I know. It's o.k. to just be me. And in the end, realize that Facebook is about bringing friends together to love, support, and to celebrate each other's accomplishments, not to envy one anothers lives.

It's time for me to get off the sidelines where I watch women I know celebrate getting in shape and feeling good about themselves... and time for me to get in the game and be the one doing it. My goal is to lose 13 pounds in one month. What can I say- I have the same favorite number as T-Swizzle. Let's see how this social-media "diet" works. Status that.:)