Footprints in the butter

Last week, Shilpa introduced some of us to her new imaginary friends: Red Elephant and Blue Elephant.

The Red Elephant is huge, and consists of things like work stress, not asserting boundaries with her mother, over-drinking, and unhealthy eating (mmmm, burritos...).

The Blue Elephant is a pygmy. It embodies things like moderation, sobriety, exercise, self-respect, and earned pampering or positive self-indulgence.

The goal is to shrink the enormous Red Elepant and grow the diminuative Blue Elephant. Staying at home more nights a week and getting a good-night's sleep is feeding the Blue Elephant. Eating a pint of Ben & Jerry's while watching TV doing the "stay at home during the week" thing is feeding the Red Elephant (Shilpa doesn't like ice cream. I ate the Ben & Jerry's.).

So we are all about "feeding the Blue Elephant" now. All things should be in moderation, so there will be some feeding the Red Elephant from time to time, but even moderating Red Elephant food actually feeds the Blue Elephant.

Shilpa's going to be my positive influence these next two weeks as I try to shed some weight before our black-tie fete in May as well as the upcoming Steeplechase.

My new slogan: Feed the Blue Elephant.