Losing It: Oh, That Teenie-Weenie, Yellow-Polka-Dot Bikini

Summertime … and the livin’ is easy …
Summer summer summer time … time to sit back and unwind
Summer lovin’, had me a blast

(Those of you who know me realize that I just played “Sing Down” against myself (category: songs about summer), which is not totally unheard of. Those who don’t can just continue to think I’m insane, which isn’t totally unheard of either.)

Ahhhh … Summer. With Memorial Day Weekend just around the corner, everyone’s favorite season is almost upon us. To me, summer has always meant a whole host of good things:

• The Shore (anyone else running the Ventnor Public Library 5K on May 27?)
• Camp
• Flip-flops
• Jean jackets (Make fun if you will, but I will always have a jean jacket in my closet. I’m not talking acid wash with the sleeves rolled up or anything—this is not 1984 and I am not Ralph Macchio. Now shut your traps, fashion Nazis. And don’t forget to sweep the leg.)
• Dining al fresco
• Fruity drinks
• BBQs
• Burgers and dogs
• Corn-on-the-cob
• Ice cream, ice cream sandwiches, Chipwiches, Superstar Fudge Bars, Choco Tacos, those disgusting Sponge Bob ice cream things with a gumball stuck in them inappropriately …

See what just happened there? My list started out innocently enough and then devolved into something hateful and junk-food-centric. But so much of what we all love about summer centers around food, no? Getting together with friends for a barbecue, picnics in the park, the ice cream man, etc. Problem is, while the reasons to celebrate become more frequent (who doesn’t throw a huge shindig for both Flag and Canada Day?), and the meals become larger, our clothes become smaller.

If you plow through an entire rack of ribs during the winter it’s all good because you can cover up your pooch with a bulky sweater the next day and no one is the wiser. Your summer tank top and skinny jeans, however, are not as forgiving. Had one-too-many beers at last night’s BBQ? In the winter you can layer up to hide the bloat. Pull and twist and lift and tuck as much as you want, but your bikini ain’t getting any bigger.

It’s really not fair, is it? The best season for eats happens to be the best season to wear teeny tiny scraps of clothing. Can someone go whisper in Kate Moss’ ear that moo moos are going to be the thing this summer? That way I can eat all the hot dogs I want and still be seriously on-trend. It’s genius, really.

What I Did This Week
I had been so good about writing down all of my food and exercise on MyFitnessPal.com last week, and the weight loss was noticeable. I was overjoyed. And then … my birthday weekend arrived. My husband took me to Charcoal on Friday night and everything I’d worked for flew right out the window (but with the lovely view of the Delaware, I wasn’t too hard on myself). Everything I ate was AMAZING, and I couldn’t help myself. (I highly recommend the Magret Duck Breast and the Banana Pudding with chunks of cookie dough. With stuff like that on the menu you can’t blame me for going a little bit nuts. Next year I’ll have him take me to, like, Wawa for my b-day. I’m pretty sure they don’t have duck on the menu.) I kept rationalizing it by saying, “It’s my birthday and I’ll get right back on track tomorrow.”

We then went to the movies to see The Five-Year Engagement (disappointingly mediocre) and I didn’t even get my favorite movie treat: popcorn with a bag of M&Ms thrown in. It’s like a surprise in every handful. Blissful.

I was so happy when Dr. Charlie agreed with my birthday rationalization during our Skype call. I was feeling all sorts of guilty about what I’d done at dinner Friday night, and he assured me that it’s okay to indulge every once in a while so that I don’t feel deprived. Yeeeesssss! He also mentioned that I shouldn’t step on the scale the morning after a meal like that, but to instead wait a day or two to see my actual weight. So now I’m back on track, not feeling guilty, and I know that it’s okay to splurge every so often. Good thing, because deprivation is not my best color. Although I wonder how a moo moo in deprivation would look on me…

PS – Before this laptop, you all, and God, I am committing to run the Broad Street Run in 2013. Who’s with me??

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Robin Raskin blogs about her weight loss journey every Thursday on Be Well Philly. Catch up on the series here, and follow her on Twitter at @RobinRaskin. Join Robin’s Healthy Recipe Swap Facebook group here.