Chubby Mommy

Last night on ElectricVenom.com I wrote about Miss Narfeld, the librarian at my elementary school whose rubber date stamp sounded much like a starting signal to my young ears. Whenever I checked a book out, the ca-chunk of her stamp marked the beginning of the all-too-short period I had to race through the stack of books I’d selected. Eventually, I came to associate that sound with something exciting, something that would bring me great pleasure.

It dawned on me that I still have plenty of scrapbooking stamps and, of course, the always-handy address stamp. But also my big, red “PAID IN FULL” stamp. I love that one, but I never get to use it often enough.

Then it dawned on me: why not use it to mark my calendar with the days that I’ve exercised? I’ve been using a little tick mark on each date, but that’s not nearly as rewarding as seeing a whole week filled with big, fat rubber stamps announcing that I’ve “PAID IN FULL” my calorie deficit for the day.

Because that’s what it is, really, when you’re trying to lose weight: you’ve got a calorie surplus all over your hips, thighs and tummy, and you owe both calorie restriction and exercise on a daily basis to be rid of that flab. Stick with it for a day and mark your day as “PAID IN FULL.” Skip it a day and, well, the bare space on that date is as guilt-inducing as any persistent bill collector.