Women's Health
Shape
Self
Fitness
Real Simple
In Style
People Style Watch
Fit Pregnancy
The Writer
And here's the current list of titles in the ever-growing stack by my bed:
Women's Health
Shape
Self
Fitness
Real Simple
In Style
People Style Watch
Fit Pregnancy
The Writer
I'm not reading them. And I feel bad about it.
I used to read magazines more. Back before my gym had TV screens on every cardio machine, and back before I had an elliptical machine positioned in front of a TV in my own home, I used to read my fitness- and health-related magazines while exercising. I am one of those freaky people who can read while I am in motion (that includes reading in cars) and still get a good workout. But TV is just so much easier, more convenient, and more absorbing, I've gradually stopped that practice.
Then I got pregnant, and suddenly most of the articles I was reading didn't apply to me anymore. I can't try to "Lose 8 Pounds in 2 Weeks!!" or "Find Your Slimming Swimsuit Style!" and the recipe for "Skinny Eggs Benedict" won't be useful until I'm allowed runny yolks again. (Oh, how I miss eggs over-easy.) The models on the covers and the new spring clothes taunt me with their tight bodies and slim fits. I'm not obsessing about this- after all, there's a certain beauty to pregnancy that these women don't currently have, and I do. But it makes me feel very removed from my former life, when I would have been interested in all the above articles.
Now I only read a few of the titles from cover to cover- Real Simple, Fit Pregnancy, and the two fashion magazines (I may not fit into any of the clothes, but I can't help it- I love fashion). The rest are collecting dust on my bedside table or crowding up the top drawer, but I can't bring myself to throw them in the recycle bin. I have magazine guilt. I feel like I need to read all of them, or at least skim them. Why? I can only come up with two reasons:
1. I paid for them, so I have to read them. I can usually get around this rule with food (even if I already paid for it with my wallet, I don't have to pay for it with my body if I'm not hungry) and with movies (rental fee, schmental fee. If it sucks, I'm turning it off). But for some reason that logic doesn't work for me on reading material.
2. I admire the work that goes into putting a magazine together, and I want to honor that work by reading it.
Both of those are pretty weak, and yet that pile sits there. I'm not a pack rat; when I'm done with something, I get rid of it. But maybe I'm not done with those magazines yet. Maybe I will read them (even when they're six months out of date). That's what I keep telling myself. The more permanent solution is to let the subscriptions expire, but that won't happen for several months yet, and in the meantime I keep getting those annoying reminder notices: "Only 2 issues left!" (even though I have until October) or "Act now on this low price!" Maybe THAT'S what's making me feel guilty.
Does anyone else suffer magazine guilt?
I used to read magazines more. Back before my gym had TV screens on every cardio machine, and back before I had an elliptical machine positioned in front of a TV in my own home, I used to read my fitness- and health-related magazines while exercising. I am one of those freaky people who can read while I am in motion (that includes reading in cars) and still get a good workout. But TV is just so much easier, more convenient, and more absorbing, I've gradually stopped that practice.
Then I got pregnant, and suddenly most of the articles I was reading didn't apply to me anymore. I can't try to "Lose 8 Pounds in 2 Weeks!!" or "Find Your Slimming Swimsuit Style!" and the recipe for "Skinny Eggs Benedict" won't be useful until I'm allowed runny yolks again. (Oh, how I miss eggs over-easy.) The models on the covers and the new spring clothes taunt me with their tight bodies and slim fits. I'm not obsessing about this- after all, there's a certain beauty to pregnancy that these women don't currently have, and I do. But it makes me feel very removed from my former life, when I would have been interested in all the above articles.
Now I only read a few of the titles from cover to cover- Real Simple, Fit Pregnancy, and the two fashion magazines (I may not fit into any of the clothes, but I can't help it- I love fashion). The rest are collecting dust on my bedside table or crowding up the top drawer, but I can't bring myself to throw them in the recycle bin. I have magazine guilt. I feel like I need to read all of them, or at least skim them. Why? I can only come up with two reasons:
1. I paid for them, so I have to read them. I can usually get around this rule with food (even if I already paid for it with my wallet, I don't have to pay for it with my body if I'm not hungry) and with movies (rental fee, schmental fee. If it sucks, I'm turning it off). But for some reason that logic doesn't work for me on reading material.
2. I admire the work that goes into putting a magazine together, and I want to honor that work by reading it.
Both of those are pretty weak, and yet that pile sits there. I'm not a pack rat; when I'm done with something, I get rid of it. But maybe I'm not done with those magazines yet. Maybe I will read them (even when they're six months out of date). That's what I keep telling myself. The more permanent solution is to let the subscriptions expire, but that won't happen for several months yet, and in the meantime I keep getting those annoying reminder notices: "Only 2 issues left!" (even though I have until October) or "Act now on this low price!" Maybe THAT'S what's making me feel guilty.
Does anyone else suffer magazine guilt?
No, but that's because I read them, generally cover to cover, while soaking in a hot tub ("to calm my nerves" as Blanche Dubois would say). Still, I question why you would be anxious about those "tight bodies and slim fits" when those painfully anorexic bodies are SO unhealthy! You, on the other hand, have been beautiful all your life, you are currently beautiful in your pregnant state (have you seen your glowing complexion lately?), and you will remain beautiful forever! And that's worth a hell of a lot more than the cost of a few magazines you can easily throw away.
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