does this tan make me like thinner?

So, over the years I have become aware, painfully aware, that I do not possess a grand amount of collagen. 

Come on ladies (maybe some men, too) collagen is a magic remedy that some of us have in abundance and others lack in great deficiency!  It's the by product in our bodies that keeps us looking firm, taut, thin and young.  I apparently stood in the wrong line - mistaking the large group of people in line, and thinking "yeah, I want some of that".  Imagine my shock when I discovered I had been in the cellulite line.  The large group of people gathering around the stand had also made the same mistake, and we were all trying to "return" our cellulite! 

I had a cousin, Amelie Hennessey, who was a fantastic lady.  She always had a healthy tan going on!  Always!  She looked vibrant, alive and full of life.  She looked like a lady who had a great time - always outdoors,  sunning at every opportunity she was afforded. 

In my opinion, a tan just makes you look thinner.  Maybe its the fact that it hides the massive dimples that come with cellulite.  I don't know.  However, I spend every minute I have in search of ways to soak up sun.  Perhaps that is why I am finished with Colorado and want to return to the sandy beaches that give you a rich, bronzed look, year round.  Winters in Colorado do not bestow the type of tan I want.  I spent a few winters, into early spring, with goggle eyes.  Not  only did that type of tan make me look like some sort of pro skier, which I am painfully far from, but it made my butt look bigger.

After returning from Moab this weekend, I did notice that I am a few shades darker than I was last week at this time.  The minute the snow melts - this year it has been SLOW - I find myself retreating to warm, sunny spots where I attempt to soak up every single ray of sunshine.  I try to shake off the long winter blues with sunshine that not only rejuvenates my poor soul, but give my scary, beached whale appearance some relief.  I know, I know, losing 20lbs would be of great benefit, however, every thing must come in small increments, and thus far, the 20lbs I want to shed is not falling off as I expected. 

My reasoning on sun tanning is that if you are out in the sun, you are far more apt to be moving around, such as taking a walk, hiking or simply moving.  This promotes calorie burning, and thus the weight loss follows in natural order.  However, with menopause, I am discovering that calorie burning is twice as difficult as it was when I was 20 years younger.  Damn!

No more are the lazy days of summer, when my friends and I would travel to Zuma Beach,  smear baby oil on in vast amounts, set our radios to KMET or KLOS and lay in the sand for hours on end.  Now, I am forced to tan in a new, unconventional manner.  I actually need to cover some of the scary parts of my body so as to not offend other people. 

In some ways I wish I could convey to the younger generations that this is their legacy in life if they allow themselves to get out of hand...eating too much, or getting  in the CELLULITE LINE instead of  COLLAGEN LINE.