I found my last “fat” clothes purchase this morning — two Size E panty hose. Little finds like this always helps me focus on my success and bolsters my determination of reach my goal.
While putting away laundry this morning I found two pair of off-white Lane Bryant Daysheer panty hose still in their packaging. My eyes wandered to the top of the package and froze on the size…E! This was one of my last clothing purchases when I weighed 325.
Automatically I flipped it over and looked at what “Size E” meant. A sad little smile came to my face. Size E is for ladies who weigh 250-300 pounds. Clearly I was too Embarrassed to buy the next size up, Size F (F for fat?) with a range of 300-400 lbs. Read More
In my push to weigh 200 pounds by the end of April, I’m thinking about entering the Gold’s Gym 2014 Challenge contest. On average people lose 12 pounds and 7.5 inches during the 12 week contest. Not that I expect to win the $75,000 in cash prizes, but it might be the motivational push I need to kick my workouts up a notch.
How Does The Contest Work?
After paying the entry fee, my Gold’s trainer takes my measurements and a head-to-toe “before” photo. Then 12 weeks later my trainer takes the final measurements and an “after” photo to document the results. Each participating Gold’s picks a male and female winner in 5 different age groups that underwent the most transformation. Those local winners are entered into the national contest.
The key — what I do in those 12 weeks between photos is strictly up to me.
I like the idea of a specific date to work towards. But a date and an after photo makes me work 10 times as hard.
Now, About That Photo…
For women, Gold’s recommends wearing a two piece bathing suit for the photos. Yikes!
That’s the only reason why I’m “thinking” about entering and not actually signing up. The last time I wore a two piece was…well, I can’t remember!
Sigh…Maybe it’s time to stop fearing the two piece.
I’m heading over to they gym in about an hour. The challenge is calling to me.
I’m setting and tracking weekly goals that move me closer to my 3 month target weight of 227 lbs. by the end of 2013.
To help me reach my 3 month goal of losing 19.5 lbs, I’m setting and tracking weekly targets for working out and nutrition. I’m tossing in a weekly reward for that little extra push.
Workout
Power walks on 3 days this week consisting of 1, 2 and 4 mile walks; do a 5K on October 5.
It’s amazing what eating right can do for you. Since Saturday I’ve averaged 22g carbs per day. Result? My energy level is through the roof. I’m pretty much on the go from 8:00 a.m. – 8:00 p.m.
Since energy without direction = bad things, I’ve harnessed this energy into fixing up the house.
Before you couldn’t see any part of the wall in our closet. This is what eating right does!
The last 2 days I tackled our spare bedroom that really doubled for my home office and storage. I demolished 3 large bookshelves (with a lot of help from the hubby!), sorted through all the boxes, files, and overall junk, made 3 trips to the landfill, walked 3 dogs, picked up new storage from The Container Store (a very happy place), re-organized the crap we are keeping, cleaned the room, made dinner, and cleaned the kitchen.
Now I’m off to look at 1. Paint chips for this weekend’s project; and 2. Pick pretty annuals and planters to beautify that deck of mine (this afternoon’s project)!
I feel amazingly great now. I’m totally motivated to eat the right things and exercise. Added bonus: my thoughts don’t seem scattered. There is a huge difference in me between last week (bad food binges) and this week (healthy eating).
Warm golden brown hair courtesy of Garnier; seductive pink lipstick by Loreal; Khaki Blue eyeshadow provided by Estee Lauder; and necklace supplied by Lane Bryant.
Yesterday I decided to do some low-budget pampering. I’ve lost weight, but other than buying new clothes (required!) I really haven’t focused on my appearance. I’d just put my hair up in a pony tail and head out the door. I’m still on my sabbatical from work so I don’t feel the need to dress up just because I’m leaving the house. And if I’m being honest, I really did the bare minimum for work.
Well now it seems that I’m having a change of heart. I feel great about myself and all the work I’ve done the last year. But I’m starting to get a little miffed at myself for being too low maintenance when it comes to how I look.
I think I never really bothered with it before because I worried about how an outfit looked on my frame. Did it fit was more important than does it flatter my figure. Perhaps I’m now feeling great about myself and I just want it to project it on the outside.
I started with a quick little inventory.
Shoes – 2 pairs of flip-flops and a pair of Nikes. How sad.
Make-up: 3 lipsticks, blue eye shadow, no blush.
Hair: A ton of gray that needed to go.
Nails: All of my acrylic nails had popped off except for my right thumb nail. Wow, stay classy Dot!
Skin: Dry as hell.
Jewelry: Have a ton…so why not wear some?
Purses: 1
So yesterday I took care of those nasty grey hairs, gave myself a damn fine manicure, lotioned up, and made do with the little make up I own.
Well today I discovered something about myself that I never noticed before. Having fresh flowers in the kitchen is a good way to make sure I don’t go out for meals. Located strategically where I do my food prep, flowers are something pretty to look at and they smell amazing.
They just put me in a happy place. I’m more likely to measure my food and track my carbs with flowers in the kitchen.
Only one downside…fresh flowers are kitty magnets to my evil overlord cat, Spider. Chasing Spider off the island (and sterilizing it) can get annoying. But then again, I get to break out the spray bottle for bad kitty. Bonus!
Fresh flowers (or chasing a cat with a spray bottle)… it really is the simple things in life.
Is this some radical new therapy? Nope. Just baby stepping.
After being away for 7 weeks, I’m finally back home in Virginia. So of course, my wellness plan gets kicked into high gear, right? No more excuses: Daily walks. Track and measure food. Avoid carbs. Blog everyday. Easy peasy lemon squeezy!
Heh.
Turns out reality didn’t quite live up to my expectations.
Since my glorious return to The Old Dominion, I’ve averaged 2-3 naps a day. Hey, if I’m napping, I’m not eating.
But I’m also not exercising. All the driving across country took a lot more out of me than expected. I just felt exhausted. It doesn’t help that my insomnia is back (hence the naps) the last few days. Last night I was up until 4 a.m. Not a good sign.
For whatever reason, I really thought jumping right back into my wellness regime would be simple. The problem is I lost momentum. And it is amazing how hard it is to get it back. For the first few days back in town, I became lazy mouse.
A few of my good habits I developed over the last year fell by the wayside while in Arizona. My food tracking was almost nonexistent. Limited alcohol intake? Heh. And while I did walk during my first 2 weeks of my stay, once the temps hit 110, I was lucky to go 10 feet without bursting into flames.
It was easy for the lazy mouse in me to take hold.
Well this weekend I went back to square one. But I had a strategy – Baby Steps. If you’ve seen What About Bob you know what I’m talking about.
Yes. Baby Steps.
So Wednesday night, I mapped out my baby steps for success.
Baby Step #1:Tracking and measuring what I eat, and drinking plenty of high quality H2O.
I started baby stepping my tracking last Thursday. I didn’t worry about exercising. It just doesn’t matter how much I exercise if I’m chowing on pizza and drinking beer. Eating smart is the key to weight loss.
Baby Step #2:Power walking 30 minutes 4 times this week.
I haven’t walked the last 6 weeks. I’m not looking to set any world records. Easing my way back into daily walks is key to avoiding injuries.
Baby Step #3:Weekly Weigh In.
I gained about 6 lbs while in Arizona. My weekly weigh in start back up Saturday.
I’m baby kicking lazy mouse to the curb. Momentum will be mine once again!
As predicted, today I feel worse. My muscles were very stiff getting out of bed. Maximum soreness hit as I was due for my second session with trainer John. He did a great job loosening me up. The workout felt good but I was exhausted. Afterward I only desired a warm comfy place to rest. My allergies kept me up last night, so with the muscle soreness, the workout and the lack of sleep, I just wanted to crawl back into bed.
Before I could head for my bed, I had a little visitor. Spider (my evil overlord cat) decided to jump into my lap in a rare moment of sweetness. He kneaded my lap, belly and chest, purring contently the entire time. He would nuzzle my chin, neck and give me soft little head butts. It was as if he knew I was hurting and wanted me to feel better. For 15 minutes I was in heaven.
Then little shit promptly bit my hand (braking the skin) and ran off. Well that woke me up and I ended up doing some gardening.
Perhaps that was really the evil overlord’s plan all the time.
It’s cloudy, windy, rainy and 38 degrees out. Walking 2.5 miles was the last thing on my mind today. But alas, I laced up my pink and black nikes, put on some stretchy pants, and slid into my blue hoodie.
The first mile was awful. The cold breeze was blowing in my face and I couldn’t keep my hands warm (note to self: knit gloves). I was miserable and just wanted to go back home.
To make the walk even more enjoyable, starting at the 1.5 mile mark my remaining path was all up hill. For the more experienced walker/runner, think of a 1.0 incline on a treadmill. But to me, it was going up the side of a mountain.
I tried to go faster to end my misery quickly but I just ended up with a slight cramp in my right calf. As I stopped to tie my shoelace and stretch my leg, I saw him coming towards me.
Actually barreling at me. His leg movements, fast and frantic, were worthy of a grant from the Ministry of Silly Walks. I just finished tying my shoelace when his 2 large front paws crashed into my chest, knocking me promptly on my butt. I looked up and got a big sloppy kiss on the mouth.
I learned my harasser’s name is Clint, a playful 10 week old yellow Lab who lives in my neighborhood.
It is not possible to have bad thoughts when an adorable puppy crosses your path, especially one who gives great hugs and loves to snuggle. Clint was what I needed to snap me out of the whiny hole I was digging. The truth is I felt great after the walk and can’t wait until tomorrow’s walk.
That’s what I need to remember the next time I start to whine. That, and my new friend Clint.
