Level Two

So, I tried level two of the 30 Day Shred and I have to say it really wasn't as bad as I thought it was going to be. The only thing that was really difficult is she leaves what I thought were the hardest moves for circuit three, which was tough. I thought I was through the hardest part and then it got a lot harder. I felt good though. I realized I'd been doing level one for way too long and needed a better challenge. You don't have to be perfect at level one to get level two. She introduces something called a "plank jack" which is my new best friend and worst enemy. The exercise is tough but really works my weakest area.

Posting from the scale. Today I am thankful for an uneven bathroom floor. I usually have to move the scale around on the floor to find a level spot and then either take the weight I come up with most often or an average of all of them. Today...one of my weights was 129.6!!!!! I had an average of 130.0!!!!! I really need to keep up the momentum to peel off just a couple more pounds so that I'm totally out of the 130's. I want to be able to maintain and go up and down a few pounds without being in the 130s. Happy day!

Remember Hilda?

Remember on Annadotes, after Lucy was born and I realized I had someone else's bum? Well the same thing is happening again, only in an awesome way. I went to J.Crew yesterday and tried on a pair of jeans...I could not believe they fit me. Here's the proof.



After my birthday indulgence yesterday, the scale is a little whack-a-doo this morning but I'm off to a good start today. And now, I have these pictures to help me stay motivated. I'm sorry if you're sick of looking at my backside, but I can't promise this won't be the last time.

Posting from the scale: a birthday MIRACLE! 130.8 this morning! Happy Birthday to me!

blech

Last week was a tough, tough week. I think I got a little ahead of myself. I was really on a roll and then I rolled right into a brick wall. I struggled a lot last week. This week is a new week...I'm still very resolved to keep going. I'm not giving up. I just feel like I lost a little ground. Oh well...pick myself back up and all that, right?

Hello Plateau...

I've been on a roll the last couple weeks and I have finally hit another plateau. I knew this day would come-I did eat a lot of Chinese food last night...mmm...it was so good. I got back on track today and am happy about that-I just want to lose a few more pounds before maintaining. I feel like my arsenal of plateau busting tricks is empty. I can not cut out any more calories. I can not be any stricter with my diet. I could work out harder...I've been a little lax since last week. I was thinking maybe I'd start up The Shred again for a few days and see if that works. I don't think I'll lose those three pounds before my birthday--maybe 130? Anyway...that's all for now.

Victory!

Whose legs are those??? Oh, they're mine. >:) That's my emoticon for a devilish grin. We went to the Gap today so I could try on jeans. To me, Gap Jeans are the gold-standard of sizing. Because they don't stretch as much they tend to fit a little smaller so if you're an 8 at the Gap, you might be a 10 at other places. One of my goals going into this weight loss project was to fit into a Gap size 4 and to be a comfortable 6 everywhere else. So, today-we went to the Gap. I figured I would be a size 8 but took the 10s, 8s and 6s into the dressing room with me. I wasn't there to buy---hello---ever heard of Plato's? Anyway, I tried on the 8s first and they really fit great but I knew if I lost any more weight they'd be too big too fast, you know? So, I tried on the 6s and lo and behold they actually fit really well. I was SHOCKED when I slipped my leg into them so easily. I had Tony take a picture to document the event. I felt like Sister Skinny at the end of her journey. Watching that video always makes me cry, btw. I didn't know when he was actually taking it which is why I cropped out my head...I looked really silly.

The last time I fit into a size 6 from the Gap was back then:

8-23-03

Emotionally Detached

I'm continuing to make progress everyday. I had a mini-breakthrough on Thursday night. I had one of those MRIs I love so much. I was really cranky when it was over. I used to deal with my crankiness or bad days with french fries or ice cream, because I deserved it, right? After the MRI I was really wanting a treat, or rather something to make me feel better. I couldn't think of any food I would feel better after eating, especially at 10:00pm. So I just went home, was crabby with my husband, and then read my book and went to bed. Luckily by morning I felt better. No need for food to make me feel better. I was able to disassociate my feelings with the need for food. Yeah! My birthday is in 11 days...think I can lose three pounds by then? I don't know-I don't want to push it but it would be so awesome.

THANK YOU

Thank you, thank you, thank you! It was so nice all day yesterday to read all your words of congratulations and encouragement. To answer a few questions, I do have an end goal in mind...and hope to just maintain at that point. I am nervous about the maintenance stage, but like I've said before this feels much more like a life change than a diet, so it might not be so bad. The key for me has been exercise and moderation.

After all the sugar on Sunday, my body was a little freaked out yesterday---like, "what happened? I thought sugar was back and now you cut us off again." I had a really good day yesterday. I went out to lunch with two of my best, best girls and had that Fuji Apple salad at Panera. I love those apple chips. I was able to exercise and I just made a normal dinner and had a normal size portion. This morning I weighed 134.4. I haven't weighed 134 since these pictures were taken back in 2005 and I don't remember feeling like this back then.

The moment we've all been waiting for...

Start at the beginning and follow me on my journey. My original goal was to lose 20 pounds by today and I've lost more than 30. I've lost almost 20% of my body weight.

This change in my life has gone so much differently than I expected, and happily so. I have kept a few of my closest friends and family in the loop because I knew I would need the encouragement when times got tough. Yesterday was a total sugar fest so I need to get back on the wagon today.

Life is good. Thanks for reading. Enjoy!

Excited

So, my "reveal," is in a couple days and I have to say, I'm pretty excited. I'm going to work on writing all my feelings and such tomorrow so I just have to put up my pictures and it'll be ready to go on Monday morning. I've lost 31 pounds and am happily staring into the lower half of the 130s. Oh...and I fit into a size 8!