BodyPump Class

I did my first BodyPump class tonight. It nearly killed me. Arms and thighs are jelly. Going to bed.

It was awesome.

57 Reasons to Lose Weight

I've been getting kind of down about this whole weight loss process -- it's happened before after I lost about 25 pounds, and I gave up and gained almost all of it back. To remind myself why I'm doing this, I've made a list of 57 reasons I want to lose this weight - one for each pound.

1. To be able to walk into any store I want and be able to find my size, not just the plus size section or Lane Bryant.
2. One word: Sleeveless. Dresses, shirts, halter tops...you name it, I will not wear it.
3. To be comfortable enough to wear shorts in public again (for the first time since 9th grade). I tried some on tonight at Kohls. We are not there yet.
4. To make my granma proud. She always believed that I could do it.
5. To continue to have regular periods (sorry, maybe TMI, but when I'm overweight I am irregular).
6. To not play the "Am I the biggest person here?" game every time I walk in a room.
7. To never hear "BUT you have such a pretty face." You have such a pretty face is fine. :)
8. To be able to wear tall cowboy boots and knee-high boots and not worry if they will fit over my calves.
9. Collar bones.
10. Shopping at Victoria's Secret for bras.
11. For my career. Appearance matters more in getting ahead at your job than I think anyone would like to admit.
12. To be an inspiration to family and friends.
13. To wear shoes with high heels and open toes that don't kill my feet after a half hour.
14. To meet guys. It's true.
15. To minimize my risk of diabetes, heart attack, stroke, etc.
16. So no one tells me that I remind them of Penelope Garcia on Criminal Minds.

Seriously?

17. So I can easily cross my legs.

18. So I can look awesome/be unrecognizable for my 10 year high school reunion or any weddings I have to attend. 

19. So men can pick me up and twirl me around. Lots of men are waiting in line to do this once I get small enough, haha. 

20. So I can wear cute rings without looking for a size 9 (which they never have). 

21. Amazing Facebook profile picture so all the stalkers from high school are all like, "Wow, she looks so good!"

22. Not avoiding mirrors like a vampire. 

23. Looking decent in a swimsuit and feeling comfortable hanging out by the pool, going on vacations to the beach, or going on cruises. 

24. To never again think "I can do that once I lose weight."

25. Going horseback riding again without feeling sorry for my horses. 

26. To never know or think someone is laughing or talking about me because of my weight. 

27. To never use weight as an excuse again - for anything. To never say "It would be so much better if I could just lose the weight." I hate believing that the extra weight is the only thing standing between me and happiness.

28. To never worry about a weight limit on anything - rides at the fair or amusement parks, chairs, etc.  

29. To be able to borrow clothes from friends. 

30. So when the time comes to go shopping for my wedding dress, I won't end up on "Say Yes to the Dress: Big Bliss." All the plus size brides are so sad when trying on dresses. Even if they say they "like their curves." 

But I still love Randy.

31. Little black dress. Not big black dress. 

32. So I can be a bridesmaid and not worry about whether the dress will fit or if they will have one in my size. To never again be the fat bridesmaid. To not dread going without those shawls that come with the dress because none of the other bridesmaids want to wear them. 

33. I think about weight ALL. THE. TIME. So my weight is not the first thing I think about when I wake up and the last thing I think about when I go to sleep. 

34. To never get "that look" from the person who has to sit next to me on the plane. 

35. To be more confident and outspoken. 

36. To go on any ride at amusement parks and not be worried about being turned away or fitting into the seat harness. 

37. Flirting! Whee!

38. To get whatever haircut I want without worrying that it will make my face look fat(ter). 

39. So I don't crave winter when I can hide under big coats and sweaters. 

I can't put my arms down!

40. So I can tell people my weight and it not be a big deal or a huge secret.  

41. Running!

42. Not being hypersensitive about everything. Example: I went through the Chick Fil A drive thru and had ordered a caesar chicken wrap and a diet lemonade. When I got to the window, the cashier said, "You had a caesar chicken wrap, a diet lemonade, and .... a large Oreo shake." And I laughed nervously because I thought he was making a joke since CLEARLY I must normally order large shakes while going through drive thrus. I told him I didn't have the shake and he took it off. It had nothing to do with me, just an error on the cash register. 

43. Not feeling like I am an outsider - to feel normal. 

44. Participating in intermural sports or clubs. 

45. So my friends would feel proud to set me up with their friends. 

46. Halloween in girl world. I'm a mouse, duh!

47. Not feeling self-conscious about going to a spa for a facial or massage or spray tan. I can't really imagine going naked in front of anyone right now, much less a total stranger who is going to be all up in my personal business. (Frankly, I don't know if I'd be ok with it after the weight loss, but it's worth a shot.)

48. To not feel completely inadequate when guys talk about all the hot girls at work. 

49. So my twenties are not wasted and my life is not put on hold any longer. 

50. Single digit sizes. 

51. To not be ashamed or embarrassed to go to the gym. I'm totally getting better about this one. 

52. When the time comes, to be able to have a healthy pregnancy. 

53. To be able to look and act my age. 

54. To wear a belt with my jeans or skirt and show it off. 

55. So that it will be easier to make close girlfriends. 

56. To not be threatened by healthier people. 

57. Because I'm worth the time and effort it takes!

Whew, that was really long and full of feelings. I promise that won't happen again for a while. :)

I Had A Skinny Day!

And I felt like I had to share it. You know those days when you just FEEL skinny, even though you haven't really lost that much weight? That was me today!

Ihopenoonewalksin, Ihopenoonewalksin, Ihopenoonewalksin!

In the future I will try to be less awkward taking a full body shot in the company's restroom, but I was terrified of getting caught since the door was directly to my right so anyone walking in was going to realize immediately what I was doing. Also, next time maybe I will try to get my full body in the shot.

Bonus: I know it wasn't completely in my head because I got two compliments from people; one woman said I was glowing and asked if I was in love - I WISH - and another girl said I looked so skinny walking through the door.

I went to zumba last night and danceton tonight - I am worn out but it was a lot of fun, especially the zumba class. And it's almost the weekend! Hurray!

Monthly Weigh-In: May 2011

May's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out

May's Progress:
Weight: -2.2
Days in calorie range: 12/31
Days calories NOT TRACKED: 4/31 (Boo!)
Days worked out: 5/31



Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -27.8
Days in calorie range: 77/120
Days worked out: 62/120


June's Goals:
Weight: -7.3
25 days drinking 8+ glasses of water


Clearly May did not work out for me....since I basically didn't work out the whole month of May. I'm re-evaluating my weight loss goals. NOT to change my ultimate goal in September, but this is the second month where I didn't meet my goal, and I just need to re-situate the numbers. Instead of the 6 pounds a month I planned, since May was such a blow-off month, I'm going to up it to a goal of 7.3 pounds per month. Otherwise, I would have to lose 11.2 pounds this month to stay on track with my numbers the way they're set up now. 


May was difficult because of the teambuilding event at the beginning of the month coupled with Ashley and Rivka's visit this past weekend. Not that I regret that because we had a total BLAST, and I knew I would be taking a break from the diet, but I also don't want to set myself up to fail, to get discouraged, to give up, and to not reach my goal by my birthday. The whole reason this is working this time is because I'm being realistic - I'm going to take vacations and eat chips and drink margaritas - and if I need to adjust my goals, I will. 

See? Look how much fun we were having!

With that said, I really want to step it up in June. I only have one out-of-town trip planned for one night, and I don't have a big event at work that will consume my entire life for two weeks either. I do have a fantastic trip planned for July to see Meaghan, back from Korea (!!!!), so I would like to get a head start on July since I know we will be celebrating her return! 

I decided not to set a goal for days in calorie range or days worked out this month because I am committed to those fully. I have noticed that I've been really dehydrated lately, though, so I want to make sure that I get all my water in for the day. I have also read that it helps a lot when losing weight, although I can't really believe it would make that much difference besides an initial pound or two in water weight. I'm going to start tracking that as carefully as my calories, and we'll see if it actually does make a difference like everyone says.  

Halfway to Birthday Goal!!!

So after the week of the teambuilding event where I lost my mind and ate everything in sight, it's been really hard to get back on track. I only went to the gym twice last week, and didn't do much else. But I stopped getting takeout for every meal and started eating my leftovers again, and while I wasn't excited about it at all, it totally worked.

So now, officially, I am over halfway to my birthday goal (-57 pounds by September 30th)!!! I have lost 29.2 pounds!! This has been great for my motivation this week because I really felt like I was slacking, falling behind schedule for the weight loss, and that I'd never make my goal now - but the official halfway point is not until May 18th, so I'm actually slightly ahead of schedule! (Yes, I counted the days out. Stop judging.)

Now the exciting part....I get a $250 reward for being halfway through. Originally I was going to get a Barnes and Noble Nook or a new purse, but now I'm not sure what I want to buy for myself. I desperately need some new shoes for work and for the gym...but the purpose of this reward was more of a just-for-fun purchase and something that I wouldn't normally buy. Anyway, I'm going to think about it, but since I also finally met my goal from last month, I got this new shirt to wear to the Ranger's game on Memorial Day weekend!

Still can't wait for Rivka and Ashley to be here!

Teambuilding Is Over!

The teambuilding event (for 85 people in my department) finally happened this past Thursday, and it was pretty successful, with very few drama-filled incidents. But, due to all the stress and the planning consuming my entire life, I've fallen off the wagon pretty hard this past week. I don't think I've eaten out so much since before I started in January.

But! Ashley and Rivka are coming in less than three weeks (!!!) and I really want to show off my progress so far, so I'm shutting it down and getting back on track. Which is why tonight I wanted to not work out, but I put on my tennis shoes and went run/walking anyway.

Monthly Weigh-In: April 2011

April's Goals:
Weight: -7.2
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


April's Progress:
Weight: -5.8
Days in calorie range: 13/30
Days worked out: 15/30

Total YTD Progress:
Weight: -25.6
Days in calorie range: 65/120
Days worked out: 57/120


May's Goals:
Weight: - 7.4
20 days in calorie range
20 days working out


Just as I suspected, I didn't quite make my weight loss goal for this month. However, I did forget that I was a little behind schedule last month as well, so that made me feel better this morning. The travelling and birthday celebrations discussed in the last post really didn't help, but I still managed to lose 7.2 pounds this month, which is definitely significant and should make me proud! 


I have also officially crossed the 25 pounds lost mark, which means I'm SUPER close to my halfway point - which will be 28.5 pounds lost. 


I really want to try and work very hard next month; two of my high school girls are coming into town for Memorial Day weekend and I really want to get a new swimsuit for our float trip! My goal is aggressive but I think it's achievable as long as I stick to the plan consistently. I may try to plan out my above calorie range days so I don't get out of control with the eating out situation (that's what did me in this month for sure).