Yes!

I was finally able to fully finish the 20 minute express workout by Zumba! I was really not feeling it anymore about five minutes before it ended, but I just kept telling myself, "There's only five minutes left! REALLY?" And then I checked my heart rate monitor. Seeing such a high number of calories burned sure did make things a little easier!

As you may have noticed, I added an exercise log to the side of my blog, listing when I exercise, how long, the activity, and how many calories my HRM says I burned. I'm currently aiming for 500 fitness minutes a month, but I hope to increase that by 100 by the end of April, so that in my May, my goal will be 600 minutes. In July, I want it to be 700. September will be 900, and then in November will be my cap at 1000 minutes per month. This is the schedule I'll follow if I can MEET the new minimum. If not, I'll stay with whatever the current is until I can meet it and then start upping it. I'll touch back on this by the end of April!

It's amazing how great I feel now that I exercise. It's wonderful to feel sore and have it not be because my body doesn't know what's going on, but to have it be because I was working out and doing something good for myself.

I also thought I could start taking pictures of what I eat (that aren't meal bars or shakes) to get a better perspective of what I'm putting in my body. Journaling is great, but I'm a really visual person, so I'm hoping the pictures will help. I'll post them here, with a description of what's on my plate, Starting with ...TODAY!

Breakfast was some kind of sausage egg sandwich from Dunkin' Donuts. My brother got it for me and no one else would eat it, so I figured I would. I can't really say no to a bagel. I also had 20 lightly salted almonds and a cup of green + white tea.

This is a snack I had after getting home from lunch and market shopping. No pictures of lunch. I forgot! But it's a pepperjack cheese stick, 25 honey roasted peanuts, and a cup of strawberries (more or less).

Weigh In

So, I weighed in this morning. It came out to 203lbs. Another pound off of me and never to be seen again! I never thought I'd do this well again. I never thought I'd see the 190's THIS CLOSE to me again. I thought I'd be juggling those ten pounds forever. That my body didn't want me to be any smaller again.

I've got three pounds to lose before I'm at 200lbs. And then from there, it's all 190's. The 180's will be new for me, very new. I haven't weighed 180 since either the beginning of high school or even the end of middle school. The 190's are so close again that I can taaste them. And they taste like yogurt.

Today, I'm going to be going to my place of work. But not for work. I'm going to be meeting a friend there and we're having a late lunch together. I haven't seen this friend since high school, and I've lost quite a bit of weight since then, about 20-30lbs. I'm a  lot smaller than I was when I was a senior in high school.

Last night, something a little bit wonderful happened. I was eating dinner with my parents, which rarely happens. Since they celebrate Lent, and I don't, we usually can't agree what to eat on Fridays, so I don't tend to eat with them. Dad brought homw some amazing fish, though, and I just HAD to sit and eat with them. And it was amazing. But that isn't the wonderful part. The kitchen table is squeezed between a wall and the oven, so whoever sits by the oven generally can;'t sit out too far or no one will be able to get past them. My dad was sitting in that chair and I was sitting next to him. I got up to go move past him, behind the chair he was sitting in, and go to the other end of the kitchen. He started to move, but I told him he didn't have to, joking that I knew I was fat, but I wasn't THAT fat. And he said, "No, you're not anymore. You've been losing weight and you look smaller than you did a little while ago." My dad NEVER notices these things. But he noticed with me. I've apparently gotten so noticeably smaller to my own dad, Mr. Oblivious, that he noticed!

It really made me feel like I'm doing things the right way for my body and that I'm finally getting my act together when it comes to losing weight and inches and becoming a healthier person. Speaking of losing inches. Here are my measurement as of this morning:

Bust: 40"
Waist: 38"
Hips: 49"

I'm going to measure myself at the end of each month from now on, especially since starting Zumba. I want to see how much size I can lose,along with weight.

I'll post again soon! It's time for breakfast, then some Zumba and a shower before going to eet up with my friend. Wish me luck in picking something to eat that won't ruin me entirely.

So, today I did some Zumba workout when I got home from work. I only did it for 20 minutes, but I burned about 234 calories... And I'm still in the 'learning the moves' portion!

Tried Zumba

Holy crap! just finished trying out Zumba. THAT KICKED MY BUTT! I only did the basic steps for tonight, since it's late and I have work tomorrow. If I'm not feeling too poopy when I get home from work, I'll definitely try out some of the real routines on the DVD.

On Time!

So, this week I'm on time with my update! And I'm happy to report that I've lost half a pound. I came in at 204lbs this morning! I never thought I'd see those numbers again. I'd been fluctuating between 206-215lbs for almost a year now and didn't think I'd ever actually really lose any weight. It's just so rewarding to know that I've finally buckled down and started working that much harder at this and that I'm actually getting somewhere again. I hope I can get to the 190's by the time Mik's birthday rolls around.


My post last week was a bit haphazard, but I was just SO excited, that I couldn't think of anything other than SQUEE to say. This week, I've gotten into the groove of making a normal, coherent post again.

So, I notice my weight loss not so much in the numbers, but more in the way I walk. All of a sudden, I just FELT smaller. I knew I had to have lost some weight. That was when I found out I'd dropped to 204.5. Now I'm starting to notice it in my clothing. I had been a size 8 in panties, sometimes squeezing into a 7, for so long that I didn't think I'd ever be able to think of my being able to fit into anything else. I took a chance and bought some size 7 panties for the first time in a long time. Not only do they fit comfortably, they're a tad loose! I won't be moving down to a size 6 anytime soon, just because the difference in sizes is pretty big, but I hope that I can start looking at those within the next few months.

Another awesome thing when it comes to my clothing size is that I used to be in a 40-42 band bra. This made it VERY difficult for me to find bras on account of being a B cup. The few times I could find a 40 band in a B, it was either such poor quality and would break down in a month or so, or it was too damned expensive for me to even buy in the first place. I took a chance last night and bought two 38 band bras. I figured if they didn't fit, I could just buy an extender for them temporarily. Not necessary! They fit fantastically! Maybe now I'll be able to buy new bras as they start to fall apart instead of well after they're fallen apart and aren't anywhere near comfortable anymore.

Also, I've moved down into an 18 pant from 20/22. 18's feel great. They feel amazing. The 20's are too large now, too uncomfortable and not anywhere near what fits me anymore. In some brands, the 18's are way too big! I hope I can move down into a 16 by the time my 21st birthday rolls around in a few months.

In my lolita wardrobe, I have some updates, too! A few months ago, I made a purchase from Bodyline. Of the six things I bought, only two fit. I bought an OP, a skirt, a blouse, a pair of shoes, a pair of bloomers, and a pair of socks. The shoes and blouse were all that fit. THe skirt is still too small. I knew it was going to be for a long time when I bought it, but it was a fast selling item and I wanted it NOW. The OP...Well, it almost fits! I can get it more than halfway zipped up now, which is an improvement over not at all. The socks fit, uncomfortably. The bloomers fit, also uncomfortably. Hopefully, the OP and bloomers will fit very soon! And the socks, that would be awesome.

I'm going to be playing DDR again today, more than likely, after I pick up Mik from work. I played a round of it back on Tuesday. I haven't been playing THAT much DDR, but it's a lot more than I had been just a few weeks ago. I'm sure it's helping a lot.

Now, one of the things I'm sure is helping is that I eat breakfast and lunch now on the days that I work. The only way I can manage this, though, is to buy meal replacement bars and shakes. The shakes for morning, since I can't handle solid food before 10AM or I'll throw up. The bars for lunch, since I can eat them in less than a minute and then get back to work. I don't get breaks, so this is all I can manage. But it keeps me from stuffing my face with everything I see when I get home, and even sometimes before I get home. Sometimes I would just be too hungry and start eating things at work. Not a good idea! Using these things has nothing to do with my want to lose weight. Even at goal weight, as long as it's a day I'm working and I'm working day shift, I'll continue using these bars and shakes. I don't use them on my days off (like today! I had sandwiches! Mmmn. Sandwiches).

I'm still using my journal and keeping track of what I'm eating. I'm going to start keeping track of any exercise I do and all the walking I do. I walked four miles this week! To work every time, but still! Very exciting.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Ayur Shri, a local Indian restaurant, for their buffet. Mmn! I'll probably and go pick up my reward for losing weight after lunch, too. A Victoria's Secret or Bath and Body Works purchase (with a limit of $40. I'm not made of money). I can't wait! Great food, great scents, and a nice time hanging out with my roommate, even if she is bored out of her skull.

Another update to come, at the latest, next Saturday!

Oops!

Two days late, but here I am. I played three rounds of DDR on Saturday. Three! THREE! When was the last time I did that? A long, long time ago.


Sunday was uneventful, I worked. It was a job. Ahaha. I stayed in bed all day after work because I hurt so badly.

I did weigh in today, a bit late, but yes. I came in at...wait for iiiit...

204.5

YES. I lost a pound and a half! A POUND AND A HALF! I'm under the 205 mark! I'm so happy!

I hope to play more DDR tomorrow, on my day off.

Twice in a row!

Well, here we go. I posted last week and I'm posting again this week! I came in at 206lbs, which is half a pound down from last week. Not much of a change, but it's down and not up.

I'm trying really hard not to just comfort eat. I hope I don't give into that this week. One of my snakes died last night and we're not entirely sure why, seeing as the other one is completely fine. Nonetheless, it's really depressing. We've had them for two years now.

I totaled four and a quarter miles walked today to and from work. It would have been five had I actually walked the whole way to work the other day, but my sister saw me walking and picked me up.

Slowly getting some room in the living room, so hopefully we can get a Gazelle and get it all nice and set up. Then I won't really have to worry so much about exercise.

So, counting calories doesn't really work for me, it seems. It just ends up depressing me because when I meet my calories goals, I don't meet my nutritional goals in other ways. When I meet those, I either go way under or way over my calories and then I just get discouraged. I'm continuing to journal, not noting any of these things, just putting down what I'm eating, how much, and how often I eat. This is working pretty well.  I noticed I drink a bit too much soda, so I cut that down with some tea and flavored waters. I noticed I wasn't getting enough fruits or vegetables, so I started sneaking them in. Also, I've been eating WAY too much meat! So I started cutting down on that. When I just look at calories or nutrients by themselves, I don't care what it is I'm eating, as long as I meet those numbers. And that just doesn't work for me. It's why I yo-yo'd so much, I think, these past few months. And since I am an emotional eater and I have slight issues with binging and overeating, that wasn't at all good for me.

I've been sprucing up my room lately, so hopefully I'll have room to put my desk in soon. I might just break down and buy a new desk, though, since that one's so monstrously huge and I can't quite find the hardware for it., It's all in a labeled bag in the storage room, but...the storage room's a bit unorganized. Plus, as stated, that desk is just too big for my room. What I'm likely going to end up doing is buying a very small computer workstation and then buying a crafting table. That way I won't have room to collect cups of any sort on my desk and my crafting supplies will have a place and a home. I also need a smaller bed. This is all likely going to be bought before I fork over the cash for a new bike. I was going to get a bike instead of a car for now since work isn't that far away and neither is anything else I'd like to get to during the day when dad's at work. However, it's all farther than I'd like to walk. Walking just takes so long! It's not that it's tiring, it just takes forever for me to get to my destination. 

Anyhoo, I will make sure I come back next Saturday, at the least, and give an update on my weight.

Here are my updated measurements:
Bust 41inch
Waist 40.5inch
Hip 49inch

The numbers went up a bit since my last measurements posted, I'm sure, but they're lower than the last time I took them myself, which was about half a month to a month ago. What's weird is that my waist and bust are starting to become the same size! How did that happen? Anyway, at least my hips are going down in size, which is the hardest part of me to fit.