Well, actually 28.1 pounds gone, to be exact! I am really excited that I broke the 25 pound mark this week! I lost 3.3 pounds this week, which is less than normal without TOM, but I still feel really good about that.
There was a lot going on this week: a surprise visit from CTLB’s mom (where I did indulge in 2 beers and a little bit of “pub food”) and my graduation last night. I am really proud of myself because last night my parents asked if I wanted to have a celebratory glass of wine, but I opted for a glass of water, instead.
I’m having a graduation party on Friday, and I will eat some of the appetizers and have a few glasses of wine, but my plan to make up for breaking the fast is to workout more this week. It’s all a matter of calories in vs. calories out, so I will need to up the exercise in order to see a great number on the scale next week.
I still can’t believe my success on this fasting program, and am excited to see my progress continue, especially once this graduation party is over and I don’t have any breaks in the fast.
I received my replacement pedometer in the mail on Friday night when I got home, and I couldn’t wait to put it on on Saturday.
My totals are pretty good, considering that I didn’t actually go to workout either Saturday or today. I was busy running errands, going to the prom, and cleaning up the house.
Saturday - 5936
Sunday - 8037
I can’t wait to break the 10,000 mark sometime this week. It will be interesting to see how many I can rack up tomorrow during school. Of course, since tomorrow night is my graduation, and I’ll be wearing a dress, I’ll be taking the pedometer off around 3:30 when CTLB and I leave my house to go to the ceremony.
Still, I’m going to shoot for 10,000 steps by Wednesday. It’s so fun seeing how far I can get and then besting it the next day. Increasing my activity level is going to help me lose weight faster, as well as make sure that I regain an exercise routine that I can live with.
Last night our high school had the prom, and every year a group of my teacher friends and I like to go for an hour or so to see all the kids all dressed up.
As I was trying to decide what to wear last night, my eyes fell upon a dress that I haven’t worn for at least a year. I bought this dress over 2 years ago, and loved it because it was really flattering, showing off my small waist, and accentuating my hourglass figure. Plus, it has sort of a retro 50’s feel to it that I love.
I remember clearly trying on the dress about a year ago, hoping to wear it for some event or another, and as I put it on over my head, I heard a riiiiippping sound. Ugh. I had ripped a seam on the side of the dress! Guess I wasn’t going to be able to wear it anytime soon.
So last night I decided to try it on and see if it would fit. It did! It was a bit tighter than it was when I originally bought it, but it flattered my figure nicely, and I could breathe in it. I had to do something about the ripped seam, so I called CBCB and asked her if she had a sewing kit. She did, so I headed over to her house to play seamstress before we left for the prom.
This morning I dug up some pictures of myself from the last time I wore the dress — New Year’s Eve 2006 (about to be 2007). The dress was quite a bit tighter on me in those pictures, but the most striking thing was how much fuller my faced looked. For the past 10 years, I’ve been all about the headshot. “Take pictures of my face and avoid anything full-length,” I’d direct whomever was snapping the photo. Well, even with these pictures that were only waist-up, I can see how far I’ve come in a relatively short amount of time.
It was so nice to be able to fit into a dress that was too small for me in the recent past. Losing almost 24 pounds has shown me what a difference it can make in the look and feel of the clothes I wear. So many of my jeans are getting really baggy, but I refuse to buy new clothes until they’re falling off. I’d rather spend money on clothes I’m going to have for a while, rather than some “in-between” clothes to get me by. Plus, I think I have enough clothes in smaller sizes to make due.
I felt great in that dress last night because it looked good on me, but mostly because of the way this weight loss is making me feel about myself. I’m accomplishing a goal that has eluded me for years, and that’s the biggest NSV of all.
Today’s weigh-in was awesome! I lost 5.4 pounds, for a total of 23.8 in one month!
I guess the minimal weight loss last week was due to my TOM. It’s good to know that nothing else was going on. I spoke to my doctor last week, and he said that losing weight quickly can definitely cause the cycle to get thrown off. He also mentioned stress could be a factor, and while I haven’t felt particularly stressed, I have had a lot going on between work and grad school, so it could have been my body’s way of reacting.
I was actually hoping to break the 25 pound mark today, just to have a milestone, but I guess next week will be just fine, too.
More and more people are starting to notice, which is a lot of fun. My clothes are all getting baggier, too. Now I need to continue with the working out so that I can build muscle and prevent too much loose skin.
I’m so proud of myself! Yesterday we had a little celebration with my grad school class at a Mexican restaurant, and I didn’t eat anything!
Since it was a mandatory event, I had to go, but I was worried that I’d be tempted to break the fast. I’d heard that the food at this place wasn’t that good, so I decided it wouldn’t be worth it.
Even with my mindset ready, I was still worried that it was going to be hard to be around food and drinks without indulging.
You know what? It wasn’t at all. Sure, I would’ve loved to have a Corona, but I can wait for the party I’m hosting on May 16th to imbibe with friends. The food smelled great, but I just kept telling myself that weigh in day is today, and I don’t want to blow everything for food that’s not going to be worth it.
This showed me that even when I’m back to eating real food, I can make the decision not to indulge in unhealthy food if I don’t want to. No one asked me why I wasn’t eating or drinking, they just enjoyed my company. There are always going to be tons of celebrations in life, and in order to keep on track with my weight loss and eventual maintenance, I’m going to have to learn to pick and choose which events I fully partake in and which events I simply attend.
I can’t wait to see what my results are going to be this week. I’ll make sure to post it as soon as I get back, later tonight.
After this week’s disappointing weigh-in, I decided to get my butt in gear and really start exercising. I had a lot of success with the 10,000 Steps program that I started over the summer, and I wanted to continue it.
Remember that pedometer I mentioned that was collecting dust in my drawer? Well, I think the poor thing must’ve decided to find a new home with someone who wouldn’t put it away for 9 months at a time, because it’s gone. I looked in every drawer and can’t find it anywhere. Where could it have gone? So weird.
I know that now that I’ve ordered a replacement pedometer, the other one will show up, but I’d rather have a 2nd one than none at all.
(I swear, I need to get my shit together. I like to think of myself as a very organized person, but I do have to admit that I’m terrible about drawers. Of any kind — desk drawers, bureau drawers, closets, filing cabinets, etc. Once summer hits I’ve got to get a true sense of organization going).
But I digress…
I’m really looking forward to the 10,000 Steps again. I remember that my competitive spirit really kicked in and each day I’d play a game with myself to get more steps in than the day before. I used to keep the pedometer right by the nightstand so I could put it on before I even headed to the bathroom. Gotta count each step, right? Kind of obsessive? Yes, but hey, whatever works, right?
This week was disappointing on a number of levels. I only lost 1.4 pounds. I also got my period for the 2nd time this month. I started it on April 8 and then again yesterday on April 29. This is so unlike me. Only 21 days apart? I’m a bit concerned about why this is happening, and wonder if it has anything to do with the fasting?
The doctors at WMP said that there shouldn’t be any reason that the fast would throw my cycle off, but just to be safe I’ve made an appointment with my OB/GYN. I’m hoping it’s just some strange quirk and not something serious.
Still, even though I know that I’m probably retaining extra water weight, I’m so disappointed in my weight loss. I could’ve gone to the gym a few different times, but didn’t. I gave into laziness, which is not what it’s going to take for me to really lose this weight. I need to workout so that I’m healthy, not just thinner.
So my goal this week is to start back on the 10,000 Steps program. The pedometer has been in my drawer getting dusty, and it’s time I pull it out and start putting it to use. Over the summer when I was really using it, I realized that in order to get the 10,000 or more, I needed to workout. It will be a good reminder that I need to move more and get my body in gear.
The fasting is easy now; I don’t get hungry at all anymore. Now the main focus is going to be working out and moving my body as much as possible.
As I was reading my usual blogs today and procrastinating on grading (you know, the usual), I came across a new blog that I quickly added to my blogroll on my main blog. It’s called Jennsylvania. It’s written by author Jen Lancaster, and it’s hilarious. I love her sarcastic wit, and her take on life.
It also turns out that Jen is going to be doing a book signing in San Francisco in May! I’ve already marked it on my calendar and plan to be there, buy this book, and maybe her other two.
The thing I like about what I’ve read about this book is that Jen is a woman who is totally happy with the way she looks now, plus-sized or not. She decided to start working out and living a more healthy lifestyle because her doctor told her she had to. She’s embracing this new way of living with all of the sarcasm and kicking and screaming that you’d expect. She’s real. She complains, she laughs at herself, and she makes this whole weight loss thing a bit funnier. At least, that’s what I’m guessing.
I haven’t gone to a book signing in over 2 years, and I think it’s about time. I used to go all the time, but with grad school as my focus these last 2 years, I haven’t had very much extra time. Since I graduate on May 12, and the book signing is on May 21, it seems like perfect timing. It’s going to feel good to get back out and do the things I love to do, like attending book signings.
And who knows? Maybe now that I’ve helped her promote her book, she’ll send me a free copy. Doubtful, but you never know…
I have a confession to make. I’m addicted. Yes, I can’t seem to get enough. In my quest for all things Biggest Loser, I came across a weekly talk radio show hosted by Jillian Michaels.
It’s on a Southern California talk radio station - KFI. If you go to their webpage, you can listen live to the podcast (Sunday mornings from 9am-11am, PST), or download a previous podcast to listen to later.
I’ve never been a huge fan of talk radio, mostly because I listen to the radio in the car, and the last thing I need to do while driving is get aggravated and cranky about what some talk radio person is saying. Music calms my savage beast while driving. But this podcast is a great way to start off my week. I listen every week. Sometimes my timing is perfect and I can listen to her live show, other weeks I listen to the previously aired show later in the week.
Jillian gives useful, informative advice about living a healthier lifestyle. She usually has a topic that she starts the show with, but then she opens it up to callers. I never fail to learn something new each time I tune in.
Whether you’re a fan of Biggest Loser or not, I hope you try listening to her show just once. I guarantee you’ll love it, and you might even get addicted. I was telling BeachGirly about my addiction to the show, and she listened to it a couple of times, and now she’s addicted to it too.
This is one addiction that is good for you, so give it a try.
This week I had another NSV! I had two different people, on separate occasions tell me that they could see that my face is getting thinner.
This was a big boost to me, because earlier in the week I was thinking that I couldn’t really see this 17 pound weight loss. Yes, some of my clothes are feeling looser, but not to the extent I thought they would with 17 pounds gone. I was wondering when I’d really start seeing a huge difference, and how much I’d have to lose before people would notice.
Yesterday CBCB told me she could really tell that my face was thinner. It was really sweet, and I know that she was being sincere, because she knows how I feel about false compliments. You know, those well-meaning people who tell you that you look thinner simply because they want to keep you motivated, but in reality, they don’t notice anything? I’ve specifically avoided telling too many people what I’m doing about my weight loss so that if they do notice, I’ll know their compliments are real.
Today I was getting my nails done, and my nail lady told me that she could see that my face was a lot thinner. She asked me what I was doing, but I didn’t tell her about the fasting. I just didn’t want to hear her ask if it was safe, if I should be doing it, etc. etc. So I told a white lie and said that I had been watching what I’m eating and working out more. I figure, that’s true, even if it isn’t the whole truth. The nuns in Catholic school would call this a lie of omission, but whatever, I’m ok with it.
Hearing these compliments really makes me feel good. It also makes me excited about the upcoming changes to my body that I’m sure will happen soon. I can’t wait until the day I have to actually go buy a few new pairs of pants or skirts because everything in my closet is too big. (Right now I have a couple different sizes that will fit me for a while, but after losing another 25 pounds or so, I’ll need to go shopping, I think).
Giving up food for a few months is worth the difference this weight loss is making in my life — no doubt about it!
