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Posts Tagged ‘getting ready for Hawaii’

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Spring has (almost) sprung! Which means that the weather is turning warmer, the days are getting longer, and fitting in outdoor activities is a whole lot easier. Spring is a time of renewal, and in the spring of 2014  I’m living my life in full bloom! Now that I’m in the home stretch of my weight loss journey, all the pounds I lose this spring are just like extra petals on a flower, making my life just a bit more beautiful. I want to enjoy each day of this season, soaking in the sunshine, blue skies, and happiness. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week. My Sunday progress updates will be called Super Spring Weigh-Ins.

Week 44 started off great because I spent hours on Sunday going through both closets in my house and going through every single item of clothing, deciding whether to donate or keep it.  My wardrobe is is organized and streamlined, which makes me feel so much better.  At work, I was able to complete all the grading that had piled up, which feels like a huge relief.  I ate well and logged everything. The one area that slipped a bit was in my workouts: I got some in, but didn’t do the Tone It Up strength sessions as often as I would’ve liked.  Now that everything is in order in the various areas of my life, the main thing I want to do is maintain it all.  Which means grading a bit at a time, keeping up with the housework/laundry, and setting aside the 1-1.5 hours a day to get my workouts in.  I know I can do it, I just need to set my mind to it.

bilbl_scale.jpg So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 183.0, which is a loss of 1.6 pounds this week,and a loss of 94 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 132 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 33 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m really happy with this week’s loss, especially because of the fact that I completed fewer workouts than I would’ve liked.  It really does go to show that weight loss is 70-80% food.  One thing that went really well for me this week was my water intake – I’ve found that making sure I have a water bottle or tumbler with me at all times makes all the difference.

One week from today I’ll have been in Hawaii for a day already!  I’m so excited about this trip, and I’m really looking at it as a reward for my hard work and determination.  It’s been over six years since I went on any sort of vacation.  Six years since I’ve been on a plane.  The last time I had to use a seatbelt extender, and that was when I was nowhere near my heaviest weight, in fact, I’d lost 50 pounds on that medically supervised fasting diet.  If I’m honest, I avoided any sort of vacation where I might need to fly because I didn’t want to have to deal with that scrunched-in feeling of spilling over into my neighbor’s seat. No to mention the look of dread on the seatmates’ faces when they saw me coming down the aisle.  I can’t wait to see how different it all is this time.

This week it’s all about making sure I have everything ready for Hawaii.  Yesterday I had a major shopping trip at Target, picking up travel sizes and a few more swim essentials.  Remember those Victoria Secrets bikini tops I’d bought?  They fit, and looked pretty good, but they were cut fairly small and showed more cleavage than I was comfortable with.  Especially for water sports like snorkeling or taking surf lessons.  I didn’t want to accidentally “pop out.”

2014-03-30 09.55.37See what I mean? I’ll definitely still wear it at the beach or walking around, but not when I’m doing something more physical.

So yesterday while I was at Target, I saw that they had swimwear on sale, and I found two other swim tops:

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This black bikini top has a lot more coverage, even though you may not be able to tell it in the photo, and that makes me feel more comfortable.  The tankini also offers good coverage, although I’m not sure whether or not I’m going to tuck it in.  What do you guys think?

The plan for this week is to make sure I fit in 5 Tone It Up workouts, along with cardio:
Sunday: Arc Trainer + run/walk intervals
Monday: run/walk intervals
Tuesday: hybrid elliptical
Wednesday: Arc Trainer
Thursday: hybrid recumbent bike
Friday: run/walk intervals

{I’ll update the toning routines as soon as the new weekly workout is posted on Toneitup.com}

As I mentioned, next week I’ll be in Hawaii, so I won’t be posting a weigh-in update.  It’s going to be really weird not having a scale there and not weighing myself everyday.  But I know I’m going to make great choices (more on that in another post), and get in plenty of activity, so I’m not worried about my weight.  Plus, taking a break from the scale while I’m on vacay seems right.  I will write a Sunday Smiles post, though, because I’m sure I’ll already have lots to share.

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Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Spring has (almost) sprung! Which means that the weather is turning warmer, the days are getting longer, and fitting in outdoor activities is a whole lot easier. Spring is a time of renewal, and in the spring of 2014  I’m living my life in full bloom! Now that I’m in the home stretch of my weight loss journey, all the pounds I lose this spring are just like extra petals on a flower, making my life just a bit more beautiful. I want to enjoy each day of this season, soaking in the sunshine, blue skies, and happiness. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week. My Sunday progress updates will be called Super Spring Weigh-Ins.

Week 43 was a bit overwhelming, if I’m honest.  Things are really busy at work, and I felt like there weren’t enough hours in the day.  I still managed to eat well and to get my cardio workouts in, but I did let a few toning workouts slip by.  This next week is going to be just as busy, so I’m going to do my best to set things up today so that I don’t feel like I have no time for everything I have to do. Feeling organized is huge for me – it make all the difference in the world.

bilbl_scale.jpg So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 184.6, which is a loss of 1.4 pounds this week, and a loss of 92.4 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 130.4 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 34.6 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m pleased with this week’s loss, especially considering I didn’t do many of the toning exercises that I’ve been doing 5 times a week for the past couple of months.  My eating has been great, though, and I did pretty well with my water intake, too.

More of the clothes I ordered for my Hawaiian vacation came in this week, and every single item looks as good or better than I’d hoped.  I don’t mean to sound conceited when I write that, but this is a whole new thing for me.  In the past when I ordered clothes online, it was always hit and miss as far as how the clothes would look.  Now it’s a whole different story because I have a whole different body.  It really is an amazing feeling.

Yesterday the high school I attended had an Alumnae Day of Service at a local charity, which fit in well with my volunteering for Lent.  One of my good friends attended, and I had a blast meeting a bunch of new friends.  There’s something about being an alumna from my school – we have an instant bond because of the shared experience of going to an all-girls Catholic school.  And not just because of wearing that plaid skirt; because of the values we were taught, the education we received, and the spirit of friendship that we formed.  It truly was an amazing experience, and I’m so grateful to my parents for sacrificing so much so that my sister and I could attend the school.

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A shot of a new friend and me sorting apples.

A great group shot of all of the alums who volunteered.

A great group shot of all of the alums who volunteered. The lady in the sun hat is in charge of food sorting at the center, and was our supervisor for the day.

This week the enormous changes I’ve undergone have become more evident to me.  In looking at photos I’ve been in with groups of friends lately (last weekend, this Friday night, and again yesterday) I can see that I’m a completely different person.  I’m not worried about how my body is going to look in pictures, because I know how hard I’ve worked.  It’s so freeing to just smile and capture the moment, rather than worry so much about what angle the camera is being held at. I see myself and I am proud of the lady being reflected back at me. A new confidence is emerging, and I am loving it!

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Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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Spring has (almost) sprung! Which means that the weather is turning warmer, the days are getting longer, and fitting in outdoor activities is a whole lot easier. Spring is a time of renewal, and in the spring of 2014  I’m living my life in full bloom! Now that I’m in the home stretch of my weight loss journey, all the pounds I lose this spring are just like extra petals on a flower, making my life just a bit more beautiful. I want to enjoy each day of this season, soaking in the sunshine, blue skies, and happiness. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend, and will give me a positive goal to begin each new week. My Sunday progress updates will be called Super Spring Weigh-Ins.

Week 42 started with a 5K and ended with a Bay Area WLS meetup, with lost of busy days in between.  Even though so many of the workdays were long ones, I didn’t miss any of my workouts.  That fact alone is something I’m so proud of, and speaks to how much I’ve transformed my life.  In the past, long work days would have offered an easy excuse to skip workouts, but now they just give me a way to shake off a stressful day.  Just like that photo above, I really love working out and miss it when I have to take a rest day.

bilbl_scale.jpg So, what did the scale show?!

When I weighed in this morning, I was 186.0, which is a loss of 2.6 pounds this week, and a loss of 91 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 129 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 36 pounds to go to my ultimate goal weight of 150 pounds. I’m really happy with this week’s loss.  The first pound came off right away when I did my daily weigh-in on Monday; the other 1.6 came off a little at a time as the week continued.  I’ve been feeling really strong all week – not just in my weight loss, but in my whole attitude and demeanor – I’m loving life!

One fun thing that also served as an NSV this week was shopping for Hawaii.  I’ve picked up just about all the clothes I think I’ll need: bikini tops, board shorts, sundresses, capri pants, and late yesterday afternoon – tanks.  Shopping these days is obviously so much more fun than shopping in the past, and I can’t wait to see how little room all of my clothes take up in the suitcase!  In the past when I’d go on trips, my clothes would take up so much room because there was so much material.  I’m super excited that this time around I’ll be able to fit everything into one suitcase, with room.  Although, don’t get me wrong, I’m an over-packer, so I’ll still be filling that suitcase, but this time it will be because of all the outfits, not because of how big the clothes are.

Today my friend Di and I are heading to a local lake county park to volunteer at a cleanup.  This is part of my Lenten Sacrifice, and I’m looking forward to it.  The weather has been absolutely gorgeous here – 80 degrees and sunny – and today will be no exception.  Plus, it will be a great way to burn some calories as I’m giving back.

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Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!

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