2014 – a new year, a fresh start full of new beginnings. 2014 is going to be MY year to shine. I’m vowing here and now that I will reach my goal weight in 2014. What an amazing accomplishment it will be! To achieve my goals, I’m going to focus on the basics – eating well, drinking lots of water, taking my vitamins and getting in 5 workouts a week. Sunday weigh-ins will keep me accountable through the weekend. My resolution throughout the year is to keep focused while enjoying all the “newness” in my life. My Sunday progress updates will be called New Year, New ME Weigh-Ins.
Week 31 was wonderful – I had the week off, celebrated Christmas with family, and spent the rest of the week doing anything I wanted: read a delightful book, completed C25K Week 4, shopped till I dropped. The week couldn’t have been more perfect.
So, what did the scale show?!
When I weighed in this morning, I was 201, which is a loss of 1.2 pounds this week, and a loss of 76 lbs since surgery! I’ve lost a total of 114 pounds from my highest weight!! I have 2 pounds to go to hit my goal of 199 by December 31st – so close to my Onderland goal, but that’s only 3 days away. It’s possible, and I’m going to do everything I can to hit it. Which means: lots of protein, keeping carbs low, plenty of water, and exercise. (And in all seriousness, if I hit Onederland anytime in the next week, I’ll be extremely thrilled. But still, I have a goal in mind and I want to try to get there if at all possible).
I’ve been terrible about finding time to read this year, so one of the things I wanted to make sure to do was to read Allison Winn Scotch’s newest book, The Theory of Opposites. This is perfect book for the dawn of a new year. I’ve always enjoyed Allison Winn Scotch’s writing, but this is my favorite of her books, by far. Excellent message about fate & free will. Loved it!
This week I completed Week 4 of C25K, which had me running for 5 minutes at a time, and a totaling 16 minutes of running out of 31 minutes. Tomorrow I’m starting Week 5, which has intervals of 3 minutes of walking and 5 minutes of running, repeated for 31 minutes. I’m excited about this coming week because those are the types of intervals that I can see myself keeping up with in an actual 5K, and maybe even longer. I know the point of the C25K is to get to the point of running for an entire 5K, but I’ve been reading and hearing so much about intervals and how you can actually go faster with less risk of injury, that I think I may just keep it at this level. We’ll see.
Yesterday my mom and I went shopping at Macy’s and had the best time! My parents were really generous and had given me a $350 gift card. I spent $50 on some Mac makeup, bought lots of clothes, and still have some money to spend. Here’s what I got:
First and foremost, I needed new sports bras because all the ones I have are way too big. Since I’m still losing weight, I didn’t want to invest in a really expensive sports bra, because within a few months (or sooner) it won’t fit anyway. So when I found these Bali Active by Champion bras for $38 each, which were on sale buy 2, get 2 free (and then I had a $15 off coupon!), I had to get them. I love the sizing: 34-36 D-DD, because I am in-between right now. They fit me really well, and are very comfortable, and I like that they’re underwire, because I need it. When I jogged in place in the fitting room, the bra was really supportive, too. So I got 4 great sports bras for $60, which is the price you could pay for one expensive sports bra.
These next tops are ones that I needed for “after school” and on weekends. Casual tops that have a little more style than tshirts, but are just as comfortable.
I love the little details on this Style & Co. top, like the metal on the shoulders. It’s a size large! Oh, and the best part? I got it for $5.70 (originally $39).
You can’t tell from the photos, but this is a purple and white mini-striped hoodie. I like that it’s comfy, but also shows my shape. This is Style & Co. Sport, size XL. I got it for $5.61 (originally $44).
I absolutely love this hoodie – the color, the pattern. I was worried that because it’s a bit long, it wouldn’t look good with my hips, but I think it looks great. It’s from Style & Co. and is an XL. This one wasn’t on sale, and wasn’t eligible for any coupons, but it was a great price – $21.98.
This next one is dressier – it would be great for school, on a date (hopefully soon!), or for a party.
This was a showstopper. I saw it and knew I wanted it, and even though it’s a bit snug around my hips, it will look great when I lose a few pounds, so I bought it. It’s from INC, size XL. It was originally $79.50, and I got it for $50.57, which is still really high, but I loved it, so I splurged a bit.
The purchase I’m proudest of is just a pair of jeans. But not just any pair – a pair of size 16s! At my heaviest, I was too big to fit into size 24s of this brand, and now I’m in 16s! These weren’t on sale, and weren’t eligible for the coupon, but they’re a great buy at $29.98. (I’m wearing the jeans in all of the photos above).
I’d say that was a successful shopping trip, wouldn’t you? And I still have $100 to spend in the future. Woot!
Shopping for new clothes is fun, but this was the first time I’d ever been able to buy tops in the “normal” section of Macy’s, so it was a day I’ll never forget. I’m not going to buy any more clothes until I go down in sizes; I have some great pieces, which I’m going to enjoy wearing.
Until next Sunday, my friends. I hope the scale treats you well, and that you have a wonderful week!
Bella on the Beach 