Happy Monday, all!
One of the things I want to accomplish on this blog is to publicly track my body shrinkage. I'm not calling it weight loss so much, mainly because I no longer own a scale. Every few weeks, I take my handy-dandy pink tape measure from one of who knows how many sewing kits, and I wrap it around a body part and cringe at the number.
But, I've seen improvement over the past few months! The numbers are getting smaller!
I started out trying to measure every week, but that was crazy frustrating. Our bodies naturally fluctuate, and if you try to track your body every day, or even every week(unless you're on a SERIOUS regiment!) you're only going to be disappointed and discouraged, and possibly, give up.
Maybe it's just how I psyche myself out, but I only measure on Friday mornings. And I damn sure don't do it on a Friday near my period! I have actually seen my weight(way back when I had a scale) jump SEVEN POUNDS (7 lbs) from one day to the next, just because the second day was a super bloaty period day. The personal trainer my roller derby team had hired for some of our workouts wasn't surprised at this, and told me it was normal and NO, I hadn't gained 7lbs of actual weight. Just water. I'd be back to 'normal' in a few days.
Here's my reasoning for measure days being
Friday mornings.
More than likely, I've been diligent during the week on what I do and do NOT stuff in my mouth. Mostly this is because I'm not co-eating during the day with my husband(who is a skinny-mini and does not need to 'diet').
Morning is always best because your body is the shape it's supposed to be when you wake for the day. By the end of the day, your spine has compacted and you've spread out a bit. Have you ever noticed how your clothes (and even your bra) fit just fine in the morning, but by late afternoon, everything kind of cuts in? Like you've bloated or gained a bit throughout the day? Or maybe you're a lucky duck and everything fits perfectly all day long. Whatevs. Try it some time. Measure yourself in the morning while getting ready, and then measure yourself again when you get home in the evening. See if there's a difference.
Now, I don't know about you, but when the weekend comes, I don't stay as strict with myself. I tend to drink more beer (and hey, it's football season again!) and eat more (and worse) food. There are many different factors for this, and most people know and understand them all. No need to detail those out!
So, I would have to assume that if I were to measure myself on Sunday night or Monday morning, I would not be as pleased with the results, thereby throwing off my mental progress, and potentially, ending my progress. I know that if I were to measure myself right now, Monday morning, I'd be disgusted with myself. I drank quite a lot of beer (nope, not 'light' beer, either) and ate terribly tasty 'bar food' while we watched football all day. Even right now, as I type, I'm not feeling great.
Earlier, I said publicly track my numbers. At some point I'll figure out how to link a chart showing the progress, but for now, I'll just have to do it manually. The
tracker site I use doesn't allow for a report badge, just a weight loss badge. And, as I've said, I don't track my weight anymore. I linked to my page on the site. Feel free, if you're also on that site, to follow me, or whatever it is. Can't guarantee you'll see me much there.
I started tracking in late May/early June 2013. I measure neck, left upper arm, waist, hips, right upper leg, and right calf. I also track my clothing size, but that hasn't changed, so...
Here we go:
5/29 N- 18in 9/13 N-16.5in -1.5in
5/29 A- 16.5in 9/13 A- 15.5in -1in
5/29 W- 43in 9/13 W- 41in -2in
5/29 H- 49in 9/13 H- 47in -2in
5/29 UL-28.75in 9/13 UL-25.5in -3.25in
5/29 C-19in 9/13 C- 17.5in -1.5in
Wow. I hadn't actually looked at the math yet. That's 11.25 inches I've lost since June. No wonder my clothes fit better! Now, because the clothing industry is so lame, I haven't run out to buy new clothes. I must have 7 different pairs of pants, in various styles, and they're all Size 18. Some are too big, some are finally just right(no binding/cutting in) and some are still a tad snug/uncomfortable.
Oh, and please note, I am a lazy LAZY woman who hates exercise. So I haven't done any. No, really. My teenager comes for the summer, in mid June. I
was trying some minor exercises before he got here, but getting up at 6am and making the furniture jump around due to my excessive bulk wasn't working out very well when he slept till noon. Now that he's started school and we're moving to a sturdier hardwood floor in our new house, I can get on track.
Who knows how many inches I'll lose when I for reals make an effort!
Hmm.. I guess I should mention what I
have been doing. I try not to each as many glutens. Apparently, as I've mentioned in the past, I have (at least) a sensitivity to gluten. My favorite uncle had the medical tests done and he definitely has a problem. Not full out celiac disease, but it was making him sick. And it's hereditary. The various symptoms he described to me, I had all of them but 2. (i don't get a rash and I don't vomit) So, I decided to cut out as much as a I could just to see. Lo and behold, I lost 20lbs in a month! That wasn't my intent, as I had no idea it also contributed to weight gain. But I did feel better, over all. Unfortunately, most glutens are pretty damn yummy. I love bread. I love pasta. I love baked goods. I'm not terribly disciplined, so I haven't gone whole-hog on it yet.
But I do watch what I eat. And I try to avoid them when I can.
I've also started paying attention to portions. I read somewhere that a portion shouldn't be more than the size of your fist. We just happen to have little plastic containers we use when we make ice cream and they are the perfect size. Or, about the same size as toddler bowls. This has really helped me. And I don't often let myself have 2nds. And we've really cut back on our fast food intake. This is mainly because we're on a tight budget (buying a house!) so we eat the food we bought at the grocery store instead. You know, like you're supposed to. Speaking of tight budget. (and this part isn't really all that healthy) I also don't eat much when we don't have much money. In my deranged brain, if I just keep drinking coffee and water, I won't each as much. yeah yeah, starvation is bad, blah blah blah. I'm clearly not starving and I do eat when I finally get too hungry. The discipline part of this is, to not eat everything in sight or whatever the worst(read as tasty) thing in the house.
Clearly it's working, or I wouldn't have lost 11 inches in 3.5 months!
Next step,
actual exercise!
I've found that moving in right before the start of winter was a blessing because now we know what sections of the yard will always remain in shadow (and some weeks, stay covered in snow). Or what sections become a lake. And that means we didn't spend too much time or money on landscaping. Hopefully we'll start on all that when the weather warms a tad and the ground isn't so soggy. I for sure have to get my trees trimmed and tear out the brambles and whatnot that want to take over my garden space.