i don't want to be the fat friend...

I have a friend who is fit. Like really fit.  Runs miles upon miles just to warm up to her workout.  She shouldn't even be a member of Planet Fitness, and quite frankly I'm impressed that they haven't revoked her membership for being a lunk.  
Anyway, we're taking a girls weekend in San Francisco in a couple of months.  Now, here's the thing about San Francisco: it's chilly there.  Which means there's no chance that I'll have to wear shorts, a bathing suit or anything figure revealing.  This is great.  Had she said, "let's go to Miami!", I'd have said, "HELLZ NO!".  But I've been to SF in June.  It's hoody weather chilly. 
But this trip has motivated me to work out.  why?  Because I don't want to be her fat friend in the pictures. 

finding motivation

obviously i fell off the wagon, but i'm back on it. 
I've found my motivation.  vanity.
I want to look good. 
that is all. 

if you lazy and you know it...

I've had a major setback.  I haven't worked out in 2 weeks.  

First I had to travel for work.  Then I traveled for a family reunion.  and then i got lazy.  

So the scale says I've only gained back a pound but I feel like its more.

oh the inertia to get started again is high.  very high.  

off the wagon

I had to travel for work last week and it threw me off.  Way off.  I worked out once.  Shame on me.  But to be somewhat consistent, I did take my measurements and weight on Saturday. 
A week off, and I set myself back 1 pound and half an inch.

My fitness journey	7/2/2016	7/9/2016	7/16/2016	7/23/2016
Chest (in)	38	37	35.75	37
Waist (in)	33.5	33.25	33.25	33.25
Hips (in)	44.75	44	44.75	44
Total Inches lost	n/a	2	2.5	2
Weight (lbs)	181	179.5	176.5	177.5
Total Weight loss	n/a	1.5	4.5	3.5

 

Patience and self-discipline

I ate pretty well, worked out 6 days this week, and drank water.  I feel smaller, and fitter, but the pics and scale don't reflect how great I feel.  A pair of my jeans didn't leave red marks at the end of the day! Alan told me the other day, "your boobs are shrinking.  don't lose weight there."  Thank you so much dear husband for the feedback, I selected the wrong body part from where the weight should be lost, I shall correct it now. Based on my measurements, he made an accurate assessment.  I always lose chest first.  How sad :(  Next will be legs and thighs, waist will be last. 

Where do you lose weight first?  Where do you gain first?

I feel like my will power to not eat crap is getting stronger.  Week 1, I felt like food was calling my name.  As I walked though the market, every thing in the bakery said "hey Pam, take me home!"  I picked up a loaf of soft bread, whispered (use your Gollum voice), "My Precious! not today Precious," shed a tear as I gingerly put it down and walked away.  This week, I wasn't as tempted.  It's getting easier to make the right food decisions.  One of the things that has helped me is to really take my time before eating a snack to figure out if I'm really hungry.  First, have some water, wait 10 minutes, then if I'm still hungry, choose a healthy snack like raw almonds, or if it's within an hour of meal time, wait it out.  Weight-loss is a test of my patience and self-discipline. 

I'm purposefully wearing the same gear for the pictures, and it appears that my shirt is a bit looser!
Starting pic is on the left, 2 weeks later (today) on the right.

7/2/2016 7/9/2016 7/16/2016 Chest (in) 38 37 35.75 Waist (in) 33.5 33.25 33.25 Hips (in) 44.75 44 44.75 Total Inches lost n/a 2 2.5 Weight (lbs) 181 179.5 176.5 Total Weight loss  n/a 1.5 4.5

You are what you eat!

So eating properly is more important for losing weight than exercising. NYT: Eating Less is Far More Important than Exercising THIS is my problem.  I think back to the times in my adult life where I was a smaller person, and don't recall eating much.  I was visiting my cousin a few years ago, and there was this movie from the 70s on tv.  EVERYBODY WAS SKINNY, like JJ from Good Times and young Diana Ross.  We asked my uncle, why was everyone so tiny?!  He said that food wasn't very popular back then the way it is now.  He said food is more accessible and on every corner these days...most people go out to eat a few times a week, back then, you went a few times a year...if you wanted food, you cooked at home, and food wasn't as cheap.

Here's a progress report.  I lost One POINT Five pounds.  Disappointing.  It's my fault.  I like to eat the wrong foods.  I like food.  Food is popular to me.  Bread tastes so delicious!  My favorite food is bread.  So if you are what you eat, I'm a soft, squishy, loaf of bread.  While it sounds appetizing or even appealing for the Pillsbury dough-boy, its not a good look for me. So this week, along with exercise, I'm focusing on increased water intake, portion control, and eating salad for lunch.  Salad is not fun.  I'm also motivated a little more because I plan to take a progress pic this week.  Because I know other's are watching, it's keeping me going.  Check back Sunday for my progress update!

7/2/2016 7/9/2016 Chest (in) 38 37 Waist (in) 33.5 33.25 Hips (in) 44.75 44 Inches loss (in) n/a 2 Weight (lbs) 181 179.5 Weight loss (lbs) n/a 1.5

There's no respek on my name

I had this teacher in college who is brilliant.  The man is at the top of his field, headed the department, wrote all kinds of papers, chaired international organizations and made solving differential equations seem easy as algebra but he had a flaw.  Every now and then, he wore these jeans that had a hole between the legs from where they rubbed together.  You could see it when his back was turned as he was writing on the board. I know he put those jeans on in the morning thinking, no one can see this hole.  We all saw the hole.  It was like, "oh great, he's got the jeans on...again."  We were embarrassed for him. It couldn't have been a money issue.  He was Dr. Such-and-Such, insert numerous accolades here!  He was being frugal.  Long story short, Alan and I now refer to holes of that nature as a "Such-and-such hole"  and giggle madly about it (I'm not writing the man's name, my blog doesn't need to clown him in a google search, he's Brilliant.)

One of the downsides of weight gain is your clothes get tight.  My clothes are tight.  I've bought just a few items to get me through this phase of life.  I hope to be done with these clothes quickly.  One thing I haven't bought is jeans.  I refuse.  So my jeans have been holding on for dear life.  Some have said, "hell-no-dammit-JUST-NO-GOT-DAMMIT-I-SAID-NO" and won't even come past my hips.  The two pair that are managing to hold on...have begun to develop the "Such-and-such hole."  I want to wear them but I can't.  With my luck, my intern would see it and deem it the "Whatley hole," tell all her friends about it, sneak a pic of me and the "Whatley hole", snapchat it and make a meme of me when my back is turned - she don't care about me, I'm not brilliant like Dr. "Such-and-Such", so there's no respek on my name!!!

So what do I do?  Well today I wore jeans that downright felt like they were going to split if I bent over.  I'll make it through the rest of the work week with dockers and if push comes to shove, I'm going to buy some old navy jeans to carry me for a minute.