April Measurements (1 Year Gymiversary Comparisons)

Arms

• Last month (11/16/2013) - 9.75 inches each
• This month (4/13/2014) - 9.5 inches each
• Last year (4/13/2013) - 11.5 inches each

Hips

•  Last month (1/18/2014) - 38.5 inches
•  This month (4/13/2014) - 38.25 inches 
•  Last year (4/13/2013) - 47 inches

Waist

•  Last month (1/18/2014) - 28.5 inches
•  This month (4/13/2014) - 28.25 inches
•  Last year (4/13/2013) - 36 inches  

 
Bust

•  Last month (1/18/2014) - 35.25 inches
•  This month (4/13/2014) - 35 inches
•  Last year (4/13/2013) - 40 inches

Thighs

•   Last month (1/18/2014) - 19.5 inches each
•   This month (4/13/2014) - 19.25 inches each  
•   Last year (4/13/2013) - 24.5 inches each

It's been one year since I stepped into the gym for the first time after having Izzie.  I have never gone more than two months in a row being consistent with going to the gym before now.  I've spent a whole year being faithful to working out and am beyond pleased with the results!

In one year, I've gone from 179.4lbs to 142.8lbs, a net loss of 36.6lbs.  That number alone is so great, but when combined with the number of inches lost really blows my mind and you know I am easily my hardest critic.  2 inches from each arm, 8.75 inches from my hips, 7.75 inches from my waist, 5 inches from my bust, and 5.25 inches from each thigh, bring the total to 36 inches lost!  That's almost an inch per pound which is insane to me.  I went from a size 16 pants to a size 8 and a size 14 dress to a size 6.  In terms of general sizing, I've gone from XL to mainly M with some S mixed in here and there (usually in women's sizes not juniors).

I am beyond excited about buying all new summer clothes.  I am so glad I could do this before my kids no any better so as not to give them body image complexes.  I don't put myself down in front of them (not that I put myself down too much in my head anymore) and when we go to the gym, Brady knows I'm there to exercise, which is something he likes to do too in his own way.  There's no connotation about it being to lose weight.  He knows we eat good food so that we can grow healthy and strong.

Here is the ultimate comparison over the course of the last year.  The top pics are from the first day back in the gym when Izzie was 6 weeks old.  Second set was 10 weeks later at 16 weeks old, the third 10 weeks later at 6 months old, and the final set was after a whole year working out.  I still can't believe how much of a change I've made, especially when I don't see it until put like this.

Weigh-in for 4/12/2014

Last weigh-in (3/22/2014) : 142.4 lb

This weigh-in (4/12/2014) : 142.8 lb

Change : 0.4 lb gained
 
Total weight loss since Izzie : 57.6 lb


It's been about three weeks since my last weigh-in and some weeks have been better than others in that time.  We've been to a record five birthday parties in the last eight weeks and another two weekends in there were my kids' birthdays.  It's hard to say no to cake every single week.  I didn't every time, but when you are tempted week after week, you give in.  The kids got sick . . . again, taking me out of the gym for a week, which never helps.  Even though my number seems to be hovering between 142-145lbs, my body fat percentage has decreased from 26.2% to 25.2% so at least some of the weight has become muscle rather than fat and I am happy enough with that.

I plan to do measurements to commemorate my one year gymiversary this weekend and I'm sure there will be changes there as well.  I can tell because the clothes sizes are going down in number.  I wore my size 8 bermudas the other day and they were super comfy and had me thinking I could get into a size 6, but they might be a bit restricting.  I bought a few new dresses for summer in general, a wedding, and my brother's college graduation.  I had been in the department stores and not seen anything I liked, so I looked online and saw one that might be nice, but I debated on which size to buy.  I settled on a size 10 because I really had never worn a dress in a size smaller than that.  A few days later, I saw the same dress in the store, in a size 8 and $20 cheaper.  I tried it on and it was perfect!

It's definitely not my normal style which is something that has a more flowing skirt to hide my hips, but I have been feeling more confident in how I look and decided to try something new.

I was heading out of the changing room when another dress caught my eye.  It was also on sale, but when I looked at the ones in stock, there was a size 6 and a size 10.  I figured the size 10 would be too big since I'd just gotten comfortably into a size 8.  I grabbed the 6 and headed back into the changing room, but not really expecting anything.

This is more my typical style, with a band right under the bust and flowing skirt.  To my complete surprise, the size 6 fit perfectly!  A size 6 has been the magic number in my head since I started losing weight almost eight years ago.  I still can't believe I did it!

There's still plenty of work to be done, in terms of body shape, even if the weight and clothing sizes stay relatively the same.  My goal is to have my ultimate body by the time I turn 30 (which is now 23 months away).  I plan to have another baby in that time, but now see that as an aid rather than an impediment to my weight loss.  I just have to keep working hard and keeping up a positive attitude.  I know now to appreciate what I have now instead of being down on myself for not being better.

Weigh-in for 3/22/2014

Last weigh-in (2/28/2014) : 144.2 lb

This weigh-in (3/22/2014) : 142.4 lb

Change : 1.8 lb lost
 

Total weight loss since Izzie : 58 lb


I've finally done what I've said I was going to do at the start of the month - gotten back on track.  In less than a calendar month, we have Valentine's Day, both kids' birthdays, their parties, and then my birthday.  That's a lot of chocolate, cake, and eating out.  It gets me every year, and now that the last party (of ours at least) is over, I am gearing up to drop the few pounds I've gained and get back into fighting shape for summer!

This week is when I finally buckled down.  Seeing the number on the scale get up to 145.4lbs a week ago scared me and gave me anxiety, thinking back to Germany.  Granted, this time I gained 5lbs in a two month period, whereas I was gaining 5lbs a month in Germany.  I am down to one nursing session with Izzie now, so my daily points target is back to the lowest that anyone can have at 26.  It took careful planning and tracking to hit that each day, but I chose more filling options, making me less inclined to go looking for a little something sweet after I'd already eaten a meal.

We are down to 8 weeks until California and the day we get back home is the first weekend of the pool being open, so this is the home stretch before "summer." I say it like that because there's still snow on the ground and below freezing temps, so who knows when of if summer will get here this year.  My goal was to be under 140lbs by then and I am confident that I can do that now that my mind is in the right place.  I would need less than 0.5lb per week to reach that goal.  I've been stocking up on clothes for the kids and Andy for the trip and am dying to dive in and splurge on new clothes for me since I have almost none for me at this size and the ones I do still have tags on them.  Summer is by far my favorite for clothes and I'm going to have a blast!  I finally look like I always thought I did in my head and I'm going to enjoy it :)

Weigh-in for 2/28/2014 ~ Starting a Household Challenge

Last weigh-in (2/1/2014) : 141.0 lb

This weigh-in (2/28/2014) : 144.2 lb

Change : 3.2 lb gained
 

Total weight loss since Izzie : 56.2 lb


It's been a rough month.  Historically, February is a rough month for me and weight loss.  There has only been one of the eight Februarys I've been on Weight Watchers that I've lost instead of gained.  I don't know what it is, maybe that winter starts to get to me at that point, combined with Valentine's Day and the past four years, Brady's birthday.  The only February I lost weight, we were living in South Carolina and it was so warm I was sunbathing daily, so there seems to be a correlation with weather and weight loss (something I've noticed from past patterns as well).  It is harder for me to maintain or lose in February than it over Christmas.  

This February, I had gym access, but of course, Izzie has had a runny nose for three straight weeks and can't go to the day care like that.  That means I only make it on the weekends, so in addition to the eating which hasn't been the greatest, I didn't have the workouts to help battle it and keep it in check a little more than I did.  I tend to get to a point once I'm off track, where I let go and start eating things I normally wouldn't because I know I won't eat them when I get back on track.  That only makes it worse.  We had Brady's party, Valentine's Day, and a trip out of town in the span of two weeks and the eating out got to me as well as the cake.

In terms of upswings, it's not that bad.  4lbs gained in the course of 6 weeks.  I've had upswings that have lasted several months and been as much as 15-20lbs.  I am choosing to kick myself out of it immediately.  Even if I can't go to the gym during the day, I will make myself go when Andy gets home from work.  I have to start tracking religiously again (something I haven't done in months, maybe before Thanksgiving).  This will become very important now that I'm weaning Izzie and will be completely done breastfeeding by the end of March.

Andy and I are both unhappy, so we decided to buckle down together.  Andy is in a wedding in early May, and we leave for our 11 day California vacation in mid-May.  We want to look and feel good when we get there.  We have committed to weekly weigh-ins (going into WW for me every week to keep me honest and on track, rather than once a month).  We have 11 weeks until Cali and have set goals.  Andy wants to lose 20lbs (putting him at 200lbs) and I want to get under 140lbs (4.4lbs away).  We have both laid out rewards for if we reach our goals and I think we'll have to consider a punishment if we don't so we have even more incentive.  Wish us luck!

Weigh-in for 2/1/2014

Last weigh-in (1/18/2014) : 140.2 lb

This weigh-in (2/1/2014) : 141.0 lb

Change : 0.8 lb gained

Total weight loss since Izzie : 59.4 lb


We've certainly had a lot going on in the last two weeks, including being stuck inside again for extreme temps.  That certainly makes it hard for me to avoid eating all day long.  I don't have junk food in my house, but even eating too much healthy food isn't good for you.  All in all, 0.8 lbs in two weeks isn't so bad.  I've maintained my workout schedule and as long as the inches come off or continue to maintain, the number on the scale isn't going to bother me fluxuating a few pounds here and there.

January 2014 Measurements

Hips

•  Last month (11/16/2013) - 38.75 inches
•  This month (1/18/2014) - 38.5 inches

Waist

•  Last month (11/16/2013) - 28.5 inches
•  This month (1/18/2014) - 28.5 inches  

 
Bust

•  Last month (11/16/2013) - 36 inches
•  This month (1/18/2014) - 35.25 inches

Thighs

•   Last month (11/16/2013) - 20 inches each
•   This month (1/18/2014) - 19.5 inches each 

I didn't take measurements last month because due to holidays, travel, illness, and bad weather, in the last two months I've only made it to the gym an equivalent of what I would normally do in four weeks.  I didn't expect the change to be much in one month and as you can see, in two months there wasn't much change either.  There is a slight change in some areas and none in others, but anything staying the same or going down is good in my book, especially with Thanksgiving and Christmas coming between the two sets of measurements.

Weigh-in for 1/18/2014

Last weigh-in (1/11/2014) : 142.0 lb

This weigh-in (1/18/2014) : 140.2 lb

Change : 1.8 lb lost

Total weight loss since Izzie : 60.2 lbs



Well it was certainly back to business this week.  Brady was back in school all week, we were all over our sickness from the week prior, I was able to go to a full week in the gym (first time since before Christmas), and I was eating most of my meals at home.  The grocery stores are now stocked full again after the people going crazy trying to stock up for major snowfalls and the roads are clear to get to the store without worrying about endangering your life.

The gyms are still packed, but I'm hoping that will ease up a bit in the next two months.  We joined last year in April and it was pretty dead during the daytime when I normally go.  My Christmas candy was almost gone this week and I started having a bit of withdrawal, so I got some bargain Valentine's candy.  Nothing major, just some Dove dark chocolate mini hearts. One or two a day is enough to make me feel not deprived and doesn't impact my weight loss.  Next week I hope to break into the 130s!

Weigh-in for 1/11/2014

Last weigh-in (12/13/2013) : 142.2 lb

This weigh-in (1/11/2014) : 142.0 lb

Change : 0.2 lb lost

Total weight loss since Izzie : 58.4 lbs



Well, we are back from all our traveling from Christmas and back into our routine.  I think I can count the number of home cook meals we had on one hand.  We were constantly running places and meeting people for meals, so it was not the healthiest of eating.  Add in the countless cookies, candy, and big holiday meals and I didn't even want to think about the damage.

I treat the first week back from a trip like that as a kind of detox.  It's a shock to your system to go from glutinous eating to clean eating, so you shock your system into dropping some weight fast.  That's why people starting a diet lose the most that first week or so.  It's a great way to jump start and also a good way to get back on track.  We were snowed in almost all week since being back and I was in the house with only a small amount of food and a lot of leftover candy.  I really had to control myself since it wasn't an option to leave the house to hit the gym to balance things out.  We also all got sick earlier this week, so that curbed my appetite quite a bit.  I was happy to step on the scale for the first time in a month and see a slight loss.  I would've understood a gain and probably would've seen one if I wasn't still part-time breastfeeding.

Meeting rooms and gyms are packed with people this time of year and by March they will be back to normal with the regulars still holding down the fort.  I can't tell you how many meetings I have sat in where people complain about how hard it is to lose weight during the summer and they'll be back in the fall.  I completely disagree and feel like I lose way more weight in the summer versus the winter.  In the summer, there is an unlimited variety of fresh fruit in grocery stores.  The weather is beautiful, making you want to be outside.  You have grill-outs.  In the winter, the weather is cold so you don't want to leave your house.  There's snow which makes the roads dangerous, and you don't want to risk your kids' lives just to get to the gym.  Hitting the gym won't matter if you kill yourself getting there.  The food selection isn't that great in stores and you want to hibernate eating higher calorie options.  I'm more than ready for warmer weather.