SQUEE!!

Social Networking sites make it so easy to forget to blog. I make announcements about my progress without posting here. Perhaps I should just save the micro posts, put them all together to make a coherent, full blog post and just link everyone to it.

Anyway, the past couple of weeks have been a whirlwind for me: My boss was out on vacation and I was preparing for more family to visit. Speaking of said family, this weekend, I threw careful eating and exercise to the wind and I STILL lost weight. I'm now down to 169.5 lbs. That makes 50.5 lbs. of weight loss since I started my journey 4 years ago. 

I'm a little overwhelmed and I still can't believe it. I mean, I only have 2.5 lbs. to go until I reach my mini goal! I said that I would reward myself with some new ink once I got there, but I think that I'm going to wait until I reach my full goal. 

I know in my last post, I stated that I didn't want to lose weight due to wardrobe issues, but it gets me so excited when I see the return on my work...especially when I can still stuff my face from time to time! I said that I wanted to get below 170 by August 4th in my last post and I'm there on July 25th. It's a great feeling. 

Last weigh-in: 173 lbs

Current weight: 169.5 lbsRecent activity: Still hiking (and loving it!), gym (mostly strength training)
Short Term Goals: More toning, more weights. Possibly get down to 160-165 by the end of August? 

Down 5 more lbs!

June was a pretty lax month for me. I celebrated my birthday and my mom and sister flew in from New Orleans to visit me. Admittedly, I gorged myself on the fine wine and cuisine that the Finger Lakes area offers, but with no regret. It was my birthday and I'd be damned if I wasn't going to enjoy it. All that being said, I still lost 5 lbs since I last posted. I'm quite pleased with myself the rate of my weight loss. Not too fast, but not too slow.

Hell, after years of being in a size 14, creeping up to a 16 and 4 subsequent years of being in a 12, I'm really starting to take notice of the continuing changes in my body. I decided to do an experiment. I walked into my local consignment shop and tried on a few size 10 pieces. Granted, all brands of clothing have different measurements and aim for different body shapes, but THEY ALL FIT! I was in such a swoon, that I almost walked right up to the register to buy everything that I tried on. I have to admit, though they all fit, most of the pieces that I tried on were dresses and skirts. The skirts weren't uncomfortably tight, but too tight to be comfortable, if that makes any sense whatsoever. I will label myself as a small size 12, but I see that official 10 quickly approaching. I haven't seen that number or the single digits that I hope will follow since high school.

I know that I can really make it happen if I focus more making calorie counting a religion and hitting the gym 5 times per week instead of 3-4, but all my clothes are falling off of me as is. I'm not really in the financial situation to go out and purchase a whole new wardrobe, so my focus is going to be more geared towards toning and strength building. I'm going to incorporate more protein in my diet to increase muscle building.

I always had and will always have big arms and legs, thanks to my not-so-dainty German heritage. I need to focus more on toning the aforementioned areas, or else I'll look like Chun Li from Street Fighter II.  My waist is shrinking like crazy, but I still have this blasted belly fat. This has been my biggest challenge. I see my abs trying to form, especially when I "suck in".  It's frustrating.

Alright, well, back to life. Today is a holiday and I plan to enjoy every minute of it.

Last weigh-in: 173 lbs
Recent activity: Hiking (3.5 hours yesterday alone!)
Short Term Goals: Toning things up. Remember to drink water! Maybe get below 170 by August 4th?