I'm in a chocolate coma!

I'll let you go to my family blog to read all about it, but I'll put a couple photos here. I had a Dove chocolate party yesterday and it was a BLAST! And I lost 1.6lb since yesterday morning, so chocolate really IS good for you!!!! ;-)



The health of my household leaves much to be desired lately! My 18yo son (who has cystic fibrosis) now has shingles. So he's not feeling well at all.

Last night I took my daughter to the ER so we were gone from 12:30-3:30am. She's been having some weird issues that weren't really defined very well. We think we might have some answers now due to allergy meds and caffeine. We'll see.

Then on May 5th my darling husband will be having hip replacement surgery so we'll have to put a hold on ballroom dance lessons! :-) It sure will be nice when he no longer has constant pain!

And me......the lump on my head is still tender, but the swelling is down and it's not TOO visible. But for now - I'm off to walk on the treadmill. Later!

Fun stuff

Last week I bought new size 12 jeans and capris. Yay! And I did order the medium leggings from Metrostyle and got them today. They fit, but show a little too much. Still have the saddle bags at the top of my thighs under my butt. My whole thigh area is what I need to work harder on.

Also got a package from Heidi Roizen of Skinny Songs fame. She sent me the Incredible Shrinking Woman tank and I LOVE IT! I'll get a photo once the big lump on my forehead goes down some more. :-P

Wednesday weigh-in

Still up, but down from last week, so that's a good thing. I'm hoping someone else will be able to do a website like Tales from the Scales. I wish I could, but with my husband's hip replacement surgery coming up, I know there will be times when I just couldn't do it.

I cracked my forehead really good last night on a doorway and got quite a big bump out of it. It's still swollen this morning, from my hairline down to the eyebrow. And of course, I've got a good headache as well. I didn't black out, get nauseous or anything like that, just iced it for quite a while. Just total clumsiness. :-P

Email from Denise Austin today:

Pep Talk Yourself!
What's the voice inside your head saying about your efforts to lose weight and get fit? Are the messages positive and encouraging, or just the opposite?

Make a conscious effort today to take note of your inner chatter so you can see if it's helping you. If not, you can learn to look on the sunny side — it just takes some practice, say experts from the Mayo Clinic. The secret? Take note of the negative messages and replace them with a positive spin! Here are some examples:

* Instead of "I can't stick to a diet," think "I know I can do this!"
* Instead of "This won't work," think "I can make this work!"
* Instead of "It's a waste of time," think "It will be worth the extra effort!"
* Instead of "It's not going to make a difference," think "I'll never know unless I try!"
* Instead of "It hasn't worked before," think "I'll try again!"
* Instead of "I've already tried," think "I can learn from my mistakes!"
* Instead of "I don't like that (food, exercise, etc.)," think "I'm excited to try some new things!"

Skinny Songs CD

Thanks to other bloggers on a weight loss journey, I found out about Skinny Songs. It's a CD of fun, motivational songs for a weight-loss, healthy life journey. Check out the website, listen to some of the songs, then order the CD and maybe a shirt or two. Or download the itunes if you are using that mode of music collection!

Wednesday weigh in

Well, I'm not posting my weight today. I'm PMSing, bloated, constipated and pretty cranky about what my scale says. Cravings this week have been crazy.

HOWEVER, I'm focusing on the progress I have made. (See the two posts below!) I found an old pair of size 14 jeans, tried them on and they are really baggy. Found a size 12 dress and it fits PERFECTLY, and it's pretty fitted, even at the hips. I don't quite understand how I can weigh 190+ and still fit in these smaller clothes. Are my bones getting heavier? The women in my family do tend toward that. I do still want to lose more and work on my belly and my thighs. And toning in the arms. Want to look just smashing for my 30th reunion this summer. ;-)

New goal - get these leggings in a medium! Love it that they come in talls! I get a lot of my clothes from metrostyle and the last size 14 jeans I ordered were too baggy in the hips.

New photos

Will use this photo from September 2007 for my before photo when the Look Great in 2008 challenge first started.


And, today! I have kept this outfit in my closet forever, refusing to get rid of it because I love the embossed hot air balloons (which don't show up in the photo and the color is a much prettier pink than the photo shows.) I tried it on today and was thrilled that it fits! Inches lost since September:
Upper Abs - 1 1/2", Waist - 2", Lower Abs - 2 1/2", Hips - 1",
Upper Arms - 1" on both, Thigh - 2" on both, Bust - 1"
Weight loss - 11lbs, 12 on good days. ;-)
My son asked if these were pajamas, so I guess I won't wear the outfit out in public, except maybe to scrapbook or something where I want to be comfy. My sister said the pants are too baggy, so that's why I can't wear it in public. I'll take them in, but not too much because this fabric shows every lump and bump and I still have plenty of those!


Here's a photo from summer 2006. I've definitely come a long way, baby! This is such an ewwwww pic for me. I can't believe I'm posting it.

Measurements and inches lost

Just a reminder - I'm 5'11" tall.
November 22, 2005
Bust 41" Waist 39" Hips 45" Thighs 27"
March 4, 2006 measured more places
Upper Abs 37" Lower Abs 42" Upper Arms 14"

March 19, 2008
Bust 38" Upper Abs 31 1/2" Waist 32" Lower Abs 36 1/2" Hips 39" Upper Arms 12 1/2" Thighs 23"

So, inches lost:
Bust 3", Upper Abs 5 1/2", Waist 7", Lower Abs 5 1/2", Hips 6", Arms 3" on both, Thighs 8" on both
TOTAL - 38 inches lost! WOOT!

Starting weight 230(at least) and today's weight 190(give or take)
GOAL: 155lbs
Here's a post with before and after photos. But keep in mind that the after photo, I was still 10 pounds heavier and 11 inches bigger than I am right now. I will try to get a current photo to post with the weigh-in tomorrow. (Hubby has lost over 100 pounds.)

SOOOOOO, I'm really struggling with the arms thing. I started lifting weights a few months ago and wish I could see more results. But it's also encouraging to see how much I've lost off my thighs because my legs are my least favorite body part and I still hate how they look. So the numbers in black and white show me that I really have worked hard and done a great job. And that it really is worth it all!

If you don't measure yourself, I really, HIGHLY recommend it! :-)

And no, this is NOT an April Fool's joke! ;-)