Makeover Week

Wow! The last three weeks have flown by! Make over week was a blur! I'm not going to lie. I was a tad disappointed that it wasn't the grand hullabaloo I had pictured in my head. You know, like on The Biggest Loser complete with fancy stylists and a big reveal. I almost didn't write this or any future blog entries because it felt kinda anticlimactic and I didn't know where to stat.

You see I originally wanted to be below 200 before my makeover, but since you have to do that whole scheduling thing in real life, guessing when your going to hit that mark is tricky. I was weighing myself obsessively leading up to my Tuesday hair appointment. So when I got to 200.7 I had to cut myself a little slack on the less than a pound it would have taken to get below 200. But I still felt like I was cheating a little.

Deciding to go for it, first on the agenda was my hair. Lucky for me, my super awesome sister-in-law, Leann, is a hair stylist and color specialist at A Look off the Boulevard, and she hooked me up with a new do. Usually she cuts my hair in my dining room so going in to her salon was a treat.

Oooh lala! 

The next day I finally got below 200 pounds!!! When I saw that number pop up on the screen my mouth dropped open, I chuckled a little to myself and cried for a moment. I literally looked up at myself in the mirror as a different person. One who is starting to see some of her strength and determination for herself. One who is finally starting to see some of her value and beauty. Should all my self worth be tied up in that number? ABSOLUTELY NOT!! This is about deciding I want to be happy, healthy and strong and making that happen. But that number held so much power over me for so long. I allowed it to control me and my identity in a negative way and now I feel like I'm finally getting free from all of that. 

I need to mention at this point that Josh has lost 70 pounds!! Wooohoo! Go babe!!!! So he also cut off some hair.

Mmmm....so handsome! <3

Then it was time for new clothes. Unfortunately the time I have free for shopping is in the middle of the day and everyone else is busy then. For the most part it was just Manny and me. And if you have ever been shopping with a 2 year old you know that you have limited time before they get too impatient and you have to leave. So most of my shopping felt rushed and I didn't get to browse and bargain shop as much as I would have liked. It was still a good experience. My pant size went from a 22 to an 16 and my shirt size went from a 2x to a large. I was able to shop in the regular sizes and not in the plus size section!! Now that was exciting!

Pant legs up or down?

I found some good stuff, and oh man it is nice to have clothes that fit! I was feeling really good at this point and ready for a road trip with my best lady friend, Ashley.

We headed to Walla Walla for some birthday celebrating/ wine tasting with our friend, Edra.

I had a GREAT time! I sang real loud, met new people, went on a crazy jeep ride through a river and up a steep hill, laughed a TON, danced around the fire, and drank lots of wine with two ladies who mean the world to me!!

Mmmmm, wine! :)

While makeover week was still fun, I didn't work out at all and I was skipping a lot of meals since I was out shopping and away from home. I weighed in when we got home at 197.7 and decide it was time to switch my focus from weight to abilities; running faster and farther, doing more reps, trying more challenging workouts, etc. 

Now for the really mortifying part, some before and afters. I am so ashamed to admit I ever let it get this bad. I look at the before pictures and think how uncomfortable in my skin I was. I never want to forget that.

Fall 2009                                                                Spring 2013

Late Spring 2013

Summer 2012

February 2013 (top)-May 2013 (bottom)

Cheers! :)




*I had a lot of problems getting pictures to upload and positioning them the way I wanted. I finally had to say this is good enough. Something I have a REALLY hard time saying.

50 pounds!!!!!

What a great week! I got out a bunch since I am so fortunate to live in an area where there are so many possibilities for free recreation. And being outside in the fresh air makes me so happy! I started the week getting out for our first bike ride of the season. I rode just over 10 miles from Barker to state line and back on Centennial Trail. It was a really nice ride, however, on the way there I was riding into a strong wind which made it really hard. Then on the way back my seat got loose and was tilting back so it was extra hard to ride and uncomfortable to say the least. It made me aware of how much I need a tool kit to strap to my bike for situations such as this. (.....Mothers Day ;) *hint hint*)

Tuesday I was really sore from my malfunctioning bike seat and decided to stay home and catch up on house work. Then Wednesday it was BEAUTIFUL out, so Manny and I ventured out to Riverside State Park to hike around Bowl and Pitcher. We purchased a Discover Pass so we can access all the Washington State Parks for the season. I have no doubt that we will get a lot of use out if it.

Later we walked to pick up Katie from school and stopped off at a park on the way home. We all played and crawled around in the tunnels. (Something I definitely wouldn't have been doing 6 months ago.)

After school on Thursday I took the girls for a hike around the Dishman Hills. They are really good little hikers. We made sure to take time to smell the flowers and listen to the frogs in the pond.

Friday and Saturday I did a bunch of Fitsugar videos focusing on my arms and abs. There is a nice variety of videos on there and most are short so it's good for those short attention span days. Then on Sunday, I took Katie and Josh to Bowl and Pitcher, since they hadn't been yet. By far my favorite hike yet! It was lightly raining so we almost didn't go, but that turned out to be part of the fun. We wanted to get up to some high point but didn't really know which one or where we were going. Just roaming, sometimes walking sometimes jogging through the woods. We zigzagged our way up for about 2 miles in the intermittent rain, Katie leading the way. The best part though, was our way back, we RAN! I felt so alive and exhilarated bounding my way down the narrow trail, it was amazing! By the time we got back to the picnic shelter to have some lunch overlooking the river, our clothes were saturated, and I was overflowing with happiness! :D

I feel very present and able to enjoy all the small moments that make up the bigger picture. 

I feel ALIVE!!!!

AWESOME!!!

Yesterday I weighed in at 200.7, down 4.8 pounds from last Sunday, and 50 pounds from my top weight!! I am so freakin' proud of myself!! I think I stand a little taller, I know I am more confident in my body and its ability to move the way I want, and I feel more connected to my city and the world around be.  I am so inspired by my family and friends who have joined in to do this together. I don't think I could be any happier in this moment, life is good!

................Let makeover week begin!!!

Balance

This week has been a struggle for me. I weighed in yesterday at 205.5, down 1.7 pounds from last Sunday. Even though it's a loss I'm still having to try really hard not to be frustrated. Who am I kidding? I'm frustrated!! I want to get below 200 sooooo bad. I just want to see a big number and I keep getting 1-2 pound losses. Don't get me wrong, it's better than a gain but, UGH!!

OK time to quit bitching and take some responsibility. While the food I've been eating hasn't been terrible, it could have been better. I have been lazy about tracking what I'm eating and I will be correcting that. I do the best and feel the best when we plan out our menu for the week, stick to it, and count the points. I also noticed that I have been slacking on drinking enough water. It's should be such an easy thing but I really have to think about it to get in as much as I should. I'm going to work on that too. I have been keeping up with my workouts though, which is great. Some days I want to less than others but I have been doing good at pushing through.

 Now for a week of during and post workout photos!

Whew!

Something that I have noticed about myself now, and going through this process in this way, is that I'm able to take notice of the things I need to work on much faster and correct them right away, instead of a month from now or a year from now, or ......... never. However, I am finding it challenging to balance everything at the same time; exercising, eating the right foods, making sure to eat breakfast and have healthy snacks, tracking what I'm eating, drinking enough water, keeping up on the house work and yard work, managing 2 kids and my husband and their schedules, socializing with friends, catching up on my "later piles" and still finding time to sew, paint, or do something else creative and just for me. If I focus too much on a couple things, I'm getting behind on something else. I need to find some balance......

Another thing I've noticed is how much the weather effects my mood, which in turn effects my motivation to stay on track and get things done. When the weather is good I have no problem getting busy but the weather isn't always going to be nice. So I also need to figure out how to get motivated and not be cranky when it's gloomy and all I want to do is take a nap.

Enjoying one of the nice days!

On a good note, I tried on an old pair of pants and they fit!! I am pretty excited about this, as you can imagine. I sure am glad I saved some of my clothes as I grew out of them so now I have something to wear as I shrink back into them.

Old pants that fit me again, down 4 sizes!

OK, so I know what I need to work on and where I want to get to. Now I really just need to focus and balance by time. I know this next week is going to be a good one!

Steps In The Right Direction

I have been feeling wonderful and inspired this last couple weeks!

Most days I worked out hard. My activities of choice were running 2- 2.5 miles followed by some lifting or Tabata intervals. I have been super into it and feeling great for most the most part; I did end up getting a slight head cold or my allergies were acting up a bit though. Nothing major, but breathing while running with a stuffy nose is rough and I was getting dizzy. So, I took it easy for a few days around Easter.

If your not sweaty after your workout your not working hard enough.

But real rest is out of the question with a two year old running around. Instead I focused on some sewing projects while I distracted Maddie with my ribbon drawer. In my now organized later pile I found some pink material that had already been cut to make little pants. This project had been started when they would have fit Katie, and most likely been put off due to a lack of confidence in my sewing skills. I don't know what I was so worried about, they were super easy to make.

Finished cozy pants! 

Since the weather has been nice, Katie and I were wanting new maxi skirts. The original plan was to make us matching ones out of some fun stripey fabric I was given. But since I was just winging it mine didn't turn out very flattering. I then watched a couple of tutorials on YouTube, which I should have done in the first place, and took some of their advice and improvised a little to work with the fabric, as I had already started sewing. Katie's turned out perfect and Maddie ended up getting a mini maxi out of a piece of what was supposed to be my skirt.

Matching maxi skirts on my super cute test subjects!

While I was pinning and sewing I was also watching some TED talks. I was inspired by one incredible TED talk from guerilla gardener Ron Finley in particular which prompted me to start planning our own garden. This video is a MUST WATCH! I'm super excited about this project!

Maddie helping measure the space for the garden.

I had salvaged some pallets from a neighbor last summer that I hadn't decided what I was gong to do with. Now I thought they would be perfect to turn into raised beds!

pallets before

With tips from this tutorial from Old World Garden Farms, specifically using a saw to cut them apart at the nail as opposed to pulling them apart with a flat bar and hammer, we were able to salvage lots of usable wood.

salvaged wood (from only about half the pallets)

We decided to use the pieces from the top of the pallet first, securing them in the corners to scrap pieces of 2x4 we had laying around.

assembly

And ta-da! A raised bed just asking for some nutritious veggies to be grown in it!

So far no out of pocket cost!

Then, while we were at home depot picking up some flowers to brighten up the patio, we bought some organic vegetable soil as an impulse buy. It's nice to see the bed with the dirt in it but, we are going to need lots more soil so I need to do some research as to what will be the best quality at the most reasonable price. Any one have experience with this and any advice to pass on?

Dirt!

One of the things I love most about this is that my kids are going to see where their food comes from. They are going to help plant the seeds, and watch them grow. Then they are going to get to harvest and taste the fresh produce! So cool!!

Watching and waiting. <3

And then I was back to sewing some more. At this point I was on a roll. I made more matching skirts for the girls out of pajama pants and a dress for a dolly out of some scrap material.

Look at me go!

Then I got real brave and decided I was ready to start working with my own clothes! Yipes! I was pretty nervous but I also knew it wasn't really that much different than the other stuff I've been doing. I just like to psych my self out. Anyway, I bought this dress a couple summers ago because I loved how the skirt part flowed. The top never fit my well endowed chest, but I would just layer another tank top underneath it and tell myself it was good enough. Then I would see my reflection in something and tell myself not to wear it ever again as I looked like a giant bunch of grapes bursting out all over the place. So that's how this plum number made it into the alteration pile. I didn't do anything fancy really, just cut off the ill fitting top and sewed in an elastic waist band. 

Bippidy, boppety, boo!

I was so happy with the finished skirt I took it out for a test drive during First Friday Spokane, and LOVED it even more. I went with some fantastic people to the design collective to see Jamaali Roberts' show Huebrus Reflexive. Then down the street to Saranac Art Projects to see new paintings by Ryan Desmond and sculptures by Cori McWilliams. All three artists were phenomenal!! I left the evening feeling even more inspired and full of new life and energy! Art can be so powerful. :)

Found this guy while checkin' out the art!

I feel like I am becoming closer to the real authentic version of myself I have always wanted to be and it is beyond exciting! When I weighed in yesterday at 207.2, down 1.4 pounds from about 2 weeks ago, I was almost bummed that it wasn't more. But I reminded myself of the 40 pounds I've lost already and of the personal growth I've gained so far. So even a small step is a step in the right direction. And instead of being bummed about it not being a big number I'm going to be proud of myself for seeing this lifestyle change through and coming so far.