February 2019 – Sweat & Sparkle

Beast Mode March

How is it possibly the last day of February already? That means it is officially the last day of our 30-day exercise challenge. How did everyone do? And don’t forget…we have one more day to add just a few more minutes!

I didn’t take into account how long some of my runs are, so I ended up easily reaching and passing my goal of 1100 minutes. If I start up any more fitness challenges, I will focus on miles, not minutes.

Last night, to make up for not hitting the treadmill in the morning, I doubled up and tried two more Peloton treadmill workouts: a 30 minute hills run and a 30 minute 80s music fun run. Both of them were great. The Peloton workouts push me to run faster and on higher inclines than I ever do on my own. I’ll never be in love with treadmill running, but the Peloton workouts help the time go by faster and give me a better workout.

I’ve joined a few challenges on LoseIt that begin tomorrow, and I’m excited to see how much I can accomplish in March. I stumbled around a bit in February and held myself back, but only temporarily. I’ve lost the weight I had gained back, and a little more…and now I am ready for BEAST MODE!

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Small Sweater

I had the rare opportunity to stay in bed just a little longer this morning, so after I fed my obnoxiously spoiled, fat, and demanding cat, I happily climbed back into bed and snuggled up against my husband. Ahhh! Heaven. It was a lovely way to start the day.

So what if I was supposed to get up early this morning and hit the gym? The gym will still be there tonight. I will just work out a little longer this evening instead. No regrets!

During my lunch today, I did a little shopping at one of my favorite stores. It’s definitely top of my list for places to go once I hit goal weight! I tried on a few things but decided against them. One was a beautiful, bright pink sweater…in a size SMALL! I couldn’t believe it fit. I almost bought it just because of that, ha ha. But it looks a lot like a sweater I have already, so I left it at the store for someone else to enjoy.

Yesterday I was able to wear a top to work that I honestly can’t remember the last time it fit me. All day long, I felt like asking my co-workers, “Do you know how long it’s been since I could wear this? Well, do you?”

My husband told me it’s time to retire my black pants, but I don’t want to buy any more pants until I reach goal weight, so they will just sag for a little while longer. They’re actually pretty comfy right now, I must say.

My favorite pair of jeans do not fit yet. I tried them on just a few days ago, and they will pull up to my waist but then gasp “No more! Don’t even try to zip me up!” I won’t try them on again until I am back down into the 140s. It’s too discouraging, even if a lot of other things are fitting now that haven’t in a long, long time.

Alas, I am not at my goal yet, and there is still work to be done. Therefore, the treadmill and I have a hot and steamy date tonight!

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Four Pounds Closer

I was in “no more screwing around” mode last week, and it paid off! When I weighed in Saturday morning, I was thrilled to see I had lost four pounds.

I have now lost over 60 pounds, and I am at the lowest weight I have been in a year and a half. I am 7 pounds from my next mini goal (and weight loss reward). And that reward will be my last weight loss reward before my ultimate, goal-weight reward!

It was a good weekend all around. My stepkids were home, and we had a good time. They mentioned my weight loss a couple times, and I love that they are excited about it too, and obviously proud of me, which feels wonderful.

I am obsessed with clothes shopping right now. I have waited a long time to actually look good in new clothes! But I don’t see a point to wasting money on new clothes when I will reach my goal weight in about 17 pounds, and anything I buy right now will likely be a little too big by the time I reach my goal. So I’m in a holding pattern on clothes buying. Instead, I will keep an ongoing list of items I will need to buy, like my white jeans, which I adore, but I noticed this morning are getting loose in the waist.

I figure after I reach my next mini goal, when I have 10 pounds to go, I will get serious about developing a solid plan for maintenance. It’s where I have screwed up in the past: having no plan for keeping the weight off. I lost weight, felt like I was “finished”, and went right back to old habits and eating patterns that quickly resulted in gaining all of it back. That’s not going to happen this time! I need to make sure of it.

I’m not at my goal yet, so it’s too soon for celebrating, but I am getting sooooo close. It’s exciting and even a little bit scary. I don’t want to blow it now. I don’t want to disappoint myself. I want to finally allow myself to enjoy the exhilaration of reaching my goal.

My Husband

I saw a blog post yesterday that I really liked. Food for My S oul posted some sweet quotes about her husband. Most of the time, when I hear a woman talking about her husband (or a man talking about his wife, for that matter), it’s to complain. Put him down. Poke fun at his expense.

Why is it so trendy and popular to gripe about our spouses? Why is it something to bond over and laugh about, with eye rolls, groans, and conspiratorial winks?

When I hear someone grumbling about her husband, I can’t help but think, “Well, sorry you picked a bad one.” Or maybe she’s the problem. Who knows. If I’m not happy with someone, I wouldn’t stay, so it’s puzzling to me.

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It’s a cliche, but my husband really is my best friend. During the day away from him, he is the one I can’t wait to tell things, and I am excited when I see a text from him. I love just going to the grocery store with him, or planning our weekend, or picking out everything from our new quilt to outdoor lights to the scent of our dryer sheets.

Boring? Maybe to some. That’s fine. To each their own. I’d much rather hang out at home with him than go out pretty much anywhere…well, except for pizza and wings. I’m always down for that.

I know what we have is special, and I treasure it. I know a lot of people who are not happy at all with their partners or spouses. I know quite a few who put on a good show for Facebook and keep up an image in public, but are miserable with each other at home.

I was married once before, so I know what it feels like to not be happy in a marriage. I know what it feels like to mourn a relationship I thought was something better, stronger. I cried enough tears over that disappointment to cement my commitment to never settle for anything less than my best friend, ever again.

My husband is not perfect. Neither am I. We don’t skip around on rose petals, smiling until our faces hurt, reciting mushy poetry to each other. But we simply enjoy being with each other. The older I get, I appreciate just how rare that is!

Even at my highest weight, my husband never made me feel like anything less than the most beautiful woman in the world. He encourages me when I don’t feel like working out, and he doesn’t gripe (well, that much, anyway) when I get up early on weekends to go running and inevitably wake him up, too. He listens endlessly to my chatter about running, weight loss goals, my most recent challenges, etc. And he does a stand-up job at pretending he is actually interested! Ha ha.

Anyway, I didn’t come here to get sappy and make anyone puke. Her blog post just made me think, why not give my husband a round of applause and a shout-out? He deserves it. He doesn’t read my blog (he thinks computers and the Internet are the roots of all evil), but I do believe I will read this post out loud to him. After all, aren’t all of these things that I should be saying to him? Love You Longer

Planning and Daydreaming

Now that I’ve found my way back on track, I am confident I will reach my goal weight sometime during the next few months. It feels like a million years (and pounds) away, but I have so much to do in the meantime!

First, I will need to do a serious cleaning-out of my closet and dresser drawers when I get closer to my goal weight. I’ve been weeding out too-big clothes as I’ve lost weight, but I know there’s a lot still in there that is either much too big or simply not my style anymore. Why keep clutter?

Next, I want to finally organize my closet. The walk-in closet was a major selling point when we bought our house, but I have put off investing the time and money into properly organizing it because I wanted to wait until I knew exactly what needs to be organized. I won’t know that until I am near goal weight and finish the major clean-out.

Other women may salivate at glossy pictures of flashy jewelry or fur coats. Me? Closet organizers! Shelf dividers! Hanging organizers! *swoon* In my mind, I’ve arranged and rearranged the closet so many times. I want to be able to easily see what I have, get to it quickly, change out my purses easily, etc.

One of the most important things I need to do is map out my maintenance plan. Not just “Oh, I will maintain my weight loss”, but a specific, careful, and tangible plan of exactly how I will do it, and how to ensure I do not gain this weight back. Ever! I have some ideas kicking around and just need to put pen to paper and commit to the action steps.

And, last but certainly not least…I will need to reward myself! I have several ideas for my goal weight rewards, and it’s so much fun to daydream about them. One necessary reward will be shopping for clothes. I have started a list of items I will need, like a swimsuit, and smaller jeans, and I’m quite sure I will see plenty of other things I want simply because they’re cute.

I’m getting a bit ahead of myself, though, since I still have one major hurdle to leap: losing the rest of this weight and actually hitting my goal weight! But I am confident that I will. Nothing is going to stop me now.

Meanwhile, when I am not meal planning, running, or working out, I will be redesigning my closet one more time in my head and adding to my goal-weight-clothes shopping list! It’s motivating just to think about it. Each day brings me just a little bit closer, as long as I keep making good choices. will-not-give-up-will-reach-my-goal-absolutely-nothing-20718945