A Fitness Anniversary

Hey guys, remember when I finally got sick of feeling sorry for myself and started working out and taking care of my body? It was a year ago today!

Remember this?

So. Awkward.

I took what I had hoped would become my "before" pictures one week after I started working out at the pilates/spin studio. In that week, I had lost 2.5 pounds and 3.5 inches leaving me feeling very motivated to continue. By August 9th, I had lost 10.5 pounds and 12.5 inches. I plateaued a bit, then only lost one more pound by October 4th. In that post, I mentioned that I had somewhat fallen off the healthy-eating train and even mentioned that I needed to keep myself on track during the upcoming holiday season.

That didn't happen.

October 4th had been my last fitness post of 2012. Three months later on January 4th, it was time to get back on track. I posted new photos and set a new base for my measurements; I was no longer comparing myself to my starting weight and size from June. I was up 2.5 pounds and 2.75 inches and really motivated to break into the 140s.

I did really well the first week losing 2 pounds and 2 inches, then another pound and another inch the following week, putting myself ahead of where I was before I went to town on my mother-in-law's two tubs of Christmas cookies that she had mailed us. But then my mom's surgery happened and I spent 2 weeks in Ohio taking care of her with no real way of getting my fitness in.

I fluctuated through February but in March, I first hit my 5 pound mark for 2013 followed by the 15 pound mark since starting my journey last June. It was a good month! March was also the month that I started going to CUT Fitness, eventually transitioning from going to both CUT and Studio 5 in March and April to letting my pilates contract expire and attending classes only at CUT.

April was rough for fitness being that my family was out visiting for a week, then our house flooded, then Jamie and I were gone on our New York trip! I didn't get back to regular fitnessizing til a week into May. Since then, I've somewhat been struggling with getting back on my weight loss track, but I'm happy to say that last week was the day that I finally was back at my 15 pounds lost mark.

That wordily brings us to today, my one year anniversary. Wanna see some side by sides?

Left: 6/14/2012; Center: 1/4/2013; Right: Today!

Left: 6/14/2012; Center: 1/4/2013; Right: Today!

(I decided to throw on those awful booty shorts just to offer a more accurate comparison to my "before" photos.)

June 7, 2012 (gained since 5/2010)

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Calf - 14.25"
• Knee - 16.5"
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2")
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25")
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Waist - 34" (+4")
• Bust - 40"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75")

January 4th, 2013 (lost since 6/7/13)

• Weight - 154 (-9)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.75)
• Thigh - 24.25" (-1.25)
• Hips/Butt - 41.75" (-1.75)
• Belly - 39.5" (-1)
• Waist - 31.5" (-2.5)
• Bust - 38" (-2)
• Arms - 12.25" (-0.75)

June 7th, 2013 (lost since 6/7/13)

• Weight - 147 (-16)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0.75)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.75)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-1.75)
• Hips/Butt - 40.75" (-2.75)
• Belly - 38.5" (-2)
• Waist - 30" (-4)
• Bust - 36" (-4)
• Arms - 11.5" (-1.5)

Since January I've lost 7 pounds and 7 inches. In the last year I've lost 16 pounds and 17.5 inches. While in this world of get-thin-quick schemes, 16 pounds in a year doesn't seem like much or even all that impressive. Sure, I could have been really strict and probably lose 20 pounds in a few months, but I know from experience that that doesn't work for me in the long run. I'd rather lose the weight slowly and effectively keep it off. I've found it much easier to maintain the general loss give or take a few pounds over this time where even the periods in January and April where I wasn't working out much and wasn't eating carefully didn't set me back more than a couple pounds. 

I'm happy with my results so far. I'm a little bit leaner, I'm stronger, and I'm more fit. I no longer get winded walking up the stairs. I often find myself bounding up the stairs of our three story condo. I see muscle definition and feel more comfortable waving my arms in a tank top. Wearing shorts is still another hurdle... but if I may get cheesy for a moment, fitness is a journey not a destination. I'm not finished and I intend to keep going. Let's see what happens next. 

Fitness Friday

Let's see, let's see, where to start? There isn't a whole lot new this week. Uhm, oh! I decided to give PB2 a try. I've been seeing it all over Instagram. It's powdered peanut butter, made only of peanuts, sugar, and salt. It's only 45 calories per 2 tablespoons versus the usual 190 in regular peanut butter. You can put the powder on or in anything you want or you can mix it with water or any other liquid to turn it into a peanut butter consistency. I've been mixing it with almond milk and eating it with an apple.

I also put some in a jar of overnight oats with half a scoop of triple chocolate protein powder. It was supa-rich and tasty.

So that's been cool. The taste is a leeetle off from regular peanut butter, but that might be because I mix it with almond milk, so I will try it other ways and see if it tastes more normal.

I'm also eating a lot of eggs/liquid egg whites, still. What's new? And while I've done pretty well with keeping my day time eating in check, I cheated a bit in the evenings.

I ordered this lamb shank with double veggies instead of veggies and mashed potatoes. The veggies were likely sauteed in oil or butter, and the lamb shank was super tender and fatty, but overall it probably wasn't that bad. What was bad was the weekend that followed this lamb shank.

I kind of let things get out of hand last weekend. Having breakfast with friends included a not-so-bad eggs... and regular bacon... and fruit! and a cinnamon roll. That was followed by a day of many beers. The day of many beers was followed by a chili dinner, which was delicious and still probably not that bad... but then I had like 800 pounds of corn bread. With butter.

Whatever, I thought, tomorrow's another day!

Yes, yes it was. Sunday was another day of drinking and eating. Another day with friends, eating rice, beans, meat, snacks, and drinking beers and sangria.

Oh, and I made this:

Oh and it was mighty tasty. A major hit. Yikes.

So I did poorly this weekend, and I felt it on Monday. I felt sluggish and had trouble really pushing myself in spin and Zumba.

Yes, I did still burn 574 calories between spin, pilates and Zumba, but I was pretty bummed that I didn't do better. I mean, the week before, I burned 413 calories in Zumba alone! But then today happened. After burning 340ish calories in Zumba on Wednesday and still feeling like I could have done better, the Zumba instructor really amped it up this week.

She knows I have my Polar, so today she said "We're gonna burn 500 calories!" I was a little skeptical at first, but as class went on, it was looking good. The end of class came, and...

Uh yeah, I did it. 510 calories, dudes. I was pretty stoked about that. I spent a lot of the class with my heart rate up in the 150's and 160's and I'm noticing that I don't feel as awful as I used to when I was up in that range, so, yeah, that's cool too.

And with that, let's check out some progress pics!

Left: 1/4/13, Center: 3/1/13, Right: Today

Left: 1/4/13, Center: 3/1/13, Right: Today

March 1st, 2013 (-since 3/22/13, -since 1/4/13)

• Weight - 148.2 (-0, -5.8)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0, -0)
• Knee - 15" (-0, -0.25)
• Thigh - 23.5" (-0, -0.5)
• Hips/Butt - 40.75" (-0, -1)
• Belly - 38.5" (-0, -1)
• Waist - 30" (-0, -1.5)
• Bust - 36" (-0.25, -2)
• Arms - 11.5" (-0.25, -0.75)

Okay, I can't help but be bummed that I didn't lose any weight this week. I'm actually a little annoyed with this because earlier in the week I was 147, but, really, it's not important. I didn't lose as many inches either, but I still lost some off my boobs and my arms.

At first, I didn't think I could see much difference in today's photos compared to the photos from March 1st, but I took a closer look. What I'm seeing is my back fat and love-handles are smoothing out, my butt's getting a little less lumpy and of course my boobs are deflating (it comes with the territory!) Also, outside of the photos, these workout pants are on their way to being too big. While they're a far cry from being loose, I do find myself yanking them up constantly during Zumba or Body Combat.

Let's break it down, so since March 1st I've lost only .6 pounds, but I lost 3.5 inches! Since January 4th I've lost nearly 6 pounds and 7 inches. If you want to go way back, I've lost nearly 15 pounds and 18.25 inches since June 7th. Those numbers might not be impressive when you consider the amount of time, but I am still of the mindset that I'll have an easier time keeping it off by going slowly.

My struggles this weekend will be alcohol and Easter, then my struggles next week will be not working out on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday while my family is here as well as fooood and more alcohol with them. BUT. I'm giving myself a pass to not stress about it. I will make an effort not to go overboard and to make good food choices, but the family time will be most important.

If I still fit into these jeans after they leave, I'll mark it as a success!

Fitness Friday

Okay, so I went a little gung-ho this week my workout schedule. I even added a second workout yesterday and did Body Combat after Body Pump/Cycle. This leaves me feeling like today's one workout wasn't enough, but that's just my brain getting all weird on me. Of course it's enough. But then again, I'm all "But I had to cancel my Saturday morning class!" and them I'm all "You're not going to gain 8 pounds if you skip it!" but then I'm all "But I'm prolly just gonna draaaaaaaank all day." and then I'm like "Well, okay, but... you'll survive, and it will be fun and worth it, yo."

That got a little out of hand; I apologize.

As for food? I did really well this week, I think, if you don't count St. Patrick's Day. Corned beef tacos whaaaaaaaaaaaat?

These were accompanied by kind of a lot of beer and a couple shots. D'oh. I've mentioned probably one thousand times how that's my biggest struggle. I like beer. I like wine. It's so hard for me to say no to. Sweets used to be really difficult, but those are super easy now. With sweets, I have the discipline to have one bite. I can't really just have one sip of wine. And some times when we're out, I tell myself that I will allow myself one drink. But then I order a second. You get the idea. So that's still my main hurdle... still.

But food? I (mostly) have that down.

At home, it's really easy for me to eat low-cal and mostly clean. The only carbs I eat at home are from fruits, veggies, and whole grains like quinoa and various types of brown rice. No white rice, no white potatoes, and I rarely eat bread. My problem lately, though, is that I eat then I am satisfied and no longer hungry. Then, an hour or two later, I'm not just kind of hungry, I'm hungry to the point that I'm about to get a headache. I feel like I am eating constantly. Even on days like Wednesday when I burned 800 calories, which upped my calorie budget to 2000, I was still HUN-graaay. So needless to say, I'm still trying to figure out how to keep myself satiated for longer.

So, last week I was really stoked about getting my new Polar heart rate monitor. I finally received it on Monday evening (at 7:20. What the crap, UPS?) I've used it every day and really like having all of the information it provides. Being able to keep an eye on my heart rate can be really motivating. When I see that it's in the 140's and I realize that I feel pretty good, it amps me up to work harder. 150's? Let's see if I can hit 160! Then, of course, being able to see the calories that I've burned makes this thing worth every single penny.

I didn't post my numbers last week. My measurements were the same aside from going back up .25" on my calves as well as my weight bouncing back up to 149.4, which was 1.8 pounds higher than the week before. I was feeling awesome that week when I was down to 147.6.

I had some killer results that really pumped me up, so while I was still feeling good about my fitness and going to classes at both Studio 5 and CUT, I was really annoyed with my weight for spiking like it had. Now, I'll be the first person to tell you that overall, the scale really doesn't matter. It's how you feel, how your body changes, and if you really need numbers, the measurements. Despite having 3 people this week notice the change in my body, I still let the scale have an affect on me.

When I weighed and measured myself this morning, I realized that I was being silly and that the advice I give others about the scale is advice that I need to remember to take myself.


March 22nd, 2013 (-since 3/15/13, -since 1/4/13)

• Weight - 148.2 (-1.2, -5.8)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0, -0)
• Knee - 15" (-0, -0.25)
• Thigh - 23.5" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Hips/Butt - 40.75" (-0.25, -1)
• Belly - 38.5" (-0.25, -1)
• Waist - 30" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Bust - 36.25" (-0.5, -1.75)
• Arms - 11.75" (-0.25, -0.5)

This is exactly why I need to relax about the scale. Today, I weigh more than I did on March 8th, but I've still lost inches. I'm hoping for another good week as I'll be doing my April progress pictures next Friday!

Fitness Friday

Hey check that out! I kinda have some muscles! I've been noticing more definition lately and that puts me in a pretty good mood. You know what else puts me in a good mood? The rest of the results that I'm seeing.

I joined a DietBet game, which offers a monetary incentive to lose 4% of your body weight. Earlier in the week was tricky for me, though. I felt like I hit a plateau and wasn't going to be able to push through enough in time for my final weigh in next Wednesday. Luckily, and I say "luckily" due to a night of beer and another night of wine, I pushed through! I'm back on track and only have to lose about a pound by Thursday in order to split the pot with all the folks that hit their goal. So far, since starting the game on February 13th, I've lost 5 pounds!

I credit my recent success to two things. First, my healthy eating. While my alcohol intake hasn't drastically improved, I've been pretty strict with my diet. There's a saying, "Abs are made in the kitchen" and it's totally true. While I'm far from having visible abdominal muscles, I'm seeing a difference in how my body looks and feels since really cracking down on my diet. Second, changing up my work outs.

A week and a half ago, sitting on the couch after dinner, I decided to check my work email. I had a new project sent to me by my boss. Do you guys even know what I do? Have I shared that here before? Anyway, I work as a designer for a custom rhinestone apparel company. I'm fortunate enough that I can work a flexible schedule at home, which I love. Anyway, I got this project and it was for the logo of a new fitness studio that had just opened about 10 minutes away. Do you guys watch Real Housewives of Orange County? Welp, it's Tamra and Eddie's new studio, CUT Fitness. I found their website and saw that they were offering a fantastic special: your first five classes are free, with no monetary commitment. I signed up that night and went to my first class the next morning.

The class I took was 30 minutes of spin and 30 minutes of Body Pump. (RHOC fans, it was taught by Eddie.) Body Pump, being mostly a barbell class, was something completely new to me. Between that and the different style of spin, it was a really great kick in the pants that I definitely needed. I've gone back twice since to help supplement my 4 days a week at the Pilates studio and still have two more free days left that I'll use on Tuesday and Wednesday.

I definitely accredit the following numbers to adding those new workouts to my schedule.

March 8th, 2013 (-since 3/1/13, -since 1/4/13)

• Weight - 147.6 (-1.2, -6.4)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0.25, -0.25)
• Knee - 15" (-0.25, -0.25)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-0, -0.25)
• Hips/Butt - 41" (-0.5, -0.5)
• Belly - 38.75" (-0.25, -0.75)
• Waist - 30.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Bust - 36.25" (-0.5, -1.75)
• Arms - 11.75" (-0.25, -0.5)

Check that out! This week I've lost 1.2 pounds and 2.25 inches! I'd say that's better than last week's 2 pounds and 1.5 inches in SIX weeks. 

Now, I know my DietBet isn't over yet, but I wanted to continue to challenge myself. Lucky for me, I happened to get an invitation this morning from Lauren at Pink on the Cheek to join another DietBet! The buy in for this one is only $10 (the one I'm currently in was $20) but I think it's still enough to keep me motivated. This new one officially starts on Sunday the 10th, which means it will put my final week the same week that my family is here visiting. This will definitely be a challenge!

Fitness Friday

After a somewhat indulgent weekend, I think I fared pretty well this week in the healthy eating department. Sunday was probably the worst day in terms of not-so-healthy eating, but it was the best day in terms of deliciousness. On our way back from shooting, Jamie and I stopped for lunch at Slater's 50/50. With a menu full of ridiculously tempting burgers, I managed to make a slightly better choice and get the turkey burger shown above which came topped with smoked gouda and a grilled portabello. I cut it in half and ate the smaller half, bun and all, then fork-and-knifed the other half, eating only the meat. Unfortunately, two Stone Pale Ale's didn't save me any liquid calories. Sunday evening was Chinese take-out and moscato (It pairs well, right?) at our friends Ella and Chris' place to watch and laugh at the Oscars. (No regrets!)

Really, that was probably the worst day. Saturday night we hosted dinner and cards and BSing for Jarrod and Kaitlyn, which proved to be pretty healthy (if you don't count the wine and beer.) Jamie grilled up some chicken breasts and I made a pretty tasty quinoa salad.

And then Monday, I made Philly Cheesesteak Stuffed Peppers! (The recipe calls for sliced roast beef, but I used steak.) Jamie wasn't "ohmigawd this is delicious", but I really liked them.

So really, eating healthy isn't a problem for me. It's not difficult for me, and I like it. What my problem is, as we all should know by now, is alcohol. I. Love. Beer. And. Wine. I tried to go the week without either of those two, but come Wednesday afternoon, I see a Facebook post from our favorite local spot for craft brews announcing that they've just tapped Pliny the Elder. If you're a beer person, you probably know that this beer, rated #3 on Beer Advocate's top 250, is kind of a big deal and it goes fairly quickly once it's tapped. So of course I had to stop in for one before I headed to the grocery store to buy stuff to make salads for dinner. Okay, so, because Jarrod also happened to be there, I had two. Geez. (Jamie was being good and was at the gym!)

BUT! Aside from giving in to beer (did I mention I had beers last night too? Yikes.) I've managed to still keep on track to lose my 4% body weight for the DietBet game I'm participating in, so I'm happy with that. Oh, and guess what? I took photos this month!

Left: 1/4/13 - Right: Today
(click to view it large)

Left: 1/4/13 - Right: Today
(click to view it large)

You can't really see too much of a difference, but I did make a bit of progress. I don't know about you guys, but I can see a bit of difference in my midsection. Here are my numbers:

March 1st, 2013 (-since 1/18/13, -since 1/4/13)

• Weight - 148.8 (-2.2, -5.2)
• Calf - 13.75" (0)
• Knee - 15.25" (0)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-0.25)
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (0)
• Belly - 39" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Waist - 30.5" (-0.5, -1)
• Bust - 36.75" (-0.5, -1.25)
• Arms - 12" (-0.25)

In 6 weeks, I've lost 2ish pounds and 1.5 inches; in two months, I've lost 5ish pounds and 3 inches. Not bad. While I'm a little impatient with losing right now, I'm still in the mindset that the more gradually the weight and inches come off, the easier it will be to keep off. If you look at my original photos from when I started back in June, I can definitely see how far I've come, and I'm happy with my progress and the fact that even when I wasn't eating properly at the end of last year, I didn't regress much in my numbers. Since June, I've lost 14 pounds and more than 14 inches off my limbs and midsection! Yessir. That's fantastic.

Fitness Friday

Zzzzz...

That about sums up how I feel about this week, though I'm sure you could have figured that out on your own if you had noticed since I kinda left the blog hanging after Monday's super emo post.

Last Friday was a good day, motivationally. (I don't think "motivationally" is a word.) It was my off day at the Pilates studio. Monetarily, I max out at 4 days per week instead of the 5 or 6 days that I am used to and on Friday I was feeling motivated to get some activity in, so I leashed up the dog and went for a walk.

It was one of those random summer teaser days; it was 80 degrees and just plain gorgeous outside. Chuck and I hit the trail that bisects our community. It's very hilly and great for exercise. It was also a great test to see how far I've come, physically. Before I worked out, I dreaded these hills. Jamie always wanted to go hike the trail and I hated it because he'd just crank his way to the top and wait for me to drag my ass up each hill. I felt awful physically and mentally during those walks. This time, however, I never lost steam and that felt great.

Chuck made it about 3 miles before he finally stopped pulling. (He's pretty terrible on the leash; he just wants to GO.) It used to be that at about 3 miles, or sooner, I'd be done. I'd be ready to BE home, not head back. I'd be exhausted and my low back would be so, so angry at me. This time, however, I had a choice. I could take the direct route back home or walk up the looooong hill then zig zag through neighborhoods, up and down more hills to get home. I chose the latter!

This time, my back didn't start bothering me until around 4 miles, which was good because I was close to home. My total walk was 4.14 miles and I wasn't completely dead when I walked in the door. I felt so good and motivated that I wanted to take this walk on every off day during the week.

So my next off day was Monday and... I didn't do it. Then my next off day was yesterday and... I didn't do it. I'm pretty disappointed in myself. I could have made the time, I just didn't, and it has affected my DietBet results this week. While I was ahead of schedule on the weight loss, it's crept back up. I blame water weight. (sure.) Fortunately, I'm still right on schedule, so I still feel safe. I'm not behind, so as long as I can keep up with my eating habits and slip in some more cardio, I should probably be good.

Speaking of eating well?

Jamie grilled up some Cornell Chicken last weekend and when I say "some" I mean "a lot", so we had a bunch of leftovers. When Jamie decided he was tired of having it for lunch, I made a soup with it. Cornell Chicken, if you don't know, is marinaded in eggs, oil and vinegar and some seasonings. The vinegar gives it a really amazing flavor, which lent itself nicely to the soup. Along with that, the smokiness from the grill stuck around and tasted fantastic in the soup. My soup (how many times can I say soup? Soup.) had onions, carrots, celery, kale, and a blend of quinoa and brown rice and it turned out really great. It's probably pretty fatty due to the chicken being skin-on with a lot of dark meat, but the veggies and grains are definitely beneficial so... so there.

Soup.

Fitness Friday

Uhm, so... remember when I was all stoked that I busted into the 140s while in Ohio? Well, apparently there's something wrong with the earth's gravitational pull because I arrived home, safe on Sunday night, and by Monday morning I had crept back into the 150s. (Though I suppose it may have also had to do with an impending menstrual cycle.)

This photo is irrelevant. 

Fortunately, with returning home came returning to the Pilates studio. Unfortunately, not having worked out in 3 weeks and not having done Pilates in 4 weeks, I've found that my strength and endurance have regressed.
Not only did I realize that I had reverted back toward my original state of being a weakling on my first day back, but my instructor (who reads this, so everyone wave to Bridget!) decided to throw in some crazy let's-roll-back-onto-our-shoulders-with-our-feet-in-the-air move that I had never done before which only reiterated the fact that I lost a lot of strength over four weeks.

Getting back into spin has also proved challenging. I lost a lot of endurance in my inactivity, unsurprisingly, but hopping on the bike in the first two days of my period wasn't helping either. Intervals (where you go back and forth between seated and standing on the bike) proved really difficult with an angry uterus. Cramps also lead to headache for me, so my two spin classes this week were pretty unpleasant thanks to my own body. Though, even through my menstrual discomfort, I could tell that I still could have pushed myself harder on the bike. I'm hoping to do better in tomorrow morning's spin/power sculpt yoga class. (I've never done power sculpt yoga. I hope I don't die.)

Staying on the topic of challenge, I joined a weight loss challenge. Roo over at Nice Girl Notes started a game at DietBet.com and opened it up to all of her readers. The premise is that you and all the players pay some money; in this instance, it was $20. You submit an official weigh in to the DietBet referees (which includes photos and a secret word) and once it's approved, you're in the game. The game is that you have 28 days to lose 4% of your body weight. If you don't, you're out $20. If you do, then you split the pot with everyone else who reached the 4% lost goal.

So Roo's game has 175 participants putting the pot at $3500. A lot of people would have to fail for me to get a huge chunk of that, but I'd be happy just getting my 20 bucks back with maybe some extra change to toss into Paypal for a rainy day. The game only started on Wednesday, but I think I've been doing well at keeping motivated. My only two things that stand in my way are alcohol and having switched my Pilates membership to 4 days a week to save some cash. BUT! So far, I'm on the right track. My 4% equals out to 6.1 pounds, which would put me at 146.5 on March 13th. Today I am at 150.8, so I really only have 4.3 pounds to go!

I anticipated Valentine's Day being a significant obstacle, but I really didn't do too badly. Jamie knew I was doing this challenge, so he didn't bring me home any sweets to keep stashed in the house. I ate quite healthfully all day and was looking forward to a homemade meal made by Chef Husb. He, for the past week or so, has been adamant about cooking at home on Valentine's Day; he wanted to grill up some nice steaks and pop a bottle of wine. I was so down with that. He even asked me over instant message yesterday if I had any diet restrictions for dinner. (I said no white rice or white potatoes!) Then, about 15 minutes later, he decided he wanted to go out. While slightly annoyed that he changed his mind last minute, I shrugged, "Okay, let's do it."

It was so worth it.

Grilled lamb with polenta and asparagus was my choice, and I think it was a good one. The portion wasn't huge; I ate it all and didn't feel over-stuffed. We split a really fantastic tiramisu for dessert, and even after that, I didn't feel like I over-ate. I felt full enough and satisfied. I did, however, drink a flight of wine at dinner followed by a tall pale ale and a short lager at our local spot to grab good craft brew. I must have done something right, though, because it didn't show on the scale today or in the form of bloating. (I guess I could probably attribute that to massively upping my water intake the past few days.)

My goals for this week include eating smartly, cut back on the alcohol (there's no way I'm giving it up!), and find a way to be active on the days I don't have spin or Pilates.

Do you have any fitness goals right now? How did Valentine's Day affect your diet? (I, honestly, am surprised that I did so well!)

Fitness Friday

This photo kind of sums up my general attitude toward fitness and health during the past two weeks. We already know that I've indulged in some deliciously shitty meals while in Ohio playing caretaker to my mom after her surgery. Those days along with a beer or wine or two each night to wind down and some seemingly boredom-induced perpetual snacking have been looming over my head. Yet, instead of being guilted by that, I just swat it away. Really, as grossly as it seems that I've been eating, most of my main meals have been pretty healthy, but to be honest, I don't feel balanced. The healthy meals and the not-so-healthy, mindless snacking and drinks make it difficult for me to decide what my mind wants and my body needs. (Though I guess it's safe to say that my body definitely doesn't need a Mounds ice cream bar...)

Are you ready for a miracle? Because I just stepped on the scale only to see that I've lost 3 pounds in the last two weeks of being in Ohio. If you look back at the last time I weighed in and do the math, that means I busted into the 140s, yo! While this weight loss along with being back in the 140s is definitely welcomed, I'm pretty certain that it can be accredited to muscle loss from my three-week stint of inactivity. Let's just hope that returning home to my normal life won't be an issue when it comes to keeping those three pounds off as I would like to not return to the 150s.

So this week (or even last week) should have been my before/after photo update, but given my circumstances, that will have to either wait until next week when I'm at home OR maybe just be skipped and picked back up on in March after I've gotten back into the swing of things. Though, to satiate you, (because I totally know you're, like, totally just DYING to see more photos of me) I put together this really great, high quality side-by-side in MSPaint.

Left, March 2012; Right, 2 weeks ago.

I like to think that I can see a difference in these photos, though hiding behind my camera bag has made it difficult to really see how monstrous my thighs were compared to the more manageable monstrosity they are today. (I kid. Kinda. I don't hate them quite as much as it sounds and no, I don't actually think they were specifically "monstrous".) The bad thing is that I still wear those jeans. The good thing is that they are almost to the point of being too big to wear. Almost. Also? The shirt in my old photo is the same shirt in this recent post. Look how loose it is now!

Holy crap, I have just realized that I've hit 15 pounds lost since June. That may seem like a long time to lose 15 pounds, especially since I lost that much in 3 months the first time around in 2010. You know what, though? That obviously came back. This time, I've been losing slowly, and even during a long plateau, or times of not eating so great, I've kept it off. I have yet to gain back any weight that I have lost since starting in June. Slow and steady makes it much easier to adjust, maintain and keep it off, so I'm happy.

In summation:

• Hooray 140s!
• Snacks are fun and delicious.
• I can't wait to start working out again.
• I should probably buy new jeans.
• (and stop snacking on junk)
• 15 pounds!

It's Fitness Friday, Yo

I swear there's a muscle in there. I'm going to use it to fold that laundry.

Today concludes my first week at LA Fitness. I skipped Wednesday, but I probably should have and could have found a way to squeeze in a work out, but that was the day I got maherrs did my hair cut and well, it just threw my day off. I'm not too bummed about it since I was able to let my super sore glutes and hip flexors rest a bit.

Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday I divided my time between the elliptical and treadmill. Those workouts didn't defer too far from what I described on Monday. This morning, however, I decided to try the cycle class. I'm a little undecided about it and I'll tell you why.

The class was big; there were 4 tiers, packed with bikes. Spinning at the Pilates studio was much more intimate with a max of six people in the class. With a large class, the instructor has to wear a headset mic which she fiddled with for most of the class because it wouldn't work properly. Also, I wasn't stoked on the music. I don't know if the instructor there chooses the music or if, since it's a large gym chain, it's something that's provided, but I wasn't a fan.

The bikes were really nice, but because they were different than what I was used to, were uncomfortable. I'm sure I will adjust in time. What I did like about the bikes is that they had a digital display which showed you your RPM, time, distance, calories, and resistance level. It was nice to have that information, and because we had it, the instructor would tell you what RPM range you should be in at certain times, which I liked. I also liked being able to see what resistance level I was on. The bikes at the studio have a hand crank and you just have to kind of go off of how it feels to you. With being able to see the levels, we'd start at our personal baseline then build off of that by her telling us how many to add or remove.

The workout itself was challenging, sure, but it was just... different than what I'm used to. So far, routine-wise, I prefer what all the ladies at the studio do to what this lady did. Though, other instructors may be different, so I'm going to keep going and see what happens.

Going back to knowing how many calories I burned, I can definitely see that there's room for improvement in my spinning. In 54 minutes I only burned 311 calories. I know I can do better than that, and to keep on par with what I've been doing the rest of the week, I hopped on a machine after class for 20 minutes to burn another 200 calories.

Going to the gym has been beneficial with really amping up my calorie burn, but I really miss Pilates already. I could easily add strength to my workouts, and I know how, but I don't like it nearly as much as Pilates on the reformer. I like how strong it makes me feel, and I like the changes that it made to my body.

As for my food, I'm still doing pretty well at eating healthfully and giving my body what it needs before and after a workout. I'm switching to whole grains with everything that I can, knocking back a bunch of veggies, eating slow-burning carbs when I can, and trying to keep my added sugar intake under 10g per serving. Well, that is, if I am eating anything with added sugar. I like it to be much less, but sometimes it's just not possible.

With all of these efforts, I did make a little progress this week!

January 18th, 2013 (-this week, -since 1/4/13)

• Weight - 151 (-1, -3)
• Calf - 13.75" (0)
• Knee - 15.25" (0)
• Thigh - 24" (0)
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (0)
• Belly - 39.25" (-0.25, -0.25)
• Waist - 31" (-0.5)
• Bust - 37.25" (-0.25, -0.75)
• Arms - 12" (-0.25)

I'm okay with these numbers. I only lost a pound and half an inch, but this isn't The Biggest Loser, and a pound is a pound, and I lost it.

Are you on a fitness/health journey? How's it going?

Fourth Month Fitness Update

I'm happy to report that I signed myself up for 3 more months of Pilates! But I'm not-so-happy to report that in the three weeks since I last posted measurements, I haven't lost much for weight and measurements. I'm still going to Pilates or Spin and now I've added in Barre Fusion... but I've been sucking at eating healthy, so I'm not really seeing many changes anymore. In any case, I'm still going to show you pictures, so brace yourselves.

Left: 6/7/12; Right: 10/4/12 (My belly bruises are from THIS.)

Left: 6/7/12; Right: 10/4/12

And here are my numbers, for good measure. (See what I did there?)

June 7, 2012

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Bust - 40"
• Waist - 34" (+4)
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25)
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2)
• Knee - 16.5"
• Calf - 14.25"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75)

September 13, 2012

• Weight - 152 (-0.5, -11)
• Bust - 37.75" (0, -2.25)
• Waist - 31" (-0.25, -3)
• Belly - 39" (-0.25, -1.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (-0.25, -2)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-0.25, -1.75)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0.25, -0.75)
• Arm - 12" (-0.25, -1)

October 4, 2012

• Weight - 151.5 (-0.5, -11.5)
• Bust - 37.75" (0, -2.25)
• Waist - 31" (-0, -3)
• Belly - 39" (-0, -1.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 41" (-0.5, -2.5)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-0.25, -1.75)
• Knee - 15" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0, -0.75)
• Arm - 12" (-0, -1)

So really? In three weeks I've only lost three-quarters of an inch? Yikes. I need to step up my game and really crack down on my food intake. And beer and wine intake. This is going to require a lot of discipline given that we're heading into Eating and Drinking Season.

I guess I never mentioned that I got my period, thus crushing my hopes of becoming a parent in late May/early June. This also detracts from my healthy eating. "F'k you period! I'm gonna eat cookies, so there." As if my uterus is spited whenever I eat cookies... I digress. I may elaborate in another post about the period that made me want to hide under a rock and what our next step is, but for right now... eating. Eating better. MUST. Eat. Better. And probably stop drinking. Boo.

Eating Less Junk, More Words

Heh. Okay, um, well, remember how last week I was all "I don't think I'm going to post my fitness updates weekly" because things have seemed to stall out? Well, that might still be the case, but not quite yet.

Why? Oh. It's because I woke up and, realizing it was already Thursday again, decided to hop on the scale and take measurements. Why not? I don't have to blog about it, but I may as well double check that I hadn't at least gained anything. Given that, once again, I wasn't really good at eating healthfully last weekend, I wasn't feeling awesome about measuring, but I did it anyway.

I ate this burger, but only half of it, yo.

Whoa, you guys, I finally busted through this plateau! Look!

June 7, 2012

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Bust - 40"
• Waist - 34" (+4)
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25)
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2)
• Knee - 16.5"
• Calf - 14.25"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75)

August 9, 2012 (because NOTHING had changed since then!)

• Weight - 152.5 (-3.5, -10.5)
• Bust - 37.75" (-0.25, -2.25)
• Waist - 31.25" (-0.75, -2.75)
• Belly - 39.25" (-0.75, -1.25) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (-0.25, -2)
• Thigh - 24" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.25" (-0.25, -0.75)

September 13, 2012

• Weight - 152 (-0.5, -11)
• Bust - 37.75" (0, -2.25)
• Waist - 31" (-0.25, -3)
• Belly - 39" (-0.25, -1.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (-0.25, -2)
• Thigh - 23.75" (-0.25, -1.75)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.5" (-0.25, -0.75)
• Arm - 12" (-0.25, -1)

I did it! I'm finally down again... thaaaaank goodness. So this week, I've lost half a pound and 1.25 inches, which means my total inches lost is 13.5! Aw, yeah.

Plateau Pictures

Welp, it's already been noted over the past month that I haven't lost any more weight or inches. This is a massive plateau, but I'm partially to blame. That said, I don't regret any of my caloric intake! That also said, it's still f'n annoying, duh. BUT! I am feeling okay that I haven't gained any weight or inches because I'm still going to Pilates 4 or 5 times a week and really, I'm not pigging out all that badly.

Once again, I'm not going to post my measurements as they haven't changed since August 9th. I will, however, post my 3 month progress photos! Ready? (Don't mind my angry face.)

Left: 6/7/12; Center: 8/2/12; Right: Today, 9/6/12

Left: 6/7/12; Center: 8/2/12; Right: Today, 9/6/12

So that's that. I don't really have much else to say that I haven't already said on some recent posts about not having lost any inches or pounds, so I won't reiterate. I may, though, consider only checking in with my numbers every 2 weeks, or even every month. I haven't decided yet. Hmm.

Forgetting Fitness For Food

I'm going to tell you about how I didn't let fitness and eating healthy spoil a good, long weekend with friends and family in Ohio. You might think that this is the point where I tell you that eating healthy is worth it in the end, much in the way people say "You don't have to drink to have a good time!". Well, sure, healthy eating might be worth it in the end, but it's not worth it in the right now, so I ate! Poorly. And drank... to have a good time! Yes. I ate deliciously unhealthy foods and drank my weight in Yeungling. Okay, I did switch to Yuengling light because hey, it's only 99 calories and is my favorite light beer. Too bad we can't get it out here in California. Sad. Anyway... this:

Wraps are healthy, right?

Mom, Jamie and I headed to the Old Firehouse Winery for lunch on Friday. I had been torn between the burger on a pretzel bun (hello!) and what I eventually chose: the wrap above which contained fried perch, American cheese (fancy!), tartar sauce and slaw (basically, double mayo.)

I'm a little bit of a foodie. Kind of. A little. I enjoy dining at interesting restaurants and eating things that I wouldn't normally eat. (Oh, hello creamy mascarpone polenta at Stone Mad Pub in Cleveland!) That said, a fried perch wrap with American cheese is also definitely something that I wouldn't normally eat. It was delicious, not at all classy, and I don't care.

Can I tell you about hitting up a local summer landmark? Eddie's Grill has been employing teenagers every summer since 1950 and I was once one of them. Eddie's has a grill, a Dairy Queen and a pizza place, all attached. (I worked a summer at Eddie's Pizza.) Eddie's has foot long hot dogs, chili dogs, burgers, fish sandwiches, and french fries. It doesn't really matter what you get to eat as long as you get a root beer with it. It's f'n tasty. If you get fries, do me a favor and put the f'n Lawry's on it. They keep the Lawry's seasoning salt in the original shaker container with a label on top that says "good on fries" and they're right. Just do it.

Hey look, this isn't an Instagram picture.

So what'd we eat? Mom and I shared a foot long hot dog and fries (Lawry's yo!) and Jamie, a connoisseur of fish sandwiches got the fish sandwich.

Jamie got a water. *eyeroll*

The occasion called for dessert. My favorite thing at Dairy Queen isn't on the menu. It's a "smoothie", but not really. I heard DQ recently put Orange Julius smoothies on their menu, but this isn't one of them. This "smoothie" is a mix of vanilla ice cream, cherry slush and strawberry topping. I've had this two ways, blended  and layered. On this trip to Eddie's, it was blended. Oh holy crap, it was so good. Mom and I shared one and couldn't finish it, which is probably good for both of us.

Needless to say, I struggled in Pilates on Tuesday morning after spending 5 days just eating and drinking and not exercising. BUT - today is measurement day and I am happy to say that I am of the same weight and measurements as last week. And the week before. So, once again, I'm not going to type it all out for you. Even though I haven't lost in a couple weeks, I'm not upset. I'm happy to have not gained given my recent ability to jam crap down my gullet. I know last week I said that this week was picture day, but I lied. Picture day is next week and yikes. That's all I'm going to say about that.

Here's to getting back on track after having thoroughly enjoyed my weekend in Ohio!

Goose Eggs All Around

There's a first for everything, right? This week is my first week with zeroes across the board. Yep! Everything stayed the same. I'm not surprised, or even all that disappointed after some pretty strong numbers last week. I also wasn't as crazy healthy with my food intake as I have been, so I'm sure that has a lot to do with it.

I'm also not too worried about it at this point. With my brother's wedding in 9 days (holy crap you guys!) I need to make sure I still fit in my bridesmaid dress. Yes, if a dress doesn't fit because it's too big, that's kind of cool... except that I need it to not fall off of me. I tried it on this morning and luckily it still fits well enough to get away with. It's mostly only loose in the bust, which should be fine once I pick up a new strapless bra. So this next week still involves working out, but I have to be careful so that I don't have an epic "Hey let's lose 3/4" off the waist" week again.

Here are the numbers, in case you're interested, but there really isn't a point of posting them other than continuity and consistency of my weekly check-ins.

June 7, 2012

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Bust - 40"
• Waist - 34" (+4)
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25)
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2)
• Knee - 16.5"
• Calf - 14.25"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75)

August 9, 2012

• Weight - 152.5 (-3.5, -10.5)
• Bust - 37.75" (-0.25, -2.25)
• Waist - 31.25" (-0.75, -2.75)
• Belly - 39.25" (-0.75, -1.25) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (-0.25, -2)
• Thigh - 24" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.25" (-0.25, -0.75)

August 16, 2012

• Weight - 152.5 (0, -10.5)
• Bust - 37.75" (0, -2.25)
• Waist - 31.25" (0, -2.75)
• Belly - 39.25" (0, -1.25) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (0, -2)
• Thigh - 24" (0, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (0, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (0, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.25" (0, -0.75)

And so, that is all. This week's post was really nothing special. It's just one of those days. You know. 

Long Winded Fitness Situation

"Don't buy into the bullshit. F*ck the body hating, pop culture assholes. You're beautiful!!!"

I think the above photo is really important. It's important to love yourself and not fall into a need to have a "perfect" body. It's also important to love yourself and not fall into the habit of neglecting your body. This was where my first somewhat failure was.

When I was in high school, I was very much into making sure I was different than the assholes in school. I didn't care what others expected of me and I didn't care if they liked me or not. I didn't care to look like them, either. I may have even gone so far as to scribble on a white shirt, in sharpie, "Be who you are, not what they want you to be." If it were 1985, I would have been Allison Reynolds in The Breakfast Club, minus the dandruff and headband makeover.

Homecoming 2000/Prom 2001 - (Don't you love Hannah's Saloon Girl prom getup?)

With this Screw-Off, I'm Awesome attitude came an awesome acceptance of my body. The year following graduation, I packed on the Freshman 15 without even going off to college but I didn't care. Life was really good that year. I was having a great time and was constantly surrounded by like-minded friends. I was at my biggest, a size 14, when I moved to California ten years ago in August of 2002. With the stresses of moving across the country and being mostly on my own, I began to lose weight accidentally.

June 2005

By the time I took this photo, I was down to 132 pounds and was about a size 6 or 8, which was the thinnest I've ever been. Still, during that time, I hadn't done anything to lose the weight on purpose. I had been with Jamie for about two and a half years, and our diet consisted largely of fast food. I was an anomaly.

When Jamie graduated from college and we moved into our apartment in 2006, I was still the same size, but not for long. With our own place comes our own kitchen. With our own kitchen comes baking! I baked. I love to bake. I baked a lot and we still ate fast food. By 2009, I was back up to about 164 pounds and wearing a size 12. I was about the size that I was when I moved to California in 2002, except this time, I wasn't proud of it. I didn't feel good about myself. I felt sluggish.

On New Year's Day of 2010, I ate my last deliciously high in caloric content breakfast at The Original Pancake House with Jamie and our friends Jon and Amanda (who we miss since they moved away!). On January 2nd, I began my journey in fitness and health. I tracked my calories, and went 7 weeks without a day off from the gym. I lost 20 pounds in three months and felt great.

I traveled to Ohio over Easter that year. When I returned, I never returned to the gym. I tried, but I had lost that motivation. I, however, had stuck pretty well to my more healthy eating habits and managed to only put on 5 pounds before heading to Cabo for Pat and Sara's wedding in February of 2011. Unfortunately, even with getting sick in Cabo, I still ate and drank enough to put on another 5 pounds (likely mostly bloating from all the free booze.)

When we returned from Cabo is when we found out that my dad was in his final weeks. I flew to Ohio to be with him and my family. While there, my mom and I nourished ourselves with sugar wafer cookies and lattes. I put on 10 more pounds and was back to where I started twice before.

So here I am now, making progress that feels really good. I'm feeling good about myself again and it has nothing to do with getting skinnier, or getting f*ck-you-fatter. Just because I'm changing my body, doesn't mean I hate it. It means I love it enough to want to take care of it and keep it healthy and functional. I can't predict the future, though, so chances are I may end up back at the beginning again, especially with pregnancy hopefully being in my future. But I know what to do to take care of myself and I know what it takes to make me feel good in my body, and that's what I'm sticking to and that's what's working.

So here. Numbers.


June 7, 2012

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Bust - 40"
• Waist - 34" (+4)
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25)
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2)
• Knee - 16.5"
• Calf - 14.25"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75)

August 2, 2012

• Weight - 156 (-2, -7)
• Bust - 38" (-0.5, -2)
• Waist - 32" (0, -2)
• Belly - 40" (0, -0.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.75" (-0.25, -1.75)
• Thigh - 24" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.5" (0, -0.5)

August 9, 2012

• Weight - 152.5 (-3.5, -10.5)
• Bust - 37.75" (-0.25, -2.25)
• Waist - 31.25" (-0.75, -2.75)
• Belly - 39.25" (-0.75, -1.25) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.5" (-0.25, -2)
• Thigh - 24" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.25" (-0.25, -0.75)

I did really well this week! I could tell even before I took any numbers. This was the first week that I was actually feeling thinner and lighter. Look! I surpassed 10 pounds lost and am now at a total loss of 12.25 inches! Let me tell you, it was so nice to finally see a change in my belly and waist measurement... and at three-quarters of a inch each, a pretty significant change.

Jeah!

Two Month Progress Report!

It's been two months, you guys! Well, it's been two months and one week... but two months since I first took that photo of myself in my skivvies. I don't have much time, so this might end up a pretty quick post. So here goes.

I was fully expecting to be a fat fatty while spending last weekend away in Seattle with Jamie. He had been up there for work since the Tuesday before, and I flew up on Friday to meet him. It was great. I wasn't worrying about my food or drink intake. When we're going out to nice bars and restaurants I'm going to get all Foodie and eat and enjoy. And when we're going out to a local dive bar, I'm going to sample up local brews. No, calories don't exist when I travel to new places!

Looks like poo. Not poo. Sausage. 

Deep fried peanut butter on piles of jelly with a shot of milk? Uh, yes. Please. Thank you.

Anyway, long story short, I ate some great food and drank some delicious draaaanks, but each day I started feeling progressively worse. I woke up Sunday feeling beyond miserable. I don't think I consumed more than 500 calories the whole day, and probably slept six hours between going back to bed after breakfast, sleeping at the airport and sleeping on the plane. The sleeping probably saved me, though. As I felt progressively better starting that evening by bedtime.

BUT- I had canceled my Monday morning class in anticipation of going to the doctor and Tuesday's class just for more recovery time... but I think I could have survived it had I went. So yesterday was my first day back to Pilates since Friday. Now, I'm thankful that I squeezed in that class on Friday. I almost didn't schedule it because I thought I'd be too busy getting ready to leave, but I made time and it worked out. And I worked out.

Here are the numbers.


June 7, 2012

• Weight - 163 (+20)
• Bust - 40"
• Waist - 34" (+4)
• Belly - 40.5" 
• Hips/Butt - 43.5" (+3.25)
• Thigh - 25.5" (+2)
• Knee - 16.5"
• Calf - 14.25"
• Arm - 13" (+1.75)

July 26, 2012

• Weight - 158 (-1, -5)
• Bust - 38.5" (0, -1.5)
• Waist - 32" (0, -2)
• Belly - 40" (0, -0.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 42" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Thigh - 24.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.5" (0, -0.5)

August 2, 2012

• Weight - 156 (-2, -7)
• Bust - 38" (-0.5, -2)
• Waist - 32" (0, -2)
• Belly - 40" (0, -0.5) 
• Hips/Butt - 41.75" (-0.25, -1.75)
• Thigh - 24" (-0.25, -1.5)
• Knee - 15.25" (-0.25, -1.25)
• Calf - 13.75" (-0.25, -0.5)
• Arm - 12.5" (0, -0.5)

Well, I still managed to lose another inch this week. I probably owe a big thanks to my surprise Seattle sickness for losing TWO pounds this week! I'll take it. Total inches lost? 10! I'm still having an issue with my belly. I measure it when relaxed and at it's poochiest, so while it can hold in tighter when I'm using my good posture, it still really isn't decreasing. It probably requires more cardio. Yuck. I guess more Spin is in my future.

So! Guess what. It's picture time.

Left: 6/7/12 - Center: Today, relaxed - Right: Today, with my core engaged slightly like it is most of the time when standing, which I think is what I was doing in the before pictures. 

Same as above, but obviously a side view. Duh. 

I had trouble really seeing any difference in the photos last month, but I am definitely able to see it in these pictures. I think it's mostly in my thighs and hips, which makes sense when I look at the numbers.

Hooray!