Finally! Progress again.

143.1 this morning! Some movement in the right direction. Whenever the scale goes down, it always makes me more determined to stick with my eating and exercising goals, so I hopefully get a repeat the next day. When I got a 144.6 yesterday, it made me want to throw my hands in the air, say fuck it and tuck myself into a greasy, cheesy lunch of some sort. Mmmm... grilled cheese. Mmmmm... fried things. Sorry. The difference between now and two months ago was that I didn't do it. 

Also, as I said yesterday, I'm trying to focus for the moment on how my clothes are fitting, too, rather than letting the scale dictate my mood. I'd take measurements and assess that as well, but I can never seem to take them in the same place and the same way. 

So this morning, to celebrate my drop on the scale, I spent 20 minutes playing one of my favoruite weight loss games: What Can I Fit Into Now?!? (TM)  :) Today promises to be one of the last truly hotter, summer-like days up here and I decided that the time was right to break out one of my summer skirts—which, of course, I never ended up wearing all summer because I ate like a pig and gave up exercise. Mostly I'm a size 8, with a few things I picked up in a size 6 when I got down to 142 last summer. I've gotten rid of everything in size 10 and up, except for one pair of size 16 fat pants. Ick.

This morning's closet raid produced two size 6 skirts, one from Loft and one from J.Crew, and two size 4 skirts (!) from Ann Taylor and some outdoorsy company I've never heard of. The size 6's look great. Bam, done. The size 4 from Ann Taylor would look best with another five pounds gone, although it could work with a shirt that's looser around the middle to hide my still-there hint of muffin top. Back into the closet for that one. That can double as a fall skirt, so I'll try it on again in a few weeks. 

But my other size 4—bought at the beginning of August in Minnesota with my BFF as a "someday" purchase, spurred on by the super low sale price and the two glasses of wine I had at lunch—looked great. Felt great. Awesome! And can I tell you how much I love this skirt, like how super cute it is?? Light, white cotton, just above knee length, slightly A line, with a slight pencil-looking drawing of a branch on the side. Well, now I've decided to stop being lazy and just find a picture of it...

...And, I'm back. Apparently, it no longer exists. The company is Lole, which has now led me further down the rabbit's hole of the net, as I just got caught up in shopping their site. Damn interwebs. So you'll have to take my word for it. It's cute. It's slimming. It's a size 4 and I look great in it. So FU scale!!! Who needs you?? (Actually, um, I do. So... same time tomorrow?)

Day 3 -- 9/12/12

Here are the stats for today...

Ughhhh... What a shitty (literally) start to this day. Sprung out of bed when I woke up to find our old dog taking a dump in our bedroom. I'm not a morning person to begin with, so you can imagine how grumpy I was at 5:30 in the morning, cleaning this up. To make matters worse, a giant zit has exploded on my chin. Then, I went in to weigh myself fully expecting to have dropped, considering my near perfect days of eating, running and shredding. Nope! Now I'm at 144.7. At the end of last week, I was at 143.4. FML. So now it's 7 am and the day hasn't even really started and I really just want it to be over.
SW: 152
CW: 144.7
GW#1: 135
GW#2: 130-135

Exercise done: 8k run in the evening + Level 1 workout, JM 30-Day Shred in the morning

What I'm Eating:
**Breakfast**

Two slices of nutty, whole grain toast for breakfast (YUM!): 220 cals

Two tsps of light butter: 60 cals
One tsp sugar (for my iced tea): 15 cals

**Snack**

Almonds: 100 cals

Apple: Free

**Lunch**
Large salad for lunch (full bowl of spinach, carrots, mushrooms, cucumber, pineapple, mandarin oranges, mango): Free
Light Asian sesame dressing: 45 cals

Sliced almonds: 40 cals

**Snack**
Kale chips: 100 cals

**Dinner**

Homemade vegetable soup: 100 cals (for EVOO, veggie broth and milk in the soup)

**Slip-UP**

Two tbsp of light smooth peanut butter and two tbsp of strawberry jam: 260 cals

Cup of skim milk: 100 cals(On the SGD, fruits and vegetables don't count toward daily calorie target.)

Target: 900 cals
Total: 1,040 cals
Over: +140 cals

How I'm feeling: A bit crummy. Disappointed that the weight loss wasn't more today. After bobbing around at 144ish for almost a week now, I fully expected to drop. In the past my weight loss has happened in this manner: bob around at a weight for awhile, then suddenly I'll drop a pound or so a day for a couple days in a row, bringing me to a new weight where I bob around again. I felt quite skinny today inspite of it, though. The colourful jeggings I bought at the beginning of the summer feel quite loose and less like skintight leggings. So I'm trying to focus for the moment less on the weight and more on how clothes are fitting. Another factor is the 30 Day Shred video. Where before I was doing straight cardio in the last month, now I'm adding in weights and trying to work on muscle definition. That always has stopped my weight loss in the past, at least temporarily. Just have to stay motivated and keep pushing!

Day 2 -- 9/11/12

So weird still, 11 years later, to type that date. Impossible not to see it and think of anything else but 9/11. I'll always, always remember, like so many others around the country and world. Definitely a melancholy feel to this day. Maybe a good day, too though, for a new beginning and a start to my little baby blog. So here's what I'm looking at today.

SW: 152
CW: 144
GW#1: 135
GW#2: 130-135

Planned exercise: 8k run + Level 1 workout, JM 30-Day Shred

What I'm Eating:
Nutty, whole grain toast for breakfast (YUM!): 220 cals
Light butter: 60 cals
Light popcorn: 260 cals
Large salad for lunch (full bowl of spinach, carrots, mushrooms, cucumber & tomatoes): Free
Light dressing: 45 cals
Egg whites: 34 cals
Apple: Free
Carrot sticks: Free
Protein smoothie: 180 (protein powder and 100% orange juice; mangoes and strawberries = free)
Kale chips: 50 cals

Target: 800 cals
Total: 849 cals
Over: +49 cals

(On the SGD, fruits and vegetables don't count toward daily calorie target.)

How I'm feeling: Awesome. Had a GREAT run home last night. Possibly one of the best I've had since starting this whole thing a month ago. Went to try on a jacket at Patagonia and discovered that the S is too big, especially in the arms and chest. Had to go with an XS, which is CRAZY. According to reviews online though, the jacket runs big and almost everyone had to order a size down, so shouldn't be as excited. Am, however, wearing a size 6 pair of jeans today. I have the same pair in an 8 and when I got down to 142 late last summer, the 8 was a bit big. When they went on sale, I ordered the same pair in a size 6, but never got a chance to wear them. Put them on this morning and they look really good. So I've been strutting around in them all day, feeling quite skinny and happy with myself. Looking forward to a run home, smoothie for dinner, dog walk and a little Shredding. Can't wait to see what number the scale brings me tomorrow!