Jun
18
June 18, 2007
I’ve been meaning to post some before and after weight loss photos, but when I sat down to dig up some ‘before’ images, I had a surprisingly hard time finding anything that captured more than my face. Out of thousands and thousands of pictures, I’m only in a few, and I’ve long since deleted the ones I deemed unflattering. Eight million photos of JB with Riley, and about five of me.
Well, anyway, here’s a few that managed to escape my itchy Move-To-Trash trigger finger:
Some are kind of old, but those are all a fairly accurate portrayal of my shape and weight since Riley’s birth.
I think I’ve lost maybe 15-18 pounds in the last four months, which isn’t a particularly dramatic change on the scale. The real difference is in how I look in the mirror and the way my clothes fit, and I’m here to tell you that is so much more important than what the scale tells you. Fuck the scale, actually, because I never would have guessed that 15 pounds would equate to two dress sizes, but there it is. I was crammed into a size 10 when I started, and I wear a comfortable size 6 now. The scale tells me I weigh about 132.
To recap the process to date:
• I did Weight Watchers at first and that was immensely helpful in terms of understanding portion size and learning some good eating habits. After a month or two I stopped counting points and just focused on eating lots of lean protein, vegetables, fruit, and cutting out the high calorie junk altogether.
• I started exercising to a Turbo Jam DVD, which helped me kick start a routine without having to commit to a gym schedule. These days I alternate between jogging a few days a week, doing weight resistance, exercise DVDs, and yoga. I try and exercise every single day, because I feel so much better when I do so.
I have actual triceps for the first time in years.
My shoulders are no longer slumpy and untoned.
I don’t hate my belly any more.
My clothes fit completely differently, which is to say I had to replace some things.
I would say it took about three months to change my habits. To stop eating crap food and actually prefer the healthier alternatives. To want to work out because it feels good, not because I will feel guilty if I don’t.
I’m healthier today than I’ve ever been before, and I am so much happier for it. This is the me—strong, fit, and motivated to stay that way—I want to be for the rest of my life, hopefully through another pregnancy and whatever life dishes out.
I already have more photos of myself with Riley, because I’m not ducking from the camera or deleting things out of iPhoto.
Three months. That’s all it took. After years of excuses and botched attempts to get myself in gear, it took three months to establish new habits. I want to remember that. In three months you can completely change your life.
Jun
17
June 17, 2007
We visited my mom and my aunt this weekend at their house in Port Angeles, and I believe a good time was had by all. I took about a thousand pictures, but I missed the very best Kodak moment, when Riley was running from what seemed to be a stampeding herd of dogs (it was only Cassie, my mother’s collie mix, but she was very gallopy) and his arms and legs were pinwheeling and he was yelling “NOOOO!” in slow motion, and JB and I agreed he looked exactly like Indiana Jones when he’s running from that big-ass boulder in the first movie. Ah, good times.
I have some photos to share, but I also have a quick question for any of you web-savvy types: I’m seeing lots of referrals coming through to this website from the ClubMom blog, and the link it’s directing to is long and weird and looks like it’s some kind of ad-serving code. I can’t figure this out for anything—ClubMom runs ads for Disney, not random personal blogs, and I deliberately don’t provide any links to All & Sundry from there. Anyone have any ideas?
Onto the photos! (The whole set is here.)
JB and Riley on the ferry.
We have been playing a game lately where we ask Riley what the lion says. “RAWR!” he says, making his hand into a little claw. “RARR!”
Sundance, my aunt’s bird. JB and I freaked Riley out by making a loud CA-CAW! sound every time he got near the cage. Oh stop it, it wasn’t that mean.
Charlie and his badger-rooting snout.
This is my mom’s new puppy Caesar, a Shitzu-Pomeranian mix. That’s right, he’s a Shit-Poo.
The view from their living room. Damn, right?
Nearby jetty at sunset.
Really cool looking broken-down shack and pier.
Sky and trees.
Submarine in the Hood Canal, heading back to the naval base in Bremerton.
Kingston ferry coming into dock.
Riley, pointing out yet another boat (“A BOAT! A BOOOOOOOAT!”) while on the ferry ride home.
It was a fine weekend, and I hope you had a good one too. Happy Sunday evening, the time when all snacks are considered equal (hello, ICE CREAM). Oh, and happy Father’s Day!
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