Nice Surprise

Well I still haven't lost any more weight - so I've been at this weight now for just over a week.
Was getting a bit frustrated and was telling a friend at work - she mentioned that now I'm exercising - possibly I'm finally getting some muscle which weighs quite a bit. I kind of pooh-poohed that, as I'm not really killing myself with the exercise and Pilates is a lot of stretching and toning - I'm not doing weights or anything.

However, this afternoon I tried on a pair of jeans that were too tight to wear comfortably last weekend and they fit better - so much better that I'm now wearing them. They're still a little too tight but still.
Also, the test pair of jeans that I have lined up - an old pair that are a size down from where I am now - fit! Very tightly - there's no way I could actually wear them yet - they squish around my belly and my bottom is a little too "defined" in them but it's a big improvement from when they only went up to my knees a month ago!
So, my reasoning is that even if I haven't lost much weight recently - maybe my friend is right and it is because I'm gaining muscle and the fat is still dropping off.

It's very exciting because to be at the next size down is my goal for the end of November and I'm nearly there! Another few kilos and I'll fit into them comfortably and then I can go shopping!

I've been really good all week - fasted on Monday, had a very light feast day on Tuesday of 1000 calories, fasted on Wednesday, had another light feast day of 1500 calories yesterday and fasted today. Tomorrow is a feast day but we're going for lunch at my parents' on Sunday. As I want to be able to eat normally then, I'm going to do a half-feast day tomorrow - 1000 calories again or so. And then Sunday I'll have a good feed. Normally, if there was some sort of occasion after a feast day, I'd just have two feast days in a row, but I really don't want a repeat of last weekend.

I wish I could see some movement on the scales though - I get very impatient when it hasn't moved in a while.

The voucher I got for four yoga classes finishes on Wednesday. I really liked it but I can't afford to keep going. I remembered though that my sister has the Wii Fit and it has a yoga instructor on it. So I'm going to collect it tomorrow and then I can start doing some yoga at home. I figure that if I do it maybe twice a week, with Pilates twice a week and Aqua Aerobics once, I'll be doing fairly well!

I'm even thinking of asking for a gym membership for my birthday in November... what has happened to me???

Getting Stronger!

Just back from my second Yoga class - way better. I really enjoyed it this time - was able to do the exercises better - noticed some improvement in my arm strength and the instructor never has to correct me - I can see how Pilates is helping in doing some of the positions.

I went to Zumba again on Monday and I really didn't like it. The music was very clubby - instead of Latin - and I just was bored. I don't know - maybe I just don't like jumping around - whereas I do like stretching because I can feel it in my muscles and it feels good. Going to Aqua Aerobics next Monday anyway so I might prefer that.

Went to Pilates on Tuesday and I'm beginning to notice a huge improvement. I have so much more strength in my core muscles - I can sit up now from a lying down position instead of having to roll or push myself up. Managed to keep my legs in the air a bit longer too though there's still a lot of room for improvement! I love it so much though - always disappointed when the 45 minutes are over.

So weight-wise, I'm down 24 kilos, or 52 pounds, now - even after feast days. I've been down 25, or 55 pounds, after some fast days but it hasn't stuck yet. I had been having big feast days - 2200 calories or so - so today I had a feast day of 1600 calories to see if it moves things a bit.

Nearly halfway to my next goal - of being down 35 kilos, or 77 pounds, by the end of November. Hope I make it! Things have really slowed down recently. I may need to have another couple of feast days in a row - I always lose weight quickly a week or so after it and it's been a month already since I last did it.

So Pilates again tomorrow night and then that's it for the weekend. I'm going to do some Yoga stretches at home to try to strengthen up a bit more - I'm becoming obsessed! My calves were KILLING me today after Pilates last night - going downstairs was a bit unsteady!

Oh yes, I finally took some more photos of myself in my underwear - first time was in July after having lost a lot of weight already. I hadn't seen any difference since then and it was really bothering me but I can finally see some change. I showed John too and he said he could definitely see it. My waist has gone in, my back is nearly bump-free and I think my legs look a bit leaner. But I'm not sure - that may have been the light. I'm not quite ready for a dramatic before-and-after unveiling, but it is encouraging.

Sometimes wish that weight-loss was faster though! I could go to the gym and run every day but... I really hate that...

I Amaze Myself...

So - it's been a while. Back at work and things are busy. The last time I wrote, I had just finished a kick-start experiment - eating about 1800 calories or so for three days in a row to try to get over my plateau. Nothing happened for a few days, in fact, when I weighed myself right after my three days, I had gained a kilo which I was furious about - considering my calories had still been low enough. However, that kilo went within a day or so and in the last four days I've lost another two kilos - at last! That's 22 kilos now, or 49 pounds. Another mountain left to go but at least now I just look overweight, instead of looking waddly. Eight kilos to go until my next goal weight at the end of November. I should make it - I hope.

I have great hopes that things will begin to move a bit faster though because... I've started going to the gym!!!! Well, I've been to one class. But I'm booked in for three more this week - and since I had to pay in advance, chances are good I'll go. I went to Pilates on Thursday night, and I'm booked in for Zumba on Monday night, and more Pilates on Tuesday and Thursday. It's €8 a go, which isn't the cheapest but it's not too bad either. There's no point getting a membership yet - I do know myself very well after all. If I'm still going in a month, I might join.

I don't know what suddenly persuaded me. I do prefer classes to going for walks but normally I can't be bothered to actually drive to a class. But I was reading on Wednesday night and just suddenly a longing to be slim and toned came into my mind - so I rang and booked straight away. Possibly it's motivated by the fact that people keep congratulating me at work but my weight loss has slowed down - I want it to start up again so that I keep hearing nice things! Also, my "Before" picture, that I took back in mid-July shows no difference to how I look now. Apart from possibly less fat on my back. Quite disappointing really. Another motivator is that I found a load of clothes from about six years ago when I'd lost another pile of weight and there are a pair of jeans that are a size down from now and only go up as far as my knees. So I have a new test pair. My previous test pair are on me as I type, and from fitting halfway up my hips, they now have to be belted on.

So - hopefully a new dawn has arisen. I'm hoping that after a while, I'll start to love these classes. All the people who post amazing "before and after" photos on Tumblr say how they lost weight through dieting and exercising - and they all seem to love exercising now. I'm really hoping I'll get into it too.
I did enjoy Pilates on Thursday - it was tough - at one point I thought my hip was actually going to break off - but I felt really good when I came home and all day yesterday too. I'm in agony though - my muscles are killing me. I can't lift my arms very well - even typing now is hurting them! But it's a nice pain - I like knowing that I actually worked some muscles for once.

Hopefully some of the flabbier bits will start to become less wobbly within the next couple of months!

Dream Life

I woke up today, weighed myself - ANOTHER kilo gone! It must be something in the air. I didn't believe it and reweighed myself, repositioning my feet and all - no, definitely gone. I can't believe it - like I said, I've done nothing different. I wonder if my awful week last week of only two fast days and lots of crisps made this week of proper fasting a bigger shock on my body and kick-started everything again. I don't know but I'm not complaining! I've reached my first goal - three stone gone and just under two weeks till I go back to work!

Anyway, I'm currently having a dilemma. I have become obsessed with Doritos - the spicy ones and have been dreaming of them all week. Every feast day I've been tempted to get a pack but considering they're 1000 calories for a pack, (a big pack but still) I've been putting it off. However, since I've stayed at 1600 calories all week on feast days, I think I might grant myself a cheaty feast day and pig out. I really feel like putting on a film and nibbling, especially since John's working tomorrow night - boredom factor kicking in. I know, boredom eating is wrong but... I have been so good and as a treat... maybe it's ok.

So, my dilemma is this - do I go all out? Eat what I want tomorrow - breakfast, lunch and dinner, which would probably come to about 1800 calories if I let myself go and also have 1000 calories on top of that? Which is nearly 3000 calories in a day...
Or - do I fast until dinner and then just eat one meal and the crisps after? Which would keep things at about 2000 calories?
Or - option three - do I eat normally but promise myself to only eat half the packet - and therefore end up at about 2400 calories or so which isn't hugely over what I should eat on a feast day anyway? The risk with that one is that I won't be able to stop myself and I'll eat all the packet. It would be a good exercise in self-control but I know myself.

What I could do is go for option three and if I break, I'll just have done option one. But if I do that will I be consumed by guilt? My Fitness Pal bar chart will be all red for tomorrow!!
It's a tough one. I just don't really feel like fasting again tomorrow till dinnertime.

I'll have to sleep on it. It's a nice dilemma to have though. I love feast days.

I tried on a pair of jeans earlier - they've been my test jeans since I started my diet. At first they came half-way up my legs, then they came up but wouldn't close, then they closed but felt as though they were cutting my hips in two, and now they close fairly comfortably. Still a little bit squished in them but I could wear them. It's nice to have jeans that fit. My current jeans are way too baggy now - my bottom is all saggy and awful in them but I don't want to buy another pair just yet. I think I probably have gone down a size now but I'm a bit scared in case I try on the next size and they don't fit. So I'll wait another week maybe - try to lose another kilo before I go shopping. I have to buy at least one pair before I go back to work. I also hope that once I have better fitting clothes, that people will start actually noticing that I've lost weight. No one has yet apart from people who know I'm dieting and are looking out for it. My mum says it's because my clothes are the same ones still and even though they're baggy now they hide the progress - I hope she's right. Going back to work will be the test!

Funnily enough, none of my measurements have changed since 3 kilos ago. You would think that it's coming off somewhere, and it's not like I've been building it up in muscle...

So my next goal is to fit comfortably into my test jeans by the time work starts. And my next real goal is to be down another dress size by my birthday, at the end of November. I think I read before that every 10 kilos, or 22 pounds, is a dress size. Obviously that hasn't been the case for me so far, I've lost 19 kilos and am just on the cusp of going down my first dress size but I hope it'll work from now on. So if I could lose another 10 kilos/22 pounds by the end of November - bearing in mind that weight loss usually slows down the closer to your goal that you get - I think that should be manageable. That means losing 0.6 kilos or just over a pound a week.

Hopefully I can do it just following what I'm doing now. If things aren't going too well by October, I may have to consider exercising a bit... Ugh...