Success!

I've been dieting and exercising regularly. Before I would stop and start and just be generally inconsistent. Well now I'm happy that I'm hanging in there. I've lost 5 pounds in the past month and kept it off so hopefully I can do the same or better in the next 30 days.

I know it's vain, but I'm mostly losing weight for fashion. It's just easier to shop when you're smaller-- and cheaper! Blah blah blah. I've got the whole sexy secretary fashion going for me lately. LOTS of cute stockings/nylons/tights (whatever they call 'em wherever you are). Por ejémpo, today I'm wearing a purple cap-cleeved button-up top with a black spaghetti-strapped cami (no lace ~.~ I fail). I have a black pinstriped pencil skirt on and the combo is really figure flattering. I'm busty and have nice legs, but I'm lacking in booty so skirts look better on me than pants. I have these great floral lace stockings on and they work surprisingly well with the ensemble. I will post a photo to my Twitter or something later. My shoes for today are nothing special. Couldn't find my black slingbacks! In the meantime, here are my lacy legs!

 I got them from Lane Bryant for $18

It's Not Tomorrow Til You Go to Sleep & Wake Up Again

At least that's the way I see it. So without further ado, let's talk nutrition. 


Dave is one of at least 5 Davids I know. This particular David was a fat kid. Now he's a fit man. For whatever reason (we all have our own) something clicked and he started working out and eating more healthily. Now he's got muscles aplenty. 

I've always been a tall, strong tomboy/athletic type. If you look at a comic book heroine (like Storm, Rogue, or Wonder Woman), that is my goal figure-- only a little softer. I don't want to be too hard and muscley. 


So anyway, Dave's advice to me has been to have a protein shake for breakfast. This is a meal replacement for breakfast only. Carbs are to be cut by at least half and I'm to have at 1200 - 1800 calories per day. I've combined his advice with info I've gotten from when I was in Weight Watchers at Work (3yrs ago). Diets aren't temporary things we use t lose weight. They are the way we eat always. I want a high protein & fiber, low carb & sugar diet. 


What sucks is that the foods I like are all super carby. Otherwise, my diet is pretty good. I eat my veggers. I get protein. I could stand to have more fiber and less carbs. But I love sushi (maki especially) and pasta. I've cute pasta down to twice a month, but sushi? Nope. Can't do it. Dave recommended I say yes to a cheat meal once per week to keep my sanity. This way I won't fall off the wagon and binge on ice cream and maki. Sounds like a plan to me. 


Today I had Muscle Milk Light (lactose and sugar-free, 20g of protein) for breakfast. I had a banana for snack and a chicken ceasar wrap for lunch. For dinner, I went out with my friend Jamie to Cosi. In Philly, all eateries have to put nutritional info on the menus. I had a chicken pesto sandwich (comes with mozz & sun-dried tomatoes) with a side salad and a mocha freeze with added protein powder. The mocha freeze wasn't a good idea but I'm sure I've only consumed 1500 - 1800 calories today. 


Couple that with Jamie and I walking all over center city and I say that's Great Success!

Fitness Goals

When I was younger, I was a warrior princess. Well I looked like one. I was 6ft, 185 pounds of muscle (with annoying little love-handles and big ol' boobies). That is my realistic goal. I don't wand to weigh 130 like I did when I was twelve or thirteen. I want a realistic, healthy adult weight. Once I hit 185, I'd like to get to 170, but that's not as important. A friend of mine is a body builder and obese by BMI chart standards, but he only has less than 5% body fat. I don't want to be that ripped, but 15% is good in my book.

I know what, when, and how much to eat, but I'm not good at confusing my body. Cardio is my tricky spot. I am perfectly capable of going a few miles on an elliptical machine, but walking outside in this 90+ degree weather is not working for me. I just melt. Luckily I love belly dancing. I practice in a 2.5 hour class on Saturdays, an on my own for an hour every other day. I used to do it every day, but started slacking. I will get back to that starting tonight.

Aside from dancing, I do strength training. More muscle means more calories will be burned while resting. This is a good thing. I don't want to just be thin. I want to have a fighting chance at surviving a zombie apocalypse. I need to be able to carry my son to safety. I need to be able to super-assist my husband and go all Xena on some undead asses. I'm not joking, either. I'm dead serious, but I won't go further on the coming apocalypse. Back to exercise.

I am a fan of doing push-ups. A site I love for having a great multi-level plan is One Hundred Push-ups . I recommend this site to everyone. Doing push-ups is good for everyone (unless you're so out of shape that it's dangerous). The wonders it works for your arms, shoulders and chest is amazing. Wanna keep your girls as elevated as possible? Do push-ups. Wanna rock a strapless sweetheart top? Do push-ups. Wanna have a sexier back in a halter top? You get the point.

I'm one of those chicas who has a creaky knee because I fell out of one too many trees as a young tomboy. Taking this into consideration, I try not to do too many squats. They are GREAT for thighs and butts, but having to nurse my knee back to health every other night is not my idea of fun. My work-around is simple:

• Whenever I do crunches, I add 25 reps of  leg open-close thingies between sets of crunches.This way I can stay on my back and keep my body moving. I do 5 sets of crunches, so my thighs are tired by the time I finish.
• After crunches, I get on all-fours and do my push-ups. The plan is to complete the 100 Push-ups plan on my knees ("girly" push-ups), then start all over again on hands and toes (real push-ups).
• After push-ups is a great time to do kick-backs since I'm already on my hands and knees. This is good for the booty. I've been trying to get a ghetto booty all my life. This practice of pushing one foot back and up is apparently good for that. At least that's what the personal trainer told me. This better work. 
• When this is done, I do a few yoga poses to stretch it all out (cat-cow-plank-cobra-plank-downward-facing dog, then standing)

 So this is what I do to get stronger. I've been at this regularly for a month. I must stress the regularly part. I was losing weight until I was put on bed rest while pregnant. Then I gained it back and then some. Post-delivery my hip was shot and it hurt to walk. I got fatter. Then I was depressed an ignored the problem. I couldn't see it then but I can now. I get discouraged like anyone else, but I search for thinspiration to keep me motivated. It's tough since most of the 6ft tall women I find are only like 120-135 pounds. That does absolutely nothing for me. There are a few healthy figures out there and I have my old photos to look at. For now, I'm just taking it 10 pounds at a time. Mini goals FTW.