March Progress & Wrap Up

Well, this month is going to be a little different as my jeans are in the laundry (and I'm lazy) and I kept forgetting to yank them out and have my husband take the traditional pictures.  But, I think I have an even better comparison shot.  It may be from 4/2, but that's ok!

This is how you bring 80s brightness to the office!  This is my new Old Navy XL dress that fits nicely, but I decided to detract from the tummy with my awesome zebra belt.  Gray tights with popping hot pink flats and most of my back tat being shown made me feel so good that day.  I've been learning that when I dress cutely that I'm more productive and not such a lump.  Witness yesterday's dress:

I call this my 98% Zooey Deschanel outfit (I just didn't make my bangs chunky).  Elephant dress with black tights and flats?  Ding ding ding, I am officially ready to go on the Bein' Quirky With Zooey Deschanel talk show! 

(P.S., the dress is from the plus section at Forever 21, and so adorable that I can't even stand it. Elephants are my spirit animal.)

I've gotten so many compliments these past couple days.  I've joked and said, "Yes this is the Jekyll part of my wardrobe, you've seen Hyde for far too long!"  But I truly feel better when I look nice.  I love dresses and skirts so much and I can't believe that I can fit into even more than I realized now.  Modcloth is going to be a dangerous website for me.

Let's do some numbers:

March weight loss:  about 1 pound

Total weight loss:  48 pounds

So what happened?

I didn't exercise much.  I was in a funk for parts of the month (thanks, vertigo), and I just wasn't making the best choices with my eating.  But suddenly I could fit into old clothes and buy new smaller sizes...my body was adjusting even while the numbers didn't move.

I went to the gym on my own for the first time in ages on Wednesday.  It hurt a bit and was slower, but I felt good once I finished that mile and a quarter.  I have a few ideas for blog posts that I'd like to do this month.  I've also started contributing recipes to this great new amateur food enthusiast website called Sfamo (you can find it on all sorts of social media as well).  I think that hobby will get me to start saving money and calories by learning to enjoy the kitchen and experimenting.    

This is our 2 year wedding anniversary month (last month was 6 years together, aw!), and I plan on being fabulous when we go to the city to celebrate.  

A few more pictures from this month...

PSYCHED to go see Veronica Mars on opening day (I was a first day backer, baby!).  Also psyched that I could squeeze into the ladies cut XL.  Well, I did need a sweater to cover the handles, but I was showing off my girl that day!!

The typical bathroom selfie.  This is not the most flattering shirt but it looks better than last year by far.  This is also the point in the month that my trainer pointed out how you can see my "cape," or the area of my upper body from the shoulders/collarbone/above the chest.  I'm sure there's a better way to describe it, but I see what she means in this picture.  Maybe that's an old school term she's using?  I dunno.

I don't have to tilt the camera for selfies anymore.

Straight forward!

And just because it's fun, a couple more shots from the one bridesmaid's dress that is a sheet on me now.

So, April's goals?  Get back into cardio already!  The weather's nicer and this is the time last year when I realized I could actually jog.  I just discovered that the Hedwig and the Angry Inch songs "Exquisite Corpse," "Wig In a Box (reprise)" and "Midnight Radio" are the perfect songs to wrap up a jog with.  I've never run as fast as when I was listening to John Cameron Mitchell sing:

"Oh god

I'm all sewn up

A hardened razor-cut

Scar map across my body

And you can trace the lines

Through Misery's design

That map across my body."

New Broadway playlist, coming up!  This is going to be the month of theatre and cardio.

Motivation...ooh, something shiny!

It used to be like pulling teeth to get me changed and out the door to the gym.  It's close to my house, but once I get home from work, all I want to do is get in PJs and crash with dinner in my Sheldon Cooper sofa spot.  Yet, if I don't get my butt out the door, I will be a lump for the rest of the night.

I have found over the years that bright bold colors motivate me, which is kind of hilarious considering my wardrobe has been 75% black over the past 15 years.  I immediately decorated my desk at work to keep myself relaxed and happy.

Notice the bright turquoise, hot and raspberry pinks, sharp graphics, and my Game of Thrones house sigil prominently displayed despite color clashing.  

I realized that I needed to have some fun accessories to get my butt up and out.  I have so many leftover t-shirts, tanks, and yoga pants/capris that I don't need to buy much cute clothing that will just get smelly.  However, when I was in the market for a new sports bra, I decided to get the one that made me feel good despite no one seeing anything besides slipped straps.

Old Navy special

My Fitbit Zip is hot pink.  Of course.  I clip it right on the front of my bra after I get dressed and take it off right before I go to bed.  Bluetooth and apps sync everything.  Technology is so freakin cool when it comes to tracking!  I'm one of those people who will buy a planner at the beginning of the year and get all excited about being super organized and ON TOP OF MY LIFE.  It usually would be abandoned by January 20.  I definitely need something that does all the meticulous tracking for me!  

Surprise, neon!

The tap water in this area is gross (so hard, not even a filter helps!), and I feel guilty loading up on individual bottles of Smart Water all the time.  I went back to buying gallons of water for home, and I've finally found a way to drink tap water without grimacing:  A neon purple tumbler!  I can't see what's in the cup, and I just grab and sip while jogging.  When you're sweating, you don't care what the hell you're drinking.  It's a hell of a lot easier than tossing your head back while drinking from a bottle.  

20 ounces of awesome elusiveness

Music is an absolute must while I'm on the move.  I loaded up my iPhone with a gym playlist and try not to listen to the songs much outside of the gym.  It makes them more special this way.  Naturally, I couldn't pass up these earbuds.

Pink and teal owls.  Were the manufacturers walking around in my brain?

I also enjoy my Lannister lion earbuds, but the sound quality isn't as good.

I have really diverse taste in music and rearrange my playlist quite a bit.  Right now, these are the tunes that keep my legs moving.

I just added the last four tonight.  I just hope I don't bust into Stephen Colbert's Daft Punk moves on the treadmill!

 We've......come too far......to give up...who we areeeeeeee........

Ahem.

I've noticed as I've been losing weight that I've been integrating more color into my wardrobe.  I should never have been afraid to be bold and vibrant, but now I'm finally starting to feel like brightness is peeking back into my self esteem.  That's the best motivation of all.