Day 19 - I'm What Size?!

Today, my mom and I went to the Bridal store to try on my first wedding dress. Yes, I was bracing myself to stand in front of a mirror in a white (well, mostly ivory) dress, not knowing how I would feel. I didn't know how I would feel about the style, the cut, the trane, the fact that I was wearing a freakin' wedding dress... :) But, it all turned out to be okay... up until I asked the clerk what size a gal like me would wear. She said they generally range two or three sized up from what I normally wear. So there I was, searching through the rack for size 14! Well, the good news is, all the dresses I tried on fit me almost perfectly. The bad news is, I wish they didn't. I wish I was like those other girls who are swimming in that size and have to have them pin it all together in the back so they can guess what they would look like it in. It was a wake up call though, the kind I've been waiting for. I saw my arms exposed and wasn't too thrilled. I saw my hips and felt like they should be smaller. I just can't seem to get used to seeing this body of mine in a mirror.. I'm not sure why. I have a lot of work to do. I want to be proud and feel beautiful on my wedding day and it starts with me saying 'no' to temptations that will try to stop me from reaching my goals this year.

1) I said 'no' to buying a lot of unhealthy things at the grocery store tonight.
2) I said 'no' to a second bowl of rice at lunch.
3) I said 'no' to a second slice of pizza at dinner.
4) I said 'no' to dessert at my parents house.

Day 18 - Photographs

It's funny how I look back in photographs that in my house and say 'wow, I was thinner then...' and I look at photos of me today and am disappointed. The truth is, ten years ago, eight years ago and five years ago I thought the same thing. It seems like it never really mattered what I weighed, I always thought of myself as overweight at that particular time. I can see significant changes to my face and clothing size and as hard as I'm working right now, it seems like it's just not enough. I want to look at my wedding photographs and think that day 'wow, I look good' and ten years later, I want to say the same. I feel like the only way I'm going to feel that is if I spend this next year focusing on weight loss, but by doing it the healthy way. I want to keep it off and never go back.

1) I said 'no' to coffee this morning.
2) I said 'no' to chips with my lunch.
3) I said 'no' to picking up cookies for and afternoon treat with co-workers.

Day 17 - The Farmers Market

Every Thursday in downtown Minnneapolis, we have the chance to get some really great, ripe fruit and vegetables at the Farmers Market. It starts around early May and goes through the whole summer. As I have been keeping track of my fruit and veggie intake this week, I noticed that I run out of fresh foods around Wednesday. I hate to buy too much at the grocery store because I don't think I can eat it all before it goes bad. The solution, the farmers market! For $10, you can get plumbs, nectarines, asparagus, grapes and raspberries! So now I'm stocked up until Sunday, when I head back to the grocery store. I could used to this!

1) I said 'no' to driving and biked over to the farmers market before work.
2) I said 'no' to purchasing a loaf of cinnamon bread there.
3) I said 'no' to hot chocolate and stuck with water.

Day 16 - Hungry!

One of my favorite ad campaigns of the year is Weight Watcher's Hungry Campaign. It's the one with the orange monster that temps you to eat bad things. Women in the office are constantly confronted with him holding trays of donuts or slices of pizza. It's awesome... and so true. I'm glad I work in a place with a kitchen and only one co-worker. We eat a pretty healthy lunch every day and I'm not faced with the office temptations. If I worked in a boring office, I'm sure I would be ten pounds heavier at this time. :)

1) I said 'no' to driving and biked.
2) I said 'no' to eating my snacks in the morning to save for the afternoon.
3) I said 'no' to filling my plate with too much Chinese food at a catered lunch.

Day 15 - Biking

Biking is great in Minneapolis in the spring. With bike lanes built into the roadways of downtown, it's easy to cruise down 10 blocks in no time! Many times I bike to and from work and feel like it was less effort than walking to the bus, but the truth is I'm sweaty and breathing hard. It's almost like exercise without knowing it! Still, each morning I wonder if I should just drive in or walk to the bus.. but biking is where its at and there is no substitute!

1) I said 'no' to taking the bus and decided to bike.
2) I said 'no' to coffee.
3) I said 'no' to fries at lunch and just had the sandwich.
4) I said 'no' to many food choices at choir rehearsal.
5) I said 'no' to over-snacking when I got home from work.

Day 14 - Nice Day for a Walk

The weather in Minneapolis in the spring is really hit or miss.. but when its nice out, you have to take advantage of it! Yesterday was the annual AIDS walk, where thousands of people gather to walk 10K to support the cause. Yesterday, I hoped for good weather and it worked! Me and co-worker got together at 10am to begin the walk. With heartrate monitor on, I kept a steady pace in a fat burning zone and stopped only at the rest stops for a banana or some water. They did such a great job keeping everyone hydrated and not hungry. I did this two or three years ago and I remember the walk being more difficult than it was yesterday... so I know I'm doing something right!

1) I said 'no' to skipping the walk.
2) I said 'no' to a granola bar at one of the rest stops.
3) I said 'no' to sugary foods at the grocery store.
4) I said 'no' to rice at dinner and just had meat and veggies.

Day 12 - A day on the farm

Being away from home seems to make eating right and adding exercise to your day difficult. Today, I am Nick's parents house. While the boys are outside working on equipment, I stay in for the most part because it was chilly outside. We eat good meals while visiting because Nick's mom is cooking and I find that I don't snack as often. For part of the day, I got to run around searching for baby kittens and in the evening, we headed back to the cities to go out, where we did a lot of walking... although we did a lot of eating too...

1) I said 'no' to an ice cream treat that I was offered.
2) I said 'no' to a cookie in the afternoon.
3) I said 'no' to a second cocktail at the bar.
4) I said 'no' to dessert at dinner.