Thursday, December 27, 2012

Merry Christmas everyone!

I hope everyone had a most wonderful Christmas!

The Beau and I were fortunate enough to see most of our loved ones over the Christmas holidays (we only missed my Grandma, who was out of town) and, though we had a lot of traveling to do, we didn't encounter bad weather until we were on our way home, so that made it all the better.

And what a holiday it was! We were wined and dined everywhere we went and had it all, from steak and prawns to lamb to turkey; homemade chocolates to butter tarts to Christmas pudding; eggs Benedict and candied bacon; brie and bacon marmalade; cured sausage and crab dip.

Needless to say. we'll be on salads for the next week!

This is also why I skipped the weigh-in yesterday; really, it just wasn't worth it. I'm not even going to pretend I might have lost weight and, honestly, I didn't really want to know how much I'd gained. But January 2 is fast approaching (and is also a Wednesday) so I'll be able to hit reset then and focus on getting my weight down.

I've also discovered why starting a weight-loss plan in January is such a good idea: after all that rich food during the holidays, it's much easier to move to a diet of healthy food in the New Year! And I will be doing just that.

Merry Christmas everyone!

Wednesday, December 19, 2012

WW Weigh-In #50

Holding steady:

Last week: 189.0 lb
This week: 189.0 lb
Total lost this week: 0 lb

So far so good through the holiday season, even if I'm not likely to hit my 185lb target by December 31. It's been a food-laden month, that's for sure, and my body finally revolted this past Sunday. After a few days of wine and deliciously rich food, I was throwing up in the morning as my body purged itself of too much salt, sugar, fat and all those other wonderful things that come along this time of year.

A two-hour nap had me feeling just right and I've been making sure to eat lots of salads and lean protein this week. And I feel so good doing that too.  I wonder if this is what I needed? This afternoon I went looking for a snack but the idea of chips or chocolate made me queasy so I ended up with a chicken wrap. Sure, the wrap is probably more than I should have for a snack but it's definitely better for me than junk food. And I feel satisfied and not gross after eating it.

After this week is done I'll have more time for myself too. I've got one Christmas present to finish making and all our presents to wrap and we leave Friday night for the first stop of our family tour so I've got to get on that!

I do love this time of year but I'm also looking forward to things slowing down a bit!

Thursday, December 13, 2012

WW Weigh-In #49

A day late and no pounds short:

Last week: 189.0 lb
This week: 189.0 lb
Total lost this week: 0 lb


I had a fantastic workout yesterday and I feel great today and it's a very important reminder of why I need to exercise more often. And now that things are a bit quieter at work I have no excuse (other than my own laziness) for not making more time to work out.


I've also got to start thinking about how I'm going to slim down for the wedding.


Yeesh.

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

The conundrum over the other dress(es)

I think I've mentioned before that I'm not the most patient person. This is even more obvious now that I'm planning a wedding.

The Beau and I are thisclose (THISCLOSE!) to confirming our venues (ceremony and reception will be in two different places, despite our best efforts) but we just need confirmation from our reception venue. And, seriously, I'm all like, "WHAT ON EARTH is taking so long?!? Don't they know we're getting married in 11 months?!?" I mean, come on.

So to distract myself I've taken to obsessing over bridesmaids dresses. And my ability to obsess is inversely proportional to my ability to be patient. (I think I phrased that properly; what I meant is that I'm super good at obsessing and super bad at patience, but I was trying to find a fancier way of saying that.)

But back to dresses. We've picked colours (hurrah!) and I thought I had dresses picked out, but then the Beau commented on another one that he liked and it just so happens I also like it so now we're all about that dress. The one we both like is long and the ones I had picked out before were short and had different options for the top. The Beau likes those as well but now it's just so hard to make a decision.

I know I have to take my 'maids out shopping and have them try on the dresses and see what works best. And they have all said they'll wear anything, which is simply wonderful and amazing. We're looking at a November wedding date so long seems appropriate...but there are more top styles available for the short dresses. And they're in different fabrics: the short ones are stretch satin, which gives a more formal look, while the long one is in chiffon, which gives a softer, less formal look. I can also easily picture all my bridesmaids in all the available styles so that doesn't make it any easier.

But then I feel like a horrible person if I tell them that they have to wear the dress I pick out for them and that's it. I guess if I can just be patient with this as well (dammit!) and wait for the day when I can get them all together to go shopping, all my troubles will be solved.

Stupid patience.

Thursday, December 6, 2012

A big step forward with the wedding

Actually I've made two big steps forward with the wedding planning: I have confirmed my bridal party and I've bought my dress!

When it came to choosing my bridal party, my maid of honour was a no-brainer: my BFF who I've known for almost 10 years (!!!), who I've worked with and lived with and consumed far too much wine in one sitting with. And I didn't so much ask her as tell her, "You know you're my maid of honour, right?"

I was then fortunate enough to have four other wonderful women agree to be beside me on my wedding day and I couldn't be happier. Both of my future sisters-in-law will be there as well as two very close friends I had the good fortune to meet through the Beau, who also happen to be fantastic women.

The Beau has started getting his groomsmen in line too, which is very exciting. I consider us a very lucky couple to have such fabulous and amazing people in our lives to not just have at our wedding but have with us at the altar. It just makes it that much more special, you know?

Oh right, and I have my dress! I was going to go to a wedding show in January and try to find a good deal on one in a cavernous room full of dresses - which, I'll admit, was a daunting thought. But David's Bridal was having a year-end sale so I thought I'd check it out, see if I could find one.

And I did!

Alas, not only was it not on sale it was a bit above my budget but it is The Dress and there was really no way I could walk away from it. It is everything I thought I'd pick out (lacy, ivory, figure-flattering without being skin-tight) and everything I didn't think I'd want (strapless, with a bit of tulle). But I love it. LOVE IT. I love it so much. And my maid of honour was there with me and she made me feel like a princess, so clearly it was the right choice.

It feels great to have these items crossed off my to-do list but I realized I face another challenge: finding a dress for these five wonderful women. It's not until you're actually doing it that you realize shopping for five women is rather strange and no small challenge. Though I've got a good idea of what I want and a few colours picked out, so I'm confident it will come together nicely.

Now to just find a day when all six of us are available...that may prove the biggest challenge yet!

WW Weigh-In #48

I seem to have fallen into a terrible pattern of blogging the day after my weigh-ins. Though as long as I'm weighing in, it's all okay, right?

Last week: 187.8 lb
This week: 189.0 lb
Total gained this week: 1.2 lb

And up again we go. Sigh. I blame it on the tin of Quality Street chocolates I bought. I think I need to ban all chocolate from our house. That said, I've only got to lose 4 lb by month's end to hit my revised year-end target. I'm still hopeful I can do it.

Though in four weeks it will be my 52nd weigh-in; in those four weeks, I'd love to drop 4 lb to mark my one-year weigh-in-versary with a small victory. Yeah, I like the sound of that.

I'm really making an effort to exercise more and to get more vegetables, which I'm sure will help. I will get there!