get in great shape

I can fit into my wedding dress. I was checking to see how many people have viewed my listing, looked at the measurements, and thought “no way…those sound like my measurements now.” So I tried it on. It’s a bit snug through the belly (which is full of cauliflower right now and thus a little puffy), but fits everywhere else.

(Also heavy as hell…if I do get married again, I’m not letting anyone talk me into dragging 5 lbs of fabric on the ground behind me.)

I’ve not been able to zip up the bodice, let alone button the skirt, in years. Time to put more effort into eating extra meals and building muscle mass.

I can actually see where the weight is dropping from. And for once, it’s not from my chest! I lost 2 lbs between the last measurement and today’s, and noted that my hips and biceps are smaller.

The latter worries me…that means I’m losing muscle. Must stick with these push-ups. (Though not thrilled about the butt flatness, either. :P)

I suppose it’s not the end of the world if I don’t regain all the weight I lost, but I really want those 2 lbs back. So looks like more strength training and less cardio for a while. Ugh.

but thankfully didn’t backslide much. I’ve lost a bit of the stamina I had, and a bit of the flexibility; my left hip has tightened up considerably. But I’ve still got a lot of the strength I’d built up, so I’m not too worried. I’ll get back there soon enough.

This time, for 12 minutes! (Cramping, even.) And still had enough energy left over to do some strength exercises. So this is what stamina feels like…

One at a time.

And I have to bend the left one slightly. But only slightly.

The right one, not at all.

I’m not sure why this impresses me, but it does.

_{My sleep deprivation and I are going to bed now. Cue test pattern.}

Not just for 4 minutes, gasping for breath the whole time, then collapsing on the couch for the rest of the evening. For 6-7 minutes, at a good pace, with enough energy left over to walk for half an hour afterwards.

I think this is the first time in my life that I’ve ever noticed any benefits from working out.

I guess all this walking has paid off. R tells me the cellulite on the backs of my thighs is gone. (I still think I see some rippling back there, but since he can see it better than I – and because I like his answer – I’m going to believe him.) I’m still working on the fat jodhpur-pockets on the outer tops of my thighs, but at least the backs no longer resemble cottage cheese.

He also remarked, rather mournfully, that my butt’s gotten smaller. I told him to just be patient…in time, it will come back, only muscle instead of fat. I had a fantastic butt before I learned how to drive, because I walked everywhere. All the bulk, none of the jiggle. Someday, I’ll get there again.

I’m starting to see the beginnings of a 6-pack! And this is through a layer of baby-protecting fat (which I did not have when I was younger) and water retention (it’s that week).

Oh, how I’ve missed these lil bumps. Now, if I could just get my arms and legs this toned…

I have no idea where mine ran off to. And I’ve decided that the best way to track my progress is to measure myself, since I’m trying to build muscle – I probably won’t lose any weight, and may in fact gain some. (Besides, with the water retention, my weight often fluctuates wildly.) So I’m going to evaluate my progress based on measurements.

Right now, I’m making do with a metal measuring tape and my bathrobe belt. I wrap the belt around what I’m trying to measure, then measure the belt with the tape. I doubt it’s entirely accurate, but it’s the best I can do at the moment. I’m keeping track of the measurements in a spreadsheet, to see how I’m coming along.

So far, I am seeing some progress; my hips, waist, and thighs are smaller than they were last time I measured them. My biceps and calves are bigger, but I don’t know if that’s muscle – last time I measured them, I was nearly 20 lbs lighter than I am now. But I’m going to tell myself the extra inch is muscle. :D

_{Me, OCD? Why in the world would you think that?}

Here I thought I was making such great progress with the Wii Fit – I measured myself last night, to see if I could fit into any of the great 80s clothes I’ve been finding on Etsy, and found that I’ve lost two inches from my waist and hips. I’ve been doing lots of crunches and lunges, so I figured I was seeing the results of all that hard work.

No…I’ve just lost weight. I’m also missing two inches from my chest. Dammit.

_{Why isn’t there an exercise to move unwanted butt bulk to the chest? I’d stand on my head if I thought it would help.}