Cheat day is here

Well..it was here. I didn't go as over board as my usual cheat days and there was no alcohol involved..but I did go over my budget and I feel like crap.
I had a headache all day and I feel so bloated I'm pretty convinced that I am on the road to explosion!

On a more exciting note, august is about over and September is near!!! I'll be leaving for vacation Friday. Then the 21st is my engagement party. I'm so excited for it! I've started planning a lot..but can't execute much right now. I decided I will just have to use my birthday and Christmas money to buy my dress and Scots ring. I have his ring picked out and I want to make it a surprise. I know he will love it!

Must sleep now. Church in the morning. I feel so huge and disgusting. Not a very positive way to end this entry but its true. Yuck.

Weigh in day is here!

And my weigh in is 138.4lbs.
The monthly nuisance still hasn't poked its ugly head but my senses are indicating it is unnervingly close!
Guess I'm not as on track as I thought I was. Oh well! Can't change genetics!

I'm not upset with my weigh in, though. I'm pretty happy that I'm out of the 140s. I'm unsure of when my cheat day will occur. It'll probably be some random day that I don't expect. Or tomorrow..
That might push me back up to 140 but I still feel like it is another feat that I can cross off my list. (I've been putting check marks next to every 5 lbs I lose and the reward I SHOULD be receiving.
140 was a hair cut and new clothes. I did cut my hair but can't afford new clothes. However, I fit awesomely into old highschool and college clothes! I'll take that reward over anything!!!
135 is suppose to be melting pot. Its not going to happen though. Scot still has no job! And I'm not selling enough eBay items for dentist, wedding, baby food, anything!..let alone a weight loss reward dinner.
I suppose I will change my reward. Not sure to what.. but maybe it'll be extra special if I do reach it by Sept 21st for my engagement party.

Late update, the dress is getting closer but I am still not loving the way it fits. I will try again at 135. If I'm still not loving it by my engagement party, maybe after 10 months of my wedding workout routine it'll look great. Then I can wear it at my bachelorette party or something!
I won't kick it to the curb just yet.

The size 8 shorts that I have are getting a little too baggy. I might try to fit in my 5/6s. I just feel like its too soon. I still have 8 and a half pounds to go.
I guess I can wear belts or retort back to skirts and dresses.

My vacation starts in a little over a week. Hopefully Scot will start a job about then. His friend said he should be receiving a phone call to start work that week. No word yet though. We really need income so I'm praying every single day about it!

Measuring in!

36-29.5-35
Once again, Scot helped me measure.
Its looking like a nice little change from last week. Hopefully tomorrow will be a great weigh in!

We went to starved rock today and dropped off our down payment and signed contract! We also booked a cabin for the night before our wedding and of course our wedding night! Its so beautiful and exciting. It motivated us to establish a budget and finish our wedding website!
I am so happy and so excited!

We walked around the park a little to pick a few locations for pictures. I pushed the baby around in her stroller which was pretty tough going uphill! I'm sure I burned more calories than I even realize.
We stopped on our way home and ate at Culvers. I had the fish sandwich and half of my french fries.
For dinner I had the chili we made last night. Its so very yummy!!
I think I'll have more for lunch tomorrow. For two cups its only about 360 calories. Not too bad!

So hopefully today's actions will have a positive effect on my weigh in. I know fast food isn't too positively promising, but I did exercise!

I'm also excited and nervous because my football fantasy draft is tomorrow. Its the first time I've paid to join a league and can earn money. I hope I win because God knows I could use the money! My eBay items are still suffering. I did get one bid so far and that is great! Its only 1 dollar, but that's 1 dollar I didn't have before! I'll only need 99 more for the dentist and then I'll focus on the wedding. I'll need money to buy Scots ring and my wedding dress. If only money dropped out of the sky for stay at home moms haha!

Anyway, I know this is a weight loss blog and I get seriously side tracked..but life happens. In order to effectively lose weight, its best to enjoy every step of the way. That's what I've tried doing these past 6 months and that is my intentions for the future. The downs happen but it can be used as motivation to work harder and get through it. The light at the end of the tunnel is so worth the journey!

What a wonderful Wednesday!

Tomorrow I am going to starved rock to pay the 1600 dollar down payment. My parents were generous enough to help with that! I'm still penny pinching for dental bills. I need about 100 bucks for what's left. None of my eBay items are selling! But I'm staying positive.

I have faith that this weeks weigh in will be much better than last weeks. My body seems to be zoning in and out of my cycle. It could be a result of nursing. I know I went so long without it at all! But the past couple months I've been more regular than I have my entire life. Next week should be a more drastic drop I'm guessing.

And then vacation with my family September 6th for a week. I intend on sticking to my diet. Except for one cheat day. Also I probably wont be able to weigh in that week which is going to drive me nuts!!! But the following week will be another possibly drastic drop then.
I'd still like to be 135 by my engagement party. That gives me 23 days! I think I can do it! No, I WILL do it!
I might try on the red dress again to see if there's any hope for it at all!

I'll post the results of that plus my measurements tomorrow. Might post pics of starved rock, too. I'm so excited!!!

Last August progress pic!

My cycle has not started but it appears the bloating has gone down! Most likely it'll soon return but I'm glad it took a break for my last August progress pic. Feel free to scroll through and compare to previous pics (especially February ones!)
I'm feeling rather accomplished today :)

(Maybe the soft food diet is contributing)

More Novocaine please!!

I went to the dentist today and had 3 fillings. Basically I can't eat anything for 2 days that requires chewing. I'm in so much pain right now! Due to nursing, I can hardly take anything for it. My sister is going to steak n shake and picking me up a caramel apple milkshake. Its one of the two fall flavored milk shakes. (The other is smores). Its about 723 calories but I can't eat much anyway! I might split half of it with my mom. I guess that would leave me more room for potatoes and cooked veggies!
Or soup or something.

I got no sleep last night sharing a bed with a kicking and smacking baby! I forgot the swaddler she loves to sleep in. She's close to outgrowing it anyway. But it made for a very sleepless night!

Hopefully Friday will be a good scale day. I understand the weight loss slows as the goal approaches but its such torture!

I feel like the start of my cycle is very near! It could mean an additional week before any big drops in weight.

Day after :/

The day after the cheat day of all cheat days. No alcohol involved. I'm talking donuts cake cookies ice cream fried foods, any bad thing u can think of! I'm going to check the scale to see the damage. The added weight should shed faster since there was no alcohol.
Plus my friend Naomi sent me a work out regimen to shape up for the wedding! I'll start that soon since I've only got 13 months left.
Will post my cheat day damage shortly.

Mind blowing update:
140.2 lbs!
That's freakin awesome!!!
If only that could happen all the time!

That really helps with the guilt I was feeling. Hopefully that stays off and I drop more.
My cycle should be starting in a couple days. Then hopefully I'll lose 2-3 lbs.
It might even start today. That could be why I lost slightly opposed to gaining today.
We've been talking about baby #2. We would like him or her to be close to Jadyn's age. I've just worked so hard these past 6 months to drop this weight. If I got pregnant now, I'd have the baby 4 months before the wedding. Scot insists that's enough time to lose whatever I gain, but I don't want to risk it.
We agreed it'd be a blessing if we got pregnant again but I'd just rather wait until after the wedding to try. We have so much to stress about these next 13 months. Scot might be starting a new job in 2 weeks which will be a great help!!
he's posting things on eBay that i would like to sell to try to get money for my dental bills and also so I can buy my own wedding dress and possibly his wedding ring. I probably won't make that much. Especially since no one is bidding on any items we've posted so far. There's still like 5 days left in most biddings. If anyone is interested or curious, eBay search for a sunbeam plasma bulb. I think ours is the only one left. The seller name is Scot239 I believe. Look through the items. There are a few gadgets and books. More will be added soon.

Additional update**
I wanted to take a photo here. In the beginning I couldn't even fit in size 14s..these are 8s..

Measure in, weigh in

Measurements
36-31-35
That'd mean up .5 in middle, down 1 in hips area.

Weigh in
140.6 lbs.
I've hardly been dropping anything these past two weeks! Its very frustrating!
A few days ago I was 139.8. I don't know why my weight went up but its upsetting me. I've exercised and tried my best to eat in my calorie range. (Admittedly there might have been a slight slip up on Tuesday but I calculated to the best of my knowledge).
We don't have a babysitter this weekend so we can't go to the casino anyway.
I really wanted to be 135 by September 21st, for my engagement party.
Perhaps my cycle is interfering again.
I'm going to look back a month ago and see if I had this problem.

My cycle was around the 30th last month. Its possibly a week early this month. I'll see after it ends where I'm at.
Otherwise, I might be at a halt until I finish nursing. Rumor has it the last 15 lbs is impossible to lose as your body stores fat to produce milk. Then once stopped, 15 sheds immediately. Maybe 10 in my case.
I'm not trying to get down to 125 but if it looks good and still healthy it might be OK.

Hopefully I'm just retaining water and I haven't reached a halt. Also hopefully I don't lose 15 when I stop. I don't want to weigh 115 either. I guess I'd just eat more to prevent that! Or gain a little muscle.

One more day..

Til my measurements and weigh in!
I'm so hungry right now. Waiting to eat at Scots sisters again. I usually gain after eating there but I asked for her to let me know the calorie content of our meal.
I really want a good weigh in this week since last week was hardly anything.

I believe she's making veggie burgers, salad, and vegetables with hummus. I'll probably be alright. Then I'll take a cheat day on Saturday or something.
We aren't really sure which day we will make it to the casino.

Also, I forgot that I'll be on vacation September 6th-14th. The baby will be there and it's not very much of a drinking crowd. But if Scot comes I may end up drinking one of the nights. Probably not though. It'd be difficult to keep milk frozen in a car for 10 hours.

So it might be easier than I thought to cut out drinking for 4 weeks!

Hate you, diet!!!

Its a rough time period. I feel like its getting harder and harder to stay in my calorie limit!
Today I forced myself to work out (play DDR) until I burned 200 calories.
I feel like I'm more motivated to work out when I'm deeply upset. When I'm happy I get out and do more activities. But right now I'm mostly just content.
The weather is a bit hot for my liking so I don't want to do anything. When I want to do something it usually involved food and/or alcohol.
My next cheat day will be this weekend. It'll be another casino buffet day! Those are pretty great but the aftermath sucks.
I might attempt to hold off on drinking until my engagement party September 21st. Usually when I say something like that, I end up drinking immediately. I really want a good weigh in this week though. Just have to stay strong and truck through the temptations and aggravations.
I do feel good after working out, so I'm glad I forced myself to do that.
My tape measure is at home and I'm at my moms tonight. I might have to wait and do measurements Friday. It'll double as a weigh in/measurement day!

Also, I tried on a couple wedding dresses. One was my moms. It fit perfectly. If I do end up wearing hers I'll be making some changes. Cutting things off and adding things. I want to go try on more though.

That's a little more motivation to reach my goal.

Progress pic day!

Compare these photos to Feb 12 (or somewhere around there) blog is titled "another move".

Hopefully I'll have good measurements to record Thursday also. I've been so behind. Sorry the photos are blurry. My camera is being a jerk today.

:) <3

This isn't a progress entry because I'm hardly making any.
I just wanted to say happy 10 month bday to my baby girl!

I'll continue with my progress tomorrow!

Cheat day already

I went to starved rock yesterday and booked my wedding. It will be in about 13 months!
Then I ate a huge cheeseburger, sweet potato waffle fries, and a bunch of other crap.
With weigh in day being Friday I guess its better to cheat Saturday than Wednesday but I still feel guilty.
My engagement party is in a month and 3 days and I won't be at my goal weight by then.
I will be closer, definitely somewhere in the 130s, but not 130.
I was sort of wanting to slow down in case I really do drop 15 after I stop nursing.
If I lost 15 now I would be 125. Which I guess isn't too bad but 115 is, in my opinion, for my height. So I'd like to avoid that!

So behind!

I forgot to post my weigh in yesterday. I didn't post measurements because there's not much of a difference there either. My weight is 140.4. So, I didn't even drop half a pound.
That's due to 2 days of drinking last week! Saturday and Wednesday. So I won't drink this week and should have a little better of a weigh in. Still, .4 lbs is progress. I was just hoping to be out of the 140s.
I'll probably skip my cheat day til next weekend.
I have my meeting with starved rock today to see if we want our wedding there n to help us pick a date. I hope it goes well so I can start planning more.

No progress pic

If I took a progress pic today it'd be a mirror image of last week. Therefore, its pointless. I'm still slowly dropping from my cheat day. I need to exercise or something to kick start a more drastic drop. Otherwise I might not have a very impressive weigh in.
My next cheat day hasn't been established yet anyway.
I have a meeting with starved rock on Saturday to see if me and Scot do want to use that as our venue. Then we might be able to pick a date!

Tonight we are going to the movies to see the conjuring. I'm excited. Scot hates horror movies so I'm really excited that he is coming with me.

Anyways though, still intent on being below 140 on Friday! Crossing my fingers :)

Mellow Monday

New high weight = 142.6 lbs.
That's not too huge of a gain from a cheat day. Only a 2 lb fluctuation.
I'm probably going to jinx myself but I'm pretty positive I'll get below 140 by Friday! Yay! So excited to find out.
I'm craving a salad right now. I feel like my constant huge weight drops are stemming from my increase in salad meals! Soup and salad usually.
I've been up and moving around a bit more too so I'm sure that is helpful. The baby getting heavier is causing me to burn more cals when I carry her around, too. According to my fat % on my scale I'm at 22.5%. I learned at the gym a couple weeks ago that my scale is wayyy off. I'm probably more like 28.5% or something. My size 8 shorts are getting a little loose on me. In no time I'll be in my 5s! I go on vacation in like 3 weeks. I doubt I'll be in my 5s by then, but I don't have any sizes between 5 and 8. I guess I'll wear skirts, dresses, or go buy new clothes again. Might start selling my bigger pants. Could really use the money with having no household income.
I have been feeling more energized lately. Probably because of my excitement. So eager to reach my goal!!

140 reward

I got my hair cut a couple more inches. I actually really like it.
Tonight is Scots concert. He's taking me to dinner first. He said he wanted to celebrate my hard work.
I'm not sure where we are going. If we go somewhere normal then I want a salad. I'm loving different kinds of salads.
But if we go to the casino I'll probably gain a few lbs back!
I'm still going to work very hard to be out of the 140s by Friday. I'm making such progress and am more motivated than day 1!
Happy weekend and keep losing!

Awesome weigh in!

I'm on a total roll right now. Today's weigh in is 140.8 lbs!
That leaves me with 10.8 lbs to go!
I'm so excited! I think I'll reach my goal in 1 month minimum- 2 months maximum.
Of course, tomorrow will slow me down a bit. But my amazing amount of progress this week really makes me want to not go overboard tomorrow!
Again, if I lose 1 lb a week at this point, I'll be out of the 140s in 1 week! That's incredible. I'm so glad I've stuck to my diet. Still not exercising as much as I could be but I will begin that eventually. Probably to maintain my weight, or start building muscle.
Cannot wait to dress up tomorrow. I can't believe I'll be 10 lbs less than the last time I wore this dress. It feels like I lose weight faster when I don't set short term goals. Haha but still exciting!
I feel awesome!

Measure in

I'm actually the same measurements that I was last week, but I know I weigh less. So, I must finally be shrinking in the lower body. It truly starts at the top and works its way to the bottom.
I haven't measured my legs, but I can tell by the way my pants fit.
This weekend is going to be interesting. I haven't decided what I want to do at the concert. I'm at least going to have a couple beers. We are going to be there for several hours though, and I'm going to get bored and tired. So, I'm sure I'll have more than a couple. Then my weight is going to shoot back up! The part I hate.
But as long as I only take 1 cheat day a week, I still see weekly progress. Whether its 1/2 a lb or 3 lbs.
A week with drinking cheat days is closer to the 1/2 lb drop though.
None the less, I'm inching closer to my goal and that rocks! I'm legit about 60 lbs less than his last concert and that's so cool to me. I'm probably going to wear the dress I wore to bon jovi. I'm almost 10 lbs less than the last time I wore it!
I was confident wearing it then, now I'll be super confident!
Hurray! Can't wait to weigh in tomorrow!

Still going strong!

I cannot believe how far I've come! I'm only a couple pounds to my next goal reward. Then I'm cutting my hair a little more and wanting to buy a new outfit. I bought new clothes a couple weeks ago tho, so I might be good on that.
I might be in my size 8s until I fit comfortably into my 5s again. I didn't think it'd happen this summer but its only beginning of august and I'm oh so close!
I'll be going to Tennessee in a month with my family. Will need to find a bathing suit! I have bikinis but my stretch marks are not cute lol. My daughter is cute tho, so small price to pay!
Can't wait for measurements tomorrow now that my bloating is down!
So so exciting!

1st Aug progress pic!

I deleted my before/after app because it completely stopped working on me. I think the weekly changes are enough to just scroll through and be able to tell.
If I was more tech savvy I might have a better way to display the pics.
All I can say is the difference between this week and last week is my bloating is gone. But the difference between the first progress pic and this one is about 60 lbs, so I'd say its worth the scroll! Check it out!

Much better on Monday! :)

The week has started and I'm feeling MUCH better!
My cycles over now and my stomach has settled. Scot is taking a class this week to hopefully get a new job.
I'm crossing my fingers that he gets one so we can buckle down a bit more on our big day planning.
Our engagement party is in the works now. Waiting on the completion of the invitations still.
Cannot wait to see how much more weight I can drop by September 21st! If I'm in the 130s I'll be ecstatic!
I'm unbelievably close to my goal now!
Its truly mind blowing every day to see how far I've come!
In 5 days, Scot is having a concert. I'll be almost 60 lbs lighter than I was at his last concert in December!
Already, I know that my body doesn't tolerate alcohol very well. I guess that will help me to pace myself, though.
I'm excited. I'll be going to sycamore Friday night to drop Jadyn off. So that's an excuse to visit family.
Then the following Saturday we have an appointment to tour/speak with starved rock to try figuring out an exact rate and then possibly pick our date!
So exciting!

Still suffering

My stomach is so messed up from my cheat day still. I'm almost afraid I'm developing an intolerance to gluten. My sister has celiacs (spelling?) So I guess its possible. I kind of attributed hers to her diabetes. But perhaps hers is just more severe because of it. My stomach is usually fine with gluten in moderation. But my cheat days when I seem to eat a lot of it, I'm sick for days. :( that's just awful.
I don't know how I can ever take cheat days at this rate!
Yesterday was my grandmas party and we had so much fun! I stuck to salad all day. Maybe that didn't help my situation. I don't know!

Ugh cheat day hang over!

Last night me and Scot went to buffalo wild wings. We split an appetizer of soft pretzels. Then I got fish tacos. I only drank 2 tall Bud lights but it buzzed me up pretty good. I feel like crap this morning. I feel like it can't be from the two beers. It just must be from carb overload!
Its awful. I'm not going to have another cheat day until august 10th. I might even exercise tonight. That might make me feel better. Its like guilty mixed with upset stomach. I see salads in my future!

All in all, I had fun on my date. I get out very seldom. Today's my grandma's surprise lunch. I was gonna cheat today but salad sounds good anyway.
Happy rest of the weekend!

Weighing in! Happy friday!

Today's weigh in is 144.6 lbs.
So this month I've lost 5.8 lbs.
At this rate I will reach my goal in 3 months. So beginning of November.
Hopefully I reach it sooner though, I plan to be weaning from nursing by then!
I'll work out in its place but it'll be much harder to burn 500 cal every day.
Hopefully all I'll have to worry about is maintaining the weight by then.
So today was a good weigh in!
Since last week I've lost 1.8 lbs. That's still a little more than my weekly goal. My plan is 1 lb a week..but anything more is awesome!
Feeling great! Can't wait to get out of the 140s but feel like I've got a few weeks until then :). I'll just enjoy my progress, as I have been. Time to try on the red dress again!

Measured right :)

Today Scot helped me measure myself so I know its accurate.
I think I've been doing it right all along.
I'm 36-30.5-36.
So I shrunk another half inch around the middle since my last measurements.
That's good!

Tomorrow I have to be under 146.4 to have made weekly progress. In the midst of my cycle, I'm not sure where I'll be tomorrow. I'm hoping I'll drop the excess water weight by then and have a good weigh in.

Also, I'm about due for a cheat day. I might hold out until Saturday. That's my grandmas birthday surprise party. So that'll be fun. Also I know I won't be tempted to drink.

By Scots concert August 10th I'll have earned a night of drinking. I'll probably still pace myself tho. If he does anything stupid like last time, I'll need to have my wits about me. I don't think he'd be that stupid tho. I really think he's changed. Things have been different for us. We are really happy. Besides, I weigh 55 lbs less than I did then and I'm going to probably wear the same dress I wore to bon jovi.

Anyways....
I just got a craving for pizza. Ugh. No job + no cheat day = definitely no dominos. Ha!