Monthly Measures #6

Let's just pretend you're reading this on Monday, OK? OK.

I don't have a lot to report this month. The 12 days of travel in Europe netted me a two pound gain (I was totally fine with that). We walked a lot, of course, and I ate what I wanted. The hardest thing about the travel? Drinking enough water. The joke was that we couldn't afford to stay hydrated. I mean, in a lot of places beer was cheaper than water, and then unless you were patronizing a restaurant or in your hotel room you had to pay to use a public restroom. Adding to that difficulty was the flooding in some of the areas we were in, which made the tap water questionable.

Last week, as you know, I walked to work. When I added up all the miles I walked just during the work week, it was 18.1 miles. (Holy crap!) Too bad that doesn't translate into weight loss, but then again my eating and drinking were kind of stupid last week. Must. Get. Back. On. Track.

And in the meantime, I have a good bit going on in my head right now so I'm pretty unfocused and for all I know nothing I write makes any sense. But it's all good -- or it will be! This week I'll probably only walk one day to work, but next week I should be good for four days.

Linking up with Nicole

Monthly Measures #5

Yeah, so that squat challenge that I was going to do last month? Didn't happen. Rather, it started but I didn't finish it. I always have the best intentions when starting some fitness challenge and then, well you know what the say about good intentions.

BUT I do have some good news to report. In May I saw a number on the scale that I haven't seen in probably five years, and I finally got to put the new charm on my bracelet! I'm down about 20 pounds; I was hoping to have lost 30 before going to Europe, but I'll take it! We leave this Friday and will be gone 11 days. I don't plan to deprive myself of any food or drink, but we'll be walking a lot too so I'm just hoping for a wash, weight-wise. Tune in next month to see how this worked out for me. Oh, but then when we get back it's Festival time in Columbus so there's another challenge.

I don't have a lot for this month's entry, so I must leave you with this:

(Not really, but I do love the idea.)

Monthly Measures #4

I totally jinxed myself by prematurely buying the new charm for my bracelet and now I've hit a plateau. Ugh. But for this month's post I'm talking about a couple new things I'm doing to mix things up.

I'm doing a 30 day squat challenge, which I guess is all over Pinterest, but I first heard about it through Nicole (who is also the brains behind Monthly Measures). So far, so good, but it's only day 6.

I also recently downloaded the Daily Workouts app to my iPhone. There is a free version, which I started with, but then I sprung for the $3.99 to get the full version. You can focus on an area or do cardio or a full workout and you specify for how long you want to work out. Then a video starts which shows you the exercise and then tells you when to switch to the next one. There are also in-app add-ons you can purchase, like kettle bell workouts or stretches or Pilates (I haven't done any of those yet).

I really want to step it up a notch this next month. We leave for Europe in 32 days!

Monthly Measures #3 - When XL Isn't L Enough

So, how did I get here? Growing up, I was very thin without even trying. I was warned that it would catch up with me, but why on earth would I do anything about it (and what would I even do, until it's too late)? Even in college I stayed pretty thin. I've never been an athlete, but I guess traipsing around campus from class to class provides exercise. How about that?!


After graduation, I settled into a desk job and ever-so-slowly started putting on a little weight. Then I married someone who is ridiculously thin and even 20+ years later shows no signs of ever NOT being thin. He could eat whatever he wanted whenever he wanted, so why couldn't I?

I love clothes and I love to shop. I became irritated when the sizes got bigger. I tried different weight loss plans - the Zone Diet, Slimfast, Weight Watchers, Eat Clean... I participated in a "biggest loser" type class at my gym, and actually saw success. But something would happen: illness, surgery, death in the family, and I'd get off track and not get back on.

Over a year ago, I ordered a T-shirt online. I'm certain that I ordered an extra large, but I received a size XXL. I was disappointed, but I was pretty much mortified when I tried it on and it wasn't too big. Granted, sizes are all different and I don't wear XXL in everything, but still...

My trouble area is my stomach. This apparently gives some people the idea that I'm pregnant. I've actually been asked by complete strangers "when are you due?" And please note that it's always been women, not men, who ask the question. Seriously? Why do people DO that? And of course, I'm usually so thrown off that all I can say is "oh, I'm not pregnant." But what I'd often LIKE to say is:

I don't have any wise words for this month's post. I guess I'm just venting. Since last month, I have lost a few more pounds, and I did buy a new charm for my bracelet. But I'm not putting it on until I get to a certain point and I'm super close but not quite there yet.

Stay Tuned,

Monthly Measures #2

Check here for my first Monthly Measures post. I struggled with what to write this month. I only lost two pounds since February's post, but I'm seeing progress in other areas. My jeans are loose around the waist (even fresh out of the dryer!) and I can take my belt to the third notch instead of battling to fasten at the first one. And I know a lot of women don't like it that one of the first places to notice weight loss is the boobs, but I'm really OK with it, and I've had to change where I fasten my bra and frankly, it's exciting.

I joined in on the 40/40 Challenge for the season of Lent, and I've done it although some days it's 10 minutes here and there at the office. With the door closed.

A year (or maybe two) ago I tried to come up with a reward system for myself. It didn't last, but now that I'm being accountable to Blog World I'm going to resurrect it. I'm a girly girl and I love clothing and shoes and jewelry. So I have this charm bracelet from Swarovski. (I think this is the one but the 6 3/4 inch length can't possible be right because what adult has a wrist that small?) I currently have only two charms, and I've decided that for every 10 pounds I lose I'll buy a new charm.

My charms (I don't think they're still available because I bought them so long ago.)

I think my next purchase will be this Crystal Double Star charm. Let's see if I can get my ass in gear and buy it soon!

Stay Tuned,

The Gila

Linking up with Nicole

Monthly Measures #1

I'm joining up with Nicole for her Monthly Measures. The first Monday of every month I'll be posting something related to health/fitness/weight loss. Back in November I embarked on a new weight loss journey; I even thought about doing a separate blog about it, even if just for myself. But I like this idea of checking in on a monthly basis, making myself accountable, and hopefully encouraging others along the way.




Since mid-November I've changed my eating habits. I don't deprive myself of something if I want to eat it (on Saturday I really wanted pizza so we ordered one, and it was delicious and I don't regret it one bit) but I am making smarter choices and doing much better at portion control. In 12 weeks I've lost 14 pounds. I'm happy with that. I'm not looking for a quick fix that will eventually backfire. I'm not quite ready to give you numbers as to how much I weigh, but suffice it to say that I still have a ways to go.

One of the things I've been making sure I do is eat breakfast. It might only be a protein bar, but I try to make sure I eat something that's balanced. To help me stay on track with this, I downloaded an app to my iPhone called Commit ($2.99). It helps remind you to do something (anything you want) every day. Right now my only one is eating breakfast. I once had flossing in there but that didn't stick...yet. I have it set to ask me every day at 10:00 am if I've had breakfast, and at the bottom is a visual guide to tell me how many days in a row I've done it.

Today made 62 days in a row!

I try to switch up my breakfasts so I don't get bored: eggs, oatmeal, protein bar. I also have a new favorite smoothie, which I found at Green Plate Rule. Here's a link to the original recipe:

It calls for almond milk, almond butter, blueberries, greens (I use spinach) and chia seeds. I haven't tried chia seeds yet, but I already have ground flax seeds so I use that instead. I also add whey protein powder, vanilla flavored. And lately I've changed it up a little more by substituting lemon flavored fish oil for the almond butter, making it a blueberry-lemon smoothie. I just love the combination of blueberries and lemons - so refreshing!

Here's the fish oil supplement I'm using. I get the lemon zest flavor, but I'm looking forward to trying other flavors as well. You can by it from the Barlean's website, or Google it to buy from another retailer.

Barlean's Omega Swirl

Thanks Nicole, for hosting this link up! I'll be checking back in next month.

Stay Tuned,

The Gila