Lifts and separates.

I am in love with a bra. I love it so much I just ordered 3 more.

I am well endowed and I hate buying bras. For a long time I was stuck in a rut at Victoria Secret. Although, not the worst bras out there, I would like a style, go back to get another and it would be discontinued, or worse, only be offered in a demi-cup. Well my cup runneth over and I need a full coverage bra.

A few years ago my bra broke at work, the underwire snapped. Luckily for me there was a lingerie store in the same complex. So I ran into the store and they helped me buy a new bra. It was one of those full-service lingerie stores. They fit you and not like Victoria Secret fit you, where they measure you. At this store, they go in the room with you and put you in the bra. They are professional and nice, but its still a little weird to be standing nude from the waist up in front of a lady old enough to be my grandma. I loved that bra. But I never went back, until about 3 weeks ago.

I walked in, same old ladies still working there. They fit me (nay dressed me) and I found the worlds best bra for me. It is a Lunaire bra, they only make bras for cup size C and bigger. I love style 13211 and it wears well under t-shirts. Unfortunately the store in town only carries "nude" color, so I ordered online the black and two white bras. At $32 each it is very affordable too, especially since Victoria Secret charges more money for bigger bras.

Many people at work asked if I had lost weight (I have) but the main difference I think is how well the bra lifts "the girls" up and supports me. My boobs are where they should be and not near my belly button anymore!

I just thought since I found a good thing, I'd share it with the blogging world.

Weight Weight, don't tell me!

So if you've read this blog for a while you know I tried to do a weekly weight update column, then I got discouraged, so I stopped writing it. Well, just cause I stopped updating you guys, didn't mean I stopped trying to drop pounds.

I got some advice from the calorie counting obsessed Jenna, the most profound advice being to think of having a calorie bank account. In her words: Your caloric intake is a like a bank account. When you have money, there are no rules about what you can spend it on, just the rule that if you spend more money than you have, you will incur a fee. It's the same idea with food. Thus, you can eat whatever you want. Brilliant, right!

I also attended a nutritional clinic specific to runners. Because I run 3-4 times a week for an average of 15 miles (and growing) I have to fuel differently than a sedentary person, or even some one who is active, but not running for 75 minutes at a time. The nutritionist also had us think about our hunger and fullness levels in a different way, a way that has worked for me. Think of your hunger on a scale of 1-10. One being starving and 10 being Thanksgiving stuffed. On the scale she recommended that one not get below a 3 in hunger and not above a 7 on the full end. I have tried to follow this at every meal. Sometimes this means leaving half a meal untouched (leftovers!) or being finished eating before everyone else at the table. I have also adopted a few of her other guidelines: no artificial ingredients and more veggies and fruit.

The final bit of advice I received from that clinic that I have whole heartedly adopted is don't measure your weight loss success by pounds alone. Look at inches, measure how you feel, think about energy levels, etc. This hasn't been easy since we are brain-washed to believe that 120 pounds at 5'2" is ideal and until I weigh that I've failed. Well, I will never weigh 120.

Results? You betcha! It has been 4 weeks since the clinic, Jenna's advice and my new way of thinking and I have lost 5 pounds. Today wasn't a great day on the scale, so instead I measured myself. In 3 weeks I have lost 6.5 inches! Awesome, right!? These food guidelines, coupled with running, weight lifting, yoga and my new 100 push-ups challenge will help me not only look good for the wedding, but hopefully stay sane!

Dana, it's on!

So I read this post from Dana on Monday who learned from Kate about the 100 push-up challenge and I jumped on that bandwagon.

Basically the 100 push-up challenge is to build up your strength to be able to do 100 push-ups after training for 6 weeks. Sweet. Imagine how hot my arms are going to look!

You can read all about the system on the 100 push-up page, but I did my initial test on Monday and I eeked out 9 push-ups. ugghh. I'm supposed to "rest" a day between, so I did "Day one" today. The rest is totally necessary, cause I was sore from doing NINE push-ups. Dana said she had spaghetti arms, I second that. This morning, I did Day one, which had me do 30 push ups! I did 5 sets of 7 to 5 push ups each, with a minute rest in between. I feel okay now, but I am sure my arms are going to be aching later!

I read here that a 40 year old woman should be able to do 16 push-ups. I'm 31 and I can do 9. Awesome. I'm going to kick this challenge's ass. So Dana, you're on! Kate- lets do this. Anyone else in?


Update: it has now been 1.5 hours since I did 30 push ups and I am ready to rip my arms form their sockets.

Update on Weight loss

hmmpfh. I officially lost 3 lbs in the month of April. (really I lost like a 100 lbs and put back on 97 of them to come out 3 lbs lighter) But I recognized that the scale isn't the only way to measure weight loss, so that's what I'll be focusing on today!

I have lost some inches and my body has shifted back to the athletic shape it was in a few months ago. My clothes fit more loosely around the waist and a bit snugger around my thighs. In the last 3 weeks I have run at least 3 days a week, my goal being 4 days a week. I have started spinning one day a week, and this weekend I will add a second day. I have lifted weights at least one day and hope to bump that up to two.

My food consumption has been erratic at best. Some days are flawless: fruits, veggies, good lean protein, no alcohol and lots of water. Some days are filled with beer and junk. I had one flawless week and need to continue to have more perfect days than yucky days.

My focus for the month of May is to really wrangle in my eating on the weekends...good eating habits don't stop on Friday night! I will move everyday. I will work on waking up earlier to get my exercise done and out of the way before work and before the temperature rises to boiling point. I will limit my alcohol consumption to one day a week. I hope to be 5 pounds lighter by the end of the month!

uggh, weight update

I dread this post. But I brought it on myself. Last week I was flying high on my weight loss! 6 pounds total, a great accomplishment. So on Wednesday I had a couple pieces of candy. Then Thursday we went out to lunch for work and I had a salad (!) but one of those great salads with a bunch of stuff that should never be in a salad. Thursday night brought an evening of pizza and beer. Friday night: cheese enchiladas, chips and salsa and margaritas. Saturday lunch I had a sandwich with no nutritional value: baguette, brie, tomato and lettuce. Sunday lunch a hamburger and fries. Yesterday I had the day off and made a birthday cake (pictures to come soon) for Fi birthday so I consumed more chocolate just by licking my fingers than I usually do in a year. So even though I moved more last week than I had a while...I have gained back some weight. It just really shows how a few slip ups can lead to more slip ups and before you know it....I am not discouraged though, I just am feeling more motivated and armed with good knowledge. I have to pay attention to everything I eat. I need to be more aware of how I fuel myself. Hopefully next week will prove to be more successful.

Weight loss update: Week 2

The pounds are just melting away! Since April1st, I've lost 6 pounds!

I still have 14 more to go, but I am motivated and pleased by my progress!
My secrets:
Eating healthy and often: I have 5 little meals a day, keeps me full and fueled.
no alcohol: For a girl who loves her beer this has been hard. But I've had 2 drinks in 14 days and feeling good. I had a pint last night with dinner and I got a little buzz!
Moving: Everyday I've been moving a little. I've gotten back into running regularly, although not all the way back with miles. But even on Sunday, Fi and I took a 25 minute walk.

I'm not so naive to think that my weight loss will keep at this pace, but this little jump start has made me more motivated!

Update, operation weight loss

A few weeks ago I posted about my fitness inspiration board and my intention to loose some weight. Well it has been a few weeks since that post and in that time, I managed to gain 5 pounds and loose 4. So, I'm pretty much where I started.

I had a busy couple of weeks, running a half marathon, then celebrating the running of the half marathon (by pigging out and not running), I had my family in town and trips to see FI family for Easter. All those activities required lots of eating and drinking. So the pounds just crept up.

Well last Tuesday Fi and I really got a jump start. We've limited our drinking and been eating in more and had fruits as snacks. I started running again and ran a race on Sunday. So in a week I dropped 4 pounds. I know this is a-typical for weight loss, and am just hoping for a 1-2 pound loss a week from here on for a few weeks.

My goals have shifted from that last post, but I am feeling great about my progress so far (even though I am right back where I started). Tonight I am heading back into the gym after a hiatus!

Inspiration board

EDITORS NOTE: Okay, I took out the picture of me in my dress. Fi doesn't have the link, but he is a nosy bugger, so this is my new inspiration Board! edited 3/18


I have made a few inspiration boards for the wedding. Themes, colors, photos and ideas that inspire me and tie together what I want my big day to be. Then I saw a fitness inspiration board and decided to make my own.

In honor of the 1/2 marathon I ran yesterday (yikes!) here is my fitness board:


Top row: me running my leg of the Tucson Marathon relay, a healthy well-balanced meal, no-smoking sign

middle row: a bridal boot camp book, me & Fi hiking, the KU football coach who is bigger than the orange bowl mascot , South African beach

Bottom row: food pyramid (I need to eat more veggies) and Jennifer Aniston (I'm still on team Aniston! Look at those arms! yum!)

I know that I am healthier now that when I met Fi even though I was 30lbs lighter then. I know that he loves me no matter what size. But I need to find a balance to the skinny mini I was when he met me and the healthy woman I am today. Who doesn't want to look fabulous on their wedding day and be the fittest they can be.

I've tried Atkins (thats how I got to my skinniest weight of 124) and South Beach but my cholesterol was high. I've tried Weight Watchers with no success (I can't count points). Most recently the best luck I have had is moving and counting calories. So starting today (again) I am on my wedding weight war! I am going to move everyday. I am going to have 5-6 small meals everyday incorporating slim-fast protein shakes for breakfast and lunch. I will eat more fruits and veggies. My goal is to loose 10 lbs by Memorial Day weekend (this is less than 1 pound a week). After that I would like to maintain that weight till the wedding.

Once a week I will do a little weigh in in my blog...a little extra motivation!