No more beached whale

Yesterday's scorching 90 degree weather prompted a spontaneous trip to the beach with my friend. this was only the 2nd time I've been to the beach this summer (I was in a bathing suit a couple of times, but mostly covered up my bottom half).

But I had my adorable retro looking red polka dot that kind of looks like this*:

*But waaaaaaaaaay cuter.

So with retro sunglasses, I rocked that bathing suit. Even with thighs jiggling, I felt sexier and more comfortable in that bathing suit than I sometimes do in full clothing.

No longer do I have that feeling of being the beached whale, the chunky girl who hides behind the towel or the cover-up shorts. I had no problem running to the snack stand in just the suit. Running over the hot sand wasn't to get into the water as fast as I could to cover my bigger bottom half, it was literally just to run so not to scorch my feet. And coming out of the water I felt more like a Bronzed Water Goddess emerging from the Mediterranean in a Fellini film rather than a dripping blubbery orca worried about the sand and saltwater chafing my skin.

So it was a lovely afternoon and I got some (completely uneven but much needed) color. And I hope we have more beach-worthy weekends before the summer is over so I can rock it again. I decided against wearing my bikini because I'm still not quite there yet, and with my lack of exercise and recent gains I wasn't really feeling up to it. Though I did feel sort of encouraged by my friend who doesn't have that perfect bikini body but still rocked it. Who knows, maybe next time.

I'll update you on my goals from last week tomorrow when I report my weigh in. For better or for worse.

Until next time

Ooh La La. Weekend of Style

I was feeling very French this morning...and very in-style.

Hence the little neck bow. Tres bien.

This weekend is the first weekend in a while where I am going out and want to dress to impress. Not just one night, but two! Being down to 195 is definitely showing and I am looking forward to strutting my stuff.

Tonight is drinks with some friends and from my neck bow to my purple belted sweater, to my black work pants which are falling down-but make my legs look miles long, it'll be a classy , albeit drunken evening.

Tomorrow though is the more exciting day. I'm going to be in the city, to an Art Expo, and then on a pseudo date with an ex. (Which could lead to all sorts of trouble, but I'm still excited). And I have the outfit ready to have fun. Straight leg jeans, a gorgeous peacock blue top from Target (which I can't find a picture for), and my brown boots to go over the jeans.

And as long as the weather is warm enough, I have this awesome new trench coat from Target which I adore.

So I am really looking forward to enjoying my day in the city in my clothes I shouldn't have bought because I have no money, and strutting, knowing that I look great.

And looking great is feeling great, and that is just plain sexy. Ooh la la!

Until next time

Strut your Stuff month report

So now that we're halfway through December (plus a couple days), I thought I'd re-mention my plan for December's Strut Your Stuff.

Well, I haven't really taken too many photos, but I certainly have been trying with my outfit selection to dress up my mood.

Today's outfit not counting (sort of boring black with a crazy pink & red patterned shirt with my ridiculously bright orange galoshes), I think I've done a pretty good job of strutting my stuff, both dressing and acting the part of the confident, professional, fun, classy yet sexy woman I am.

Whether it's working on my psyche, is left to be debated. I think the days I do make that extra effort to dress up, I certainly feel classy and confident. Sitting at my desk eight hours however tends to drag me down at bit. And this weather is certainly not helping. My weight has been up and down a bit more than I would have liked, but I'm not letting it get me down. Especially now that we're verging on the holidays, I feel like it's even more important for me to keep strutting my stuff, and also a little easier since I've got more opportunities to do so.

This weekend I've got a friend's holiday party to go to. It's the perfect opportunity for me to do this strutting among friends.

This week I'm extremely PMS-ey so I'm putting a little extra oomph into my strutting so I am able to fake my way through dealing with anything else I'm feeling other than pure merriment.

But I am looking forward to mingling with everyone over drinks & holiday fun food. The best part is my friend who is throwing the party is also on WW so I know she will make the event point-friendly.

So for the time being, I'll keep strutting and enjoy the rest of the month. I don't really know how successful my actual weight loss efforts will be, but I can sure look like I'm doing great!

Until next time

December is Strut your Stuff month

Why Strut your Stuff?

Strutting is an act of walking with your chest out & your head held high in order to show off.
It is also a method used to appear more confident and to make yourself feel good.

And by god--that's what December will be about. Pretending to feel good and maybe that will actually help me feel good.

This Thanksgiving weekend was a bust. Thanksgiving itself was fine. I ate perfectly controlled portions, skipped the point-heavy foods if I didn't really want them, and even went for a walk with my nephins to counteract the food frenzy. I made an excellent low-fat, low-sugar Too-Good-to-Deny Pumpkin Pie from Hungry Girl's recipe.

And even Friday was fine--I worked on cleaning most of the day so I wasn't stuck with nothing to do except eat. That came Friday night after making the mistake of buying a bag of Baked Lays and two bars of Dove chocolate. I mostly finished the chips on Friday night & had quite a bit of chocolate. Saturday I did finish the chips. And continued eating. And didn't go out at all until later that evening. But I got NO exercise. I stayed in bed reading most of Saturday, and then did nothing on Sunday but eat and watch TV and sleep. I didn't have a ton of fatty foods, but I certainly wasn't getting in my vegetables or paying attention to how many points I was eating.

And the fact that I was just moving from the bed to the kitchen to the couch to the bathroom most of those two days didn't help my energy level either. Anyway--I actually should be down with tonight's weigh in because last week I was up and it seems every other week is reflected in the weigh-in. But I've just been in a bummer of a mood lately.

So in order to counteract that, I want to strut my stuff this month--if only to help trick myself into feeling better. Shoulders back, puppies out, wearing my best, looking my best, long strides, head up, looking the world in the eye with a smile. I'm sexy and I know it. I'm going to strut it.

Watch out world--here comes Julia

Tomorrow, the first step of the plan.

Until next time