The Results Are In...

Erika & I did our final measurements for our 2-4-8-10 Challenge this morning, final weigh in is tomorrow. Until the Around the World Challenge last year I had never paid that much attention to measurements... but this is really eye opening for me.

14 1/2 inches lost!

My waist said adios to 4 inches & my hips gave away 5 inches (2 1/4" just in the last four weeks!). And my thighs that never give an inch somehow shed 3". And of course, the girls had to give their share as well (though I would've been really happy for them reject the idea).

Here are pics from Day 1 & from today... 12 weeks later.

Now that the final pics have been taken, these pants are officially retired! They are just too big... darn it, lol. Its a tiny bit bittersweet because they are my favorite workout pants, but I'll be more than happy to shop for a new favorite pair!

If you comment regularly, you probably know that I try to respond to comments via email. And if you've commented recently, you probably know I'm way behind on this little aspect of blogging. I swear its all the extra time I'm spending at the gym sapping the strength from my typing fingers & turning my brain to mush. I'll get caught up... eventually.

I want to extend a warm welcome to all of my new followers! I'm so happy you've decided to join me & I look forward to your comments. :)

If you're following me & I'm not following you, please leave me your link so I can add you.

Hope everyone is having a great Monday!

Look What I Found & What I did (Again!)

This is a picture of me at The Husband's reenlistment ceremony in January 2004.

I'm guessing this is somewhere close to my highest weight - probably mid-230s or so. Is it weird that even though I've never felt overly bothered by my weight on an emotional level, looking at the picture makes me want to cry? I almost don't recognize the person in the picture... its like I never saw myself as a fat person though I clearly was (still am). How's that for denial???? Seriously, look at my face - all that extra chin & the chubby, chubby cheeks? How did I manage to miss that?

Finding this picture couldn't have come at a better time. I've been struggling to see a difference lately, even when I look at my progress pics they seem somehow minimal to me. But this pic is soooo eye opening for me. I think sometimes I get so caught up in how far I still have to go that I lose sight of just how far I've come. Does that happen to you?

Ok so I borrowed the picture from before because I didn't have my camera with me today, but YES, I burned over 1,000 calories in about 90 minutes at the gym. I started out on the StairMaster & did 111 floors!!! That's the most I've done probably since last year's Around the World Challenge. My legs felt like they could keep right on climbing, but my heart rate had different ideas on the subject, so finally I stopped. I also put in a solid hour on one of the wuss bikes.

I spent the afternoon in "commihell" aka the Commissary on base. The place becomes its own kind of hell when its busy, especially the Sunday of a payday weekend. You would swear its the last day the place is ever going to be open & people have to get their food that very day or risk starvation! Granted they are closed on Mondays, but geesh its nuts the way people swoop in there and inhale things from the shelves. Why did I choose to torture myself by going there today you ask? Around the World is starting & I was committed (I may need to be commited after shopping, lol) to getting the cupboards stocked in advance. A closterphobic person would have needed some seriously therapy to recover from the experience today, it was insanely busy & well picked over by the time we got there. But, thankfully (for me) the shoppers that came before me must not have been interested in healthful eating. With the exception of a couple items, all of the things on my healthy list were there waiting for me.

Where did the time go? I can't believe its already the start of Around the World!!! While I'm not as prepared as I was hoping to be, I feel like I've made enough progress that if I work hard the next few days getting stuff prepared I will be okay. If I don't wake up unable to move after the 111 floors on the StairMaster, I will share all of the challenge specifics again in the morning. Plus, I have news from my Saturday shopping trip to share too. :-)

What is on your agenda for the upcoming week?

Wishing you all a fantastic week! :-)