reclaiming me

Actually, I saw my ob’s office on Friday, and according to them, I’m 9 weeks, 1 day. But, since I’ve charted my cycles, I know better — I ovulated late. Whatever — they say I’m due 11Mar08. I say I’m due 19Mar08. Suffice it to say, sometime in March, I’ll have a baby.

This was a much better week, workout-wise than I’d expected it had been. Funny what happens when I actually take a look at the calendar! I’m slowly working back up to a total workout with T-Tapp. Until then, I’m thrilled when I can get Basic+ done, as I did twice this week. Step it to the Max fit in for an extra day of cardio. Considering that I woke up on Friday with the worst stitch in my neck I’ve had…oh, ever…it’s all good.

This week’s measures:

Week 8

I’m up 1/2″ to 1″ all across the torso including (unfortunately) across the hips. BUT…my upper thighs stayed level, my lower thighs pulled in a bit, and my arms are toning back up. That’s encouraging.

Just to demonstrate the wacky nature of pregnancy, I’m putting my current pics next to my mid-challenge photos. Sure, some of this might be vacation spread…but seriously, people? Not all of it is. The instant inch gain has been simply amazing, enough so that I can just sit back and laugh. Oh, and hope that my hips don’t grow much more; I’d like to be able to still wear the same size maternity clothing at the end! Delusional? Guess we’ll see.

Pictures below the fold.

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Tags: Photos, Measurements, Self-Motivation by Allison
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(with apologies to Lyle Lovett)

Today is the halfway mark in the contest, and for someone who had a seriously slackerish May, followed by a VERY short-lived pregnancy (ie, chemical pregnancy)…I’m tickled. I even wish I’d taken my measurements a week ago today, because they would have been BIGGER than my starting measurements. But, c’est la vie, I didn’t — it probably would have discouraged me last week anyway.

Here’s what I’m looking at now:
Bust: 38.25 (-1.25)
Waist: 30.5 (-0.75)
Abdomen: 39 (-1.00)
Hips: 43.25 (-0.75)
R Upper Thigh: 24.5 (-0.25)
L Upper Thigh: 24.25 (-0.50)
R Lower Thigh: 16.25 (-0.25)
L Lower Thigh: 16.25 (-0.25)
R Calf: 13.5 (n/c)
L Calf: 13.5 (n/c)
R Upper Arm: 11.5 (+0.25)
L Upper Arm: 11.5 (+0.25)

Not too shabby. Obviously, I’d love to see that ^%$# hip measurement (oh, and the upper thighs!) go down several more inches, but you know what? I pulled back on my size 12 Levis 515s today, and they fit — unlike last time I tried, when they squeezed the life out of me and gave me a muffin-top. Much better!

On with the photos: I’ll so side-by-side comparisons of the starting pics with the midpoint pics.

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Tags: T-Tapp, Photos, Measurements by Allison
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Okay, I sent my entry, so I am officially a contestant in the T-Tapp 60-Day Challenge.

I’ve been mentally writing the “Success Story” that I want to be able to send in at the end of the two months, so now it’s just a matter of doing what it takes to make it happen. Anal as I can be, I’ve put together an Excel spreadsheet to document my food (calories, plus percentage breakdown of carb/fat/protein), exercise, and measurements. It never hurts to have more data, I figure, and this way, I have it all on one page, easy to view.

Now for the gory details…my measurements.

Bust: 39.5
Waist: 31.25
Abdomen: 40
Hips: 44
R Upper Thigh: 24.75
L Upper Thigh: 24.75
R Lower Thigh: 16.5
L Lower Thigh: 16.5
R Calf: 13.5
L Calf: 13.5
R Upper Arm: 11.25
L Upper Arm: 11.25

(Not included in the contest entry: Ribcage at 32.5 inches, and body weight at 153 pounds.)

While many (if not most) of my measurements are higher, do note that they’re also symmetrical — something that they most definitely were NOT before I started doing T-Tapp. That’s a good thing, and my general day-to-day posture has improved in a big way.

And now, for the main attraction (ha). Pictures. Ouch.

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Tags: Photos, Measurements by Allison
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Pair of jeans that fit
the body I have NOW:

$1.51
(okay, after a $20 credit from Eddie Bauer “friends”)

Haircut that finally rid me of the
bodywave-turned-out-to-be-a-bad-perm
AND will let me graciously regrow my hair:

.

$75
(I nearly choked. Won’t be going back there, but BOY does it feel good.)

Feeling like myself again, even
though I’m wearing a size 14:

PRICELESS.

Tags: T-Tapp, Photos, Self-Motivation by Allison
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Whew…now if we want to go waaaaay back, I’ll throw out some more pictures.

.
.
.
Summer 1997, at my “small” size. I was wearing probably 4s and 6s that summer — with all the skydiving (I went every weekend), I kept *forgetting* to eat. Once I stopped jumping regularly, I crashed hard physically — didn’t gain a bunch of weight (maybe 10 pounds), but mentally, I dropped into my first major depression. Adrenaline resistance, anyone?

.
.
.
Halloween 2002, pre-baby. This gives a reasonable idea of what my “normal” (but not thin) size was before having a child. I was comfortably wearing an 8, and that seems to suit my frame well.

For some of the scarier pictures (read: immediately post baby), keep reading.

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Tags: Photos, Self-Motivation by Allison
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