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anarfeaI finished my Couch to 5K. Worked up to a 30 minute run. And then I immediately stopped running. I have resolved to run at least one day a week, but really I've found that the elliptical is easier on my body and burns more calories, so I've mostly been doing that with occasional forays onto the stationary bike to break up the monotony. I mostly watch Food Network while working out, lol.
Speaking of food, I'm using MyFitnessPal and trying to stay under 1200 calories a day. I don't actually eat less than that most days but because I'm exercising I can eat a bit more. According to them, I should be losing a pound a week, and I'm losing a bit less than that, more like a pound approx every 10 days. Which is slow, but, I am making progress. If I can lose 2 more lbs, I'll officially be "overweight" rather than "obese," which is my new goal. But, I'm officially under 160 lbs for the first time since I can't remember, and I'm feeling really good about it. My doctor says she'd like me to hit 125, but I weighed in the 130s for years and was happy with myself at that weight, so, if I can get into that range again I'd be happy.
The body image thing has gotten better as I've been losing weight. My stomach is still bigger than I'd like, but my husband assures me I no longer look pregnant. I'm not so sure. I still think I look like I have a baby bump in profile. But now that the weather is warm, I can wear cute sundresses, most of which still fit me because they have some stretch or are cut in a forgiving way. I still have a couple which are more fitted that I can't wear. I'm hoping that by this time next year I'll be able to wear some of these. But anyway being able to wear cute clothes makes me feel better about my body.
My therapist was saying the best thing for me to do to help my body image is to focus on making changes to aspects of my appearance I can control (regarding my weight as something largely out of my control, at least in the short term). So, this for me has meant wearing the cute dresses, but also, I'm really looking forward to getting my first tattoo. I want a bee, honeycomb, and flowers on my sternum, to honor Sherlock fandom and it's affect on my life. I've been in this fandom since 2013. I think it's been an important enough era of my life to earn a place on my body. I originally thought I wanted a black and grey tattoo, but I ended up deciding to go with color, because once I started researching the flowers I wanted I decided flowers look better in color. I ended up deciding to go with borage, heliotrope, and lavender, since these are flowers that bees like and which are small enough that they will look good in proportion to the bee. I didn't want big flowers like roses or lilies because IMO it is just odd to have the bee be larger than big flowers. Anyway, I didn't realize it until after I picked the flowers, but borage is blue, and lavender is purple, and heliotrope comes in several colors but I decided pink would look best with the other two. After I made that decision I realized I had unintentionally picked flowers in the bi pride colors. And I feel really good about that, because part of what has made Sherlock fandom so important to me has been that it's been a way for me to explore my sexuality and celebrate my queerness in a way independent from my relationship with my ex, which was previously the only way I had really felt anchored to any kind of queer community. So yeah, I'm going to get a Sherlock/bi pride tattoo, and I think that will make me feel better about my body.
Speaking of food, I'm using MyFitnessPal and trying to stay under 1200 calories a day. I don't actually eat less than that most days but because I'm exercising I can eat a bit more. According to them, I should be losing a pound a week, and I'm losing a bit less than that, more like a pound approx every 10 days. Which is slow, but, I am making progress. If I can lose 2 more lbs, I'll officially be "overweight" rather than "obese," which is my new goal. But, I'm officially under 160 lbs for the first time since I can't remember, and I'm feeling really good about it. My doctor says she'd like me to hit 125, but I weighed in the 130s for years and was happy with myself at that weight, so, if I can get into that range again I'd be happy.
The body image thing has gotten better as I've been losing weight. My stomach is still bigger than I'd like, but my husband assures me I no longer look pregnant. I'm not so sure. I still think I look like I have a baby bump in profile. But now that the weather is warm, I can wear cute sundresses, most of which still fit me because they have some stretch or are cut in a forgiving way. I still have a couple which are more fitted that I can't wear. I'm hoping that by this time next year I'll be able to wear some of these. But anyway being able to wear cute clothes makes me feel better about my body.
My therapist was saying the best thing for me to do to help my body image is to focus on making changes to aspects of my appearance I can control (regarding my weight as something largely out of my control, at least in the short term). So, this for me has meant wearing the cute dresses, but also, I'm really looking forward to getting my first tattoo. I want a bee, honeycomb, and flowers on my sternum, to honor Sherlock fandom and it's affect on my life. I've been in this fandom since 2013. I think it's been an important enough era of my life to earn a place on my body. I originally thought I wanted a black and grey tattoo, but I ended up deciding to go with color, because once I started researching the flowers I wanted I decided flowers look better in color. I ended up deciding to go with borage, heliotrope, and lavender, since these are flowers that bees like and which are small enough that they will look good in proportion to the bee. I didn't want big flowers like roses or lilies because IMO it is just odd to have the bee be larger than big flowers. Anyway, I didn't realize it until after I picked the flowers, but borage is blue, and lavender is purple, and heliotrope comes in several colors but I decided pink would look best with the other two. After I made that decision I realized I had unintentionally picked flowers in the bi pride colors. And I feel really good about that, because part of what has made Sherlock fandom so important to me has been that it's been a way for me to explore my sexuality and celebrate my queerness in a way independent from my relationship with my ex, which was previously the only way I had really felt anchored to any kind of queer community. So yeah, I'm going to get a Sherlock/bi pride tattoo, and I think that will make me feel better about my body.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-29 10:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-29 10:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-29 11:49 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 01:05 am (UTC)In terms of helping body image, I got this corset to deal with similar pregnancy-related issues, and I found it a real mood booster. I like the shape it gives me much more than spanx-type shapewear, plus it's easier to get on and off, and it helps my posture. Best of all, it allows me to fit into most of my clothes from before I had kids, which cheered me up a lot. I hated thinking that all my cute clothes belonged to the past, and from now on I could only wear shapeless "mom sacks".
I certainly don't wear it every day, but it's nice to have for dressier occasions when I want to look sharp.
no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 01:28 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 01:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 02:33 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 09:13 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 04:46 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 07:36 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-06-30 09:03 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-01 02:38 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2019-07-02 10:59 am (UTC)I'm sure your tattoos will look awesome!
no subject
Date: 2019-07-02 02:05 pm (UTC)