continuously cold!

Maybe it's just me {which I think it might be} but I am continuously cold. Like, all the time. Even in 85 degree Phoenix last month I wasn't sweating in the sunshine.

70 degrees. Long sleeves. Fire.

I just can't shake the feeling that I'm cold. As I sit here and type this isn't a Thursday evening in Washington State. The temperature in the house is a comfy 72 degrees - and I have on the fire, fleece pj pants, and fuzzy socks. No joke. I can't wait to go to bed to my electric blanket!

I have a co-worker who has lost almost 80 pounds in the past few years. She and I went on a walk the other day and I brought up my constant cold-ness. If anyone was going to understand...it was her! And she did! I knew I had to do a little research and here is a good article that I found.

How Come When you Lose Weight You Get Cold?

Lose a Fat Layer ~ This makes total sense to me. When I started this journey I weighed 220 pounds. As of this morning I weighed 153.5 pounds. That is -66.5 pounds which is equivalent to 30% body fat loss. WOWZERS. I literally just did the math {pats self on back}. I have most definitely lost the most fat around my waist/hips which is where a lot of my fat was stored and was keeping my internal organs nice and warm {wasn't that nice}!

Calorie Conservation ~ While I am most certainly not a calorie counter, I am definitely eating different foods that I used to. I do enjoy some of my favorite things that probably aren't considered "life style change food" but overall, my calorie's that I intake are much different.

It really does make sense when you think about it. Less fat {aka insulation} means colder bodies. Has anyone else who has lost a significant amount of weight experienced this? I'd love to hear from you!!

Fingers crossed (that the weight keeps coming off and my core temperature starts to catch up}...

multiple dinners...

...from one "take out box".

Do you have a New Seasons in your town? It's like a Whole Foods, basically.

There is one close to my beloved barre3 that I've been going to for about a year or so. At first I went crazy and bought everything there and that proved to be very expensive! Now, I buy meat and produce and sometimes one or two small things if I don't need to make the trek to WinCo.

One of the best things about New Seasons is their deli. They have made to order sandwiches that are SO.MUCH.BETTER than a Quiznos or Subway. But our favorite thing...the WOK bar!!! For $9 we can get a HEAPING bowl of fresh wok! I should have taken a picture of my compiled bowl before cooking. My husband is amazed every time at how much I can get in that bowl!

Portioning out the rice, noodles & veggies.

This last Sunday after my trip to barre3 I stopped by NS so I could get a portion of the wok for lunch that day and have some left over for the week! I ended up getting 4 portions from my one meal!! For you math geniuses out there that is about $2.25 per meal.

Four portions from one meal!

When eating it for lunch at work I usually pair it with veggies & hummus and a sweet treat at the end. The rice and the noodles really fill me up! It is a great way to get multiple meals for a decent price from a very delicious place.

We have out NS wok like this...

Extra chicken. Shanghai Sauce. Organic Brown Rice.

 

If you have a New Seasons I would definitely suggest getting a make-your-own wok sometime! If you don't...make your own! Someone once told me they actually sell their sauces there. I need to check that out sometime. When they make our wok I ask them to only but 4 TBSP on sauce on our wok. That helps to cut the "calories" for lack of a better word!

minus 65...

...pounds that is!

I can't believe I forgot to blog about this. Well, I kind of can because I slacked for much of the month of March!

Some interesting thoughts came out of losing this 65 pounds. When I first started my journey I did not believe that I could do this but I knew I had to try. And try I have. And lose I have. There's been a few things lately {namely when thinking about whole foods and no-dairy} where I've said out loud to others and to myself - "I can't do that". Well, I instantaneously switched my words up after I said the word can't...because I can. I can try to do anything!!

 

 



I kind of can't believe this was me one year ago {and then me last week}...

left: April 2012 ~ Kauai

right: April 2013 ~ Phoenix

 

But at the same time I can believe it is me! It's weird. Before I lost all this weight I sometimes would picture myself how I look now. And sometimes now, I picture myself as I used to me. Weight loss is a long, twisted, and mind-bending journey. I'm a size 8 in almost everything now. My top is a size Medium. That in and of itself is mind-bending. When I started this journey I was almost reading to buy a size 20W and size 1X shirts where too tight. It's weird to not shop at the stores I used to. It's weird to be able to walk in lululemon or Nordstroms or even Khols and find things that fit. It's going to take some more time to get used to that!

 

I buy myself rewards at the major weight loss milestones. In the past I haven't considered a -5 from a 10's weight loss {like -65} to be worthy of a reward but then I saw something I really wanted and wanted an excuse to buy it. Plus, when I hit the -60 pound mark I figured I'd plateau, but I didn't. I have kept on losing and couldn't be happier or more proud of myself! My very fashionable best friend told me this top was a good choice. She write a fashion blog...she should know! And just after I purchased this top {with the snazzy zipper in the back} she wore one on her blog ;-) See, now I'm starting fashion trends! Oh, and just to tip this adorable shirt over the edge - it's a size small. Yes, small.

 

reward top from LOFT

wearing my top in sunny Phoenix with my cousin!

 

All in all, losing 65 pounds has been amazing experience. How could it not be?? Can't wait to see where I go from here! I don't "think" I will lose a bunch more weight but I do believe I will become more and more toned. I told my best friend yesterday "Maybe next year I'll wear a 2 piece suit in public". And you know...I hope I will!!

Fingers crossed {that I'll be bikini ready next summer. Heehee}...

it's the little things...

...that add up to big things!

I've been trying to continue to make small, subtle changes in our lifestyle. To get where we've gotten we've certainly changed a lot but it is time to start turning it up a notch!

Getting food ready...
Getting exercise clothes ready...

Here's a few things I did this weekend. I'll share more as I do them :)

Roasting Vegetables. I estimate this will last us about 6 or so servings. We had it for dinner 2 nights in a row and have about 2 more helpings left. I roasted them in a 9 x 13 pan with some water and the oven at 350 degrees. I stirred them about every 15 minutes. At about 30 minutes in I added 1 TBSP of organic coconut oil, salt, and pepper. I cooked the veggies for about 1 hour 15 minutes total. Next time I will wait to put the asparagus in because it was so soggy! We will definitely be doing this a few times a month. It's great for leftover dinner or lunches!

Dinner with the veggies as a side!

 

 

 

Today I met one of my bestie for lunch in downtown Portland! I parked in a garage because I don't like to deal with the headache of street parking/meters. The garage was so full that I ended up having to park on the 9th floor, which would also be known as the top floor. I decided to use this to my advantage and take the stairs...both ways! I was super proud of myself!!

 

10 minutes at a time!

 

I also did a 10 minute barre3 online video {please don't mind the PJs}! I've been trying to get up and so something during commercials! It is way more easy to sit for hours at a time and watch TV. Just even getting up in between shows would be a good start to the change.

 

These are a few little changes/cognizant decisions I've made in the past few days!! Have you made any? Will you make any now?

 

Fingers crossed {that I can find a few more ways to inspire myself and hopefully you, too}...