Before and After Face

Pictures say a million words. Here's a picture I came across from Oct 2011 on the left. I tried to take a similar picture just a few min ago on the right. As I embark onto the last month of this year, I'm glad to know that more than half of the year was well spent on challenging myself on this health journey I've postponed way too long.

Eating healthy, portion control, eliminating junk food, running, and drinking lots of water... do these and good things will happen!

Pushing for Excellence

Past month was another one of those chaotic ones. I'm beginning to recognize that I have about 3-4 months in a year where I just get thrown off my typical steady routine due to extraordinary events and vacations.

In the past month, I had a bachelorette party down in Miami and a lovely week absorbing the bliss on the Big Island of Hawaii. This weekend, there is a bridal party for the sister and the following week is her wedding. Amidst all this are holidays and birthday parties.

I managed to gain a few pounds during the Miami and Hawaii trips, but since my return about 10 days ago, I've shed them all and am at a 31 lb loss to date. Good news is, I will easily reach a 35lb loss by the wedding. Unfortunately, the bridesmaid dress is now too big. I'm planning on just stitching the sides  here and there to make sure the snug is there, just in case it decides to slide down in front of the mass audience, which of course we would not want to see ;D I'm also going to use this special tape that I can use to secure the dress since the strapless ones are just too unpredictable.

And I have made the decision to put my hair up. I've been holding off on this in case I needed the extra coverage with my hair. Luckily, I've managed to acquire a nice warm tan and the extra weight I've lost in the last week has made a drastic difference on my upper body. Hair up it is!

And here's the best news so far! I am wear size 10 jeans! Yes, I am now a proud owner of 3 size 10 jeans which are adorable. My thighs are slightly too big, but I'm hoping that too will shed soon enough. Yikes, I don't ever remember wearing size 10 jeans. My earliest memories of my teenage years, I still wore size 12's and 13's. The other day, I did another small purge of clothes. But after trying on a few of these old clothing, I saved a dress and a pair of jeans as my "Before" collection. They are really so freaking big. I can't believe I used to squeeze myself into them. I'll post pictures of them soon. In the meantime, here are some pictures from the past trips and my progress pictures up to date.

Aloha from the Big Island, HI

Brunch at the Big Pink in Miami

At my 31lb weightloss milemarker

And in celebration, new boots.

Three Weeks Until D-Day

My sister's wedding is in exactly 3 weeks. It feels like yesterday she got engaged, yet all the mile markers have passed, and we are left with the gigantic to-do list of the last "3 Weeks" before the wedding. I've been lucky to have run across some amazing money saving deals online for the decor, as well as this hole in the wall flower shop just 5 mins away that sells fresh flowers in bulk at wholesale prices. I've been experimenting with the flowers, and luckily, flowers are beautiful no matter what I do to them. Here's a picture of the second bouquet I made over the past weekend. Few days later, the roses bloomed so full, they looked like peonies. At the end, we decided to scrap the baby's breath and stick with just roses and greenery.

As I'm wrapping up the final projects for the wedding, I'm reminded of how fast this past year went by. I remember reminiscing about the wedding, and dreaming with my friends about how we were going to lose weight and look fabulous in our first official wedding amongst our group. Somehow, knowing that there is a D-Day, the dream became reality. I actually took action in ways I've never succeeded before. And as I welcome these last few weeks of chaos before the final day, I am reminded of how grateful I am to have changed for the better, and I am less and less a victim to life's misfortunes and more and more a pioneer of my own life.

Outfits Are Fun

See the vast contrast of my Fall vs. Summer wardrobe which were all taken this past week. Best of both worlds thanks to my beautiful vacation to the Big Island and my wonderful Fall beginnings here in Georgia.

Dressing Up

Honestly, one of the best parts of losing weight for me is the clothes! Its a new season, and I'm pulling out all my cold weather clothes, most have safely made their way to the donation bag. So the dilemma is that I am now switching back and forth between two pair of pants, and most outfits are blahh. Therefore, I have found myself shopping more frequently than I'd like to admit. Of course, all from those lovely clearance racks. Fortunately, the variety of clothing choices have doubled as I embark in the size Med racks, and I'm as happy as a lark! But more than anything else, there is no price to the confidence I've found in myself these past few months....