..It's "go time"..

Credit

Well, friends, it looks like it's time to put up or shut up.

A few months ago, I ordered my bridesmaid's dress for my adorable cousin's wedding.  I had put it off a bit because I had just started eating gluten free due to my allergies and I had been losing weight.

It arrived today..and it won't zip over my bust (honestly, I've always been a bit larger in the ribcage area..but I have noticed that it's not entirely ribs of late..it would appear that my weight leveled off and adjusted to my new diet).  GAH!

The dress cannot be returned or exchanged, and (as my fellow sewists can attest to) it's nearly impossible to size a dress up.  There's about an inch gap where the zipper should meet between my shoulder blades.  This basically leaves me with one choice..lose weight.

I have 10 weeks until the wedding (and really, 8 is more realistic, since I'm going to need to be able to fit into the dress comfortably at least a few weeks prior to the wedding, just in case I have to come up with a plan B).  It's do-able..I figure a 10lb loss would be enough (15 would be even better), so that means about 2lbs a week, which is reasonable.  I don't really have too much trouble with the diet front..I can manage just fine with more veggies and cut out my sugar intake..it's the exercise that kills me.  And it's going to be crucial.

There is a silver lining, though.  My doctor has suggested for years that more exercise will help with my anxiety and migraines.  Maybe this will end up being the best thing EVER.

I've hung the dress on the back of my door as a reminder...I'll keep you all posted on my progress ;)  Wish me luck!

Hugs and Smooches,
D

(PS.  As a humorous side note, my youngest daughter just leaned around my laptop and said "Whatcha doin' Mom?  Writing on your blob?"  Ohhh, how appropriate, lol.)

Pin up Plan Challenges

Size 2/4 me with assorted adorable cousins and BFF's  (It probably bears mentioning that the year was 1996 and I was 21..)

2012 - Size 8/10 me.

This post began it's life as a whine-fest about how disappointed I was to not be in a smaller dress size for my trip to Disney.  (Not that this should come as a surprise.  I don't like to be uncomfortable.  I DO like food.  Kind of wrecks havoc on any diet and exercise plan ;)

Then, as I worked my way through "I just want to feel better", "I miss my dancer's body" and "I need to find the motivation to change" something started to dawn on me.  I don't really mean most of these things.  They're just the things you say.

I pride myself on being pretty comfortable in my skin and the truth is, I like the way I look now better than I ever have.  I'm not afraid to take risks, I've settled into a style that's all my own and I have a certain quirky "me-ness" that I wouldn't give up for any amount of weight loss.

That's not to say I want to stagnate.  I'd like to have more energy, and just like I change my hairstyle/color to suit my personality, I'd like my outsides to fit the aesthetic I have of myself in my mind.  Slightly healthier, just as curvy, (an inch or two taller would be nice...but I suppose we can't have it all ;)

So instead of subjecting you all to a blog post riddled with "I wish" and "I hope", I will tell you I have downloaded several healthy cookbooks to my Kindle, along with some neat yoga, running and dance books (and maybe a self improvement book..or a hundred.  I can't help it, they're my guilty pleasure!) and that I plan to continue down this road of building a better Danielle while loving the Danielle I've got :-)

Hugs and Smooches,
D