Weigh In: Week 10

Good evening, readers!

Today's "me day" was a total success. I just looked at my phone for the first time since the alarm went off at 7am, and I haven't looked at ANY social media today. Total success.

This morning I got up, walked the dog, then went to BodyPump from 8-9 and Zumba from 9-10. I got my cardio AND weight lifting in, and had over 10,000 steps before 10 am. I walked the dog a few more times today (he doesn't like to go very far; I think he was still tired from yesterday's run) but otherwise I was incredibly lazy. My list of accomplishments AFTER 10am today include:

• reading an entire book
• catching up on all my missed tv shows
• binge-watching the last 7 episodes of "My So-Called Life"
• taking a 2 hour nap

Well it felt productive.

I didn't eat a lot today, since I didn't really do much. I ended up consuming about 1200 calories while burning 3100 and taking 13,000 steps. But what we're really here to talk about is the weigh in!

Drum roll please...

I lost 1 lb this week!

I was hoping for more, but I'll take it. I still can't find my tape measure and I keep forgetting to buy a new one, so I don't have the stats for inches today. I probably still won't have seen any difference, but hopefully a few more weeks of weight lifting will show some improvement, particularly in my arms.

But I'm down 13lbs after 10 weeks, more than on track for my goal of 1lb per week until my wedding.

Nothing else exciting to report here, except that I'm going to bed at 10:15 on a Saturday and it feels late.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

The Shih Tzu Trot

Good evening, readers.

I've invented a new dance move, and I've decided to call it "The Shih Tzu Trot." You hold your arms parallel to the floor, then you simultaneously move your arms up and down while swinging your hips in the opposite direction of your arms...

I'm totally kidding, of course. Because whatever dance move I just described up there would be 100% hideous. I'll tell you how I came up with this phrase today and I'm sure you will all see its merit and turn it in to a household saying.

This morning at work, my pharmacist was talking about the half marathon she is running tomorrow. It brought me back to a time last year, when I set the goal to run a 5k. In September I succeeded in running a 5k without stopping to walk (about 37 minutes) and that was the very last day I have run for sport. Until today.

A few things aligned to make me think this was a good idea: one, my boss's enthusiasm for her run tomorrow (and the fact that she gets to eat all the pasta she wants for dinner tonight). Two: It was an absolutely beautiful day today, and after an entire week of rain I didn't want to do my cardio workout stuck in a windowless gym. And three, since Bill is gone the poor dog was alone for longer than usual today, and I felt he needed some exercise.

That is how it came to pass that I decided to take our Shih Tzu friend, Cy, for a run. Normally this dog walks to the end of our street and turns around, flatly refusing to perform such a low-brow action as crossing the street. But his owner told me that if you run, he will keep up. So we tried it.

And it went surprisingly well. We walked for about half a kilometer, then ran for three kilometers, then walked for another half kilometer. So four kilometers total. All together we went about 2.5 miles, but we ran almost 2 miles. I have to say, it wasn't as terrible as I remember it being. Maybe all the weight lifting and cardio I've been doing at the gym is actually paying off, because I assumed I was going to be sweaty and out of breath after 5 minutes, but such was not the case.

We were a bit slow because of some potty breaks, so we averaged about 8 minutes/kilometer. But Cy was definitely a trooper. He stayed by my side the entire time and eventually we developed a good pace. This is how the Shih Tzu Trot was born. The speed we were going was, for Cy, somewhere between a run and a walk. His pace was thusly dubbed the Shih Tzu Trot. 

And after that rather elaborate story to explain a totally made-up phrase, you all know you will use it every time you want to describe something that's not really going fast, but not really going slow either. 

Alright enough of that nonsense. Stats today are as follows:

Steps: 15700
Calories burned: 3220
Calories consumed: 1300

Looking good for the day.

Tomorrow is weigh-in day, assuming I can find a scale that works. Also, fair warning to anyone who is trying to contact me tomorrow: I am having a "me day" in which I am going to boycott all social media and turn my phone off. In case of an emergency, call someone else. Because I'm no good in an emergency situation anyway.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

The scale experiment

Good evening, readers!

I've been doing a little experiment with my scale, because I'm pretty sure it's broken. I weight myself before going to step class tonight, and then I weighed myself after I got home. Supposedly in the 75 minutes between weighings I lost 1.5lbs. While it would be completely awesome if that were true, I know it's not. Step class would be packed if you were guaranteed to lose a pound every time you went. This is just another piece of evidence to support the hypothesis that my scale is not accurate.

Today was just another normal day, I suppose. I got up early and went to BodyPump, went to work as usual, and then went to BodyStep after work. Too bad you can't count Thursday's second workout as Friday's workout instead. Although I am kind of looking forward to tomorrow's workout because one of the books I had on hold at the library just came in, so tomorrow's workout will consist of elliptical and reading.

Today stats:
17,000 steps taken (the "step" in step class is no joke)
3400 calories burned
1260 calories consumed

Are there any other stats on here I should add? I was thinking hours of sleep, but I don't always wear my FitBit to bed and I don't know how else I would track it.

In other news, Bill is gone for the weekend so I am doing "Bill's away" things, like parking in the middle of the garage, sleeping in the middle of the bed, and leaving the TV on all night. The only bad part is that I've lost my workout buddy for a few days.

In reality, tiny dog Cy is taking up Bill's entire side of the bed:

That's all for today, I suppose.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Mail Time!

Good evening, readers!

Just another normal day in the Flemerson household. Went to work, went to Zumba, walked the dog, ate dinner, and now I'm writing this. Although we did get some really fun stuff in the mail today!

First, I ordered a dress online for the rehearsal dinner, which arrived today! It does need a bit of altering, as it is too long (although I could wear it with some wedges probably) and the waist is too big (per usual) but it's really cute! Sorry, not posting a picture of it; you'll just have to be surprised like a year from now. And yes, I know I am planning waaaaaay ahead. But that's just how I am.

The other thing we got in the mail was a surprise Bill got for me:

And if you don't know what that is, you should watch the videos on this page:

http://www.mycrittercatcher.com

If you know me at all, you know I can't stand anything that has more than 4 legs. Hopefully this will be a  solution to that! It's more like Bill just got sick of killing spiders for me. Luckily in this house we've really only had one spider since we moved in and sprayed with Home Defense. But it's a new season and we have to do that again. Until then, I've got this handy dandy spider catching tool to keep me safe from harm!

And my stats today are:
1320 calories consumed (I wasn't too lazy to log my dinner like the last two days)
3100 calories burned
16,000 steps taken

And might I tell you, those steps were well earned. I went to a new Zumba class tonight at the Y. It said it was taught by "Renee" but when I got there I recognized the teacher as a sub we had for a different Zumba class. Definitely not my favorite. A lot of hip thrusting and shoulder shimmying. I busted by butt to get there on time, and I felt like the universe was playing a prank on me.

And in wedding-planning land, not much is going on. We're discussing a few things, like our colors. I thought I had them all figured out, but now I think I want to tweak them slightly. I can't even remember if I blogged about the colors we had originally picked, but I think they will be changing. And as a woman, it is my prerogative to change my mind as many times as I want until we will actually lose money if I change my mind one more time.

Tomorrow is another early morning of weights and possibly a late night of cardio. We shall see how motivated I am feeling.

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Decisions, Decisions

Good evening, readers!

Today I went to Keller (our reception venue) for some sort of event (I'm not really sure what to call it) where we got to see a bunch of different table settings, decorations, and try some appetizers. I felt like it was very educational, but it also kind of freaked me out. I have a really hard time making decisions, and seeing all those options and having NO CLUE what I want kind of sent me into "freak out and plan everything right this instant" mode. Although that is how I get everything done so quickly.

I did really like the head table decorations:

Although we still haven't decided if we are going to do a head table or a sweetheart table. Ugh so many decisions. A very wise maid of honor once told me, "just make one decision a day." So that's what I'm trying to do. Too bad the decision to not decide doesn't count as a decision.

In other news, I got up at 4:30 this morning to pack up my gym bag and backpack, as well as walk the dog, before I went to BodyPump class at 5:30. Getting up that early totally sucks, but once I finish the workout I love having it done by 6:30. The only problems with all that weight lifting is that my arms are like jello and I don't get a lot of steps in on my FitBit. I did end up taking 13,500 steps and burning 3,100 calories.

I'm not really sure how many calories I consumed today. I didn't eat dinner, I just had those appetizer samples at the event at Keller. I'm sure it wasn't too bad though. I mean it was finger food after all.

Well, tomorrow is another day and another decision (hopefully.)

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Pho Sho

Good evening, readers!

I apologize for missing the post yesterday. It was a pretty standard day, but I fell asleep really early and posting just slipped my mind.

For a quick recap: I went to step class in the morning. It was totally packed. I was glad I got there early, because we actually ran out of steps. I feel like if you come to class late and there are zero steps left, you should probably just leave. Instead people went to different studios and grabbed steps from there. They really need to put a capacity limit on the classes, because sometimes it's so packed it has to be a safety hazard.

Anyway, after that we ran some errands. I walked the dog a couple of times, and ended up doing well on my step count (13,500) and calorie burn (3300) while consuming only 1230 calories.

Today, I must say, I feel like I was very, very bad.

I did really well almost the entire day. I walked the dog, followed my diet perfectly, drank tons of water, and was very active at work. Normally on Mondays I have Zumba class, but my coworkers invited me to check out an awesome restaurant nearby called Pho 79, so I actually skipped Zumba (gasp!) and went out to eat instead.

I did choose a chicken noodle salad, which didn't have dressing and therefore felt pretty healthy. I also had a spring roll and just a tiny bit of fried rice. When I write it out like that, it doesn't sound so bad. But I felt so FULL afterward (and I only ate half the salad) that I just knew it couldn't be good for me.

When I got home it was like the dog just knew I hadn't done enough exercise, and he was ready to go. We walked for about two miles, and Mr. Cy wanted to run for most of it. So I ran with him. On a full stomach. At the end it did not feel good. But I kind of felt like it was my punishment for skipping Zumba and eating a bunch of Vietnamese food instead.

Today I ended up getting in 13,000 steps and burning 3100 calories. I'm not exactly sure how many calories I consumed today, but let's just say it was a wash.

I promise I will do better tomorrow, readers. For sure. I have my gym bag all packed to go to Body Pump at 5:30 in the morning. And if that's not renewed commitment to a fitness regime, I don't know what is.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Weigh in: Week 9

Good evening, readers!

First, for the bad news.

I didn't lose any weight this week. I didn't gain any weight either. So I'm still down 12 lbs in 9 weeks, which is good. I'm just really extra confused as to why I didn't lose this week. I've been working out 60+ minutes 6 days per week and being very diligent on my diet. I have decided that my home scale is just the worst and I am going to weigh myself at the Y from now on.

Now, for the good news. 

Today my mom, Sam, and I went wedding dress shopping! I had expressed in previous posts my excitement and slight trepidation about the dress shopping experience. And I have to tell you, the experience I had was about as good as it could be. Here's a little sneak peek:

Don't worry, I'm not dumb enough to post my actual wedding dress. You will have to wait until our wedding day to see that! This is a cute dress I tried on, but it's not THE dress.

And yes, I was successful and bought a dress today. I'm totally in love with it and I can't stop looking at the photos. So excited! I appreciate my mom and Sam putting up with hours of back and forth to the dressing room and waiting for me to change. And I tried on a LOT of dresses. But for me it was a really positive experience, and I appreciate their help immensely.

In fitness news today, I went to BodyPump class at 8am this morning. It's that choreographed weight lifting class I mentioned yesterday. Since it was my first class I did the whole thing with very little weight on my bar, but somehow my legs, arms, and abs still feel like jelly. I'm really excited about this class, because I usually do cardio but I know I need to incorporate strength training. I think this will be the way to do it.

As for food today, I'm not 100% sure how many calories I ate. We went to Olive Garden for lunch, and I had soup/salad/bread. It's not terrible for you (a little salad, a bowl of minestrone, and a breadstick) but I was legit too lazy to try to log all that on my food app today. I can tell you that I took 13,000 steps and burned 3,000 calories though. Weight lifting doesn't get me a lot of steps, but dress shopping sure does!

And there's another thing checked off the wedding to-do list. Tomorrow is definitely going to be recharge day. Maybe I'll even get more than 6 hours of sleep!

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

It's our -1 year anniversary!

Good evening, readers!

On my walk to work today, I spotted something and felt compelled to photograph it:

Look at that tulip, thriving among all those dead branches. It was weirdly inspiring. You can find inspiration anywhere, really. It also made me think that tulips would be a  nice flower to have at my wedding, and they come in basically all the colors.

In other exciting Friday news, we have a houseguest for the next 10 days. You've all met Cy before, and I'm happy to have a walking buddy again. I also got my cavities filled this morning. It was (relatively) painless, and I am glad to have that taken care of.

But the biggest news of all today: We are getting married in exactly ONE YEAR! It seems like so long from now, but everyone keeps reminding me that it will go by fast. I hope so!

And for the nitty-gritty details of today:
I took 19,000 steps and burned 3,600 calories.
I ate 1,270 calories. Although this doesn't count my the Culver's root beer I drank (how do they make that stuff so good?)

Tomorrow is a very exciting day: we are dress shopping! I seriously just spent like a half hour deciding what I was going to wear dress shopping, only to realize that it doesn't really matter because I'm just going to be taking it off right away!

Tomorrow is also weigh-in day, and I'm planning on trying a new class at the Y called body pump. Big day!

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Step in Time!

Good evening, readers!

Today I took  my very first step class, BodyStep at the Y. It's a 12-song choreographed step routine. I was a little nervous trying something new (hence why I always stick to Zumba) but it actually turned out to be a pretty fun workout! I told the instructor I had never taken a step class before, and she was nice enough to give me some tips and explain some of the steps that she probably wouldn't have explained otherwise. I also asked some of the other ladies in the class what to expect, and that was really helpful. If you have a Y membership I would definitely recommend the BodyStep class! I was sweating so much by the end it was dripping in my eyes. The only part I didn't like was the small section with burpees. Gross.

Those are my rainbow sketchers, aka my absolute favorite shoes of all time. Not only are they super comfortable, but they match every outfit. Even geometric print spandex pants.

Because of that fabulous step class, I ended up with 16,200 steps for the day, and burned 3,200 calories. Bill was nice enough to pick me up Chipotle while I was at step class, which brings today's calorie total to 1,350. It would have been better if my new nemesis, guacamole, hadn't shown up at work. 

I spent my breaks today adding wedding dresses to my favorites list in preparation for dress shopping this weekend. I'm hopeful I'll find something I love, but I'm also a little nervous about not finding anything. I'm just hoping I don't get discouraged and start hating my body (because it's not my body's fault!) But that's why my support team will be there!

Tomorrow I have to go to the dentist and get 3 cavities filled. I swear to you I brush and floss twice a day, but somehow this has happened. I feel like the cavities are the  "thing I have to get through" to get to the fun part of the weekend. Hopefully it's quick and painless (both the cavities and the dress shopping!)

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Wedding Website!

Good evening, readers!

What an early morning it was! I got up at 4:45, went to the gym for an hour, then got ready and went to work. On the way to work I bought two energy drinks and drank them throughout the day. Now I feel like I have so much energy I will never get to sleep!

So instead of going to bed early, like I thought I would, I spent some time working on our wedding website!

It's nothing fancy yet, and everything on that site is subject to change, specifically ceremony/reception time. But if you want, you can check it out here:

Kayti & Bill's Wedding Website

We are so far ahead of the game that there isn't a lot we can put on there yet. We haven't registered, we haven't taken any photos, we don't have all the information for the hotel shuttles and things like that. But you CAN make a hotel reservation in our room block if you so choose. Just check out the accommodations section under "details."

So that was kind of fun to work on today! You know what's NOT fun? Day 3 of the hostage situation (aka work). Today I was training someone, which I actually enjoyed, but it's a lot of time on the computer, which means a lot of time not getting my steps in. Thus I only took 13,200 steps and burned 3100 calories. Luckily I ate pretty lightly today, and only consumed about 1150 calories. I got this delicious barbecue pulled turkey from the UofM meat and cheese lab. I don't even like barbecue sauce but this stuff is good! I just eat it without a bun and it's a great low cal/high protein snack!

I think tomorrow I'm going to try the BodyStep class at the Y. Wish me luck!

Until then, readers.

Kayti

April Showers

Good evening, readers!

I love rest day. I get to go to bed early :)

Today was just another one of those normal days, except I didn't work out today. I did walk to and from work (about 3.5 miles round trip) so at least I did something to earn my steps today. And as I was walking, I took this photo:

And I took it because I was struck by how green the grass is and how the trees are blooming in such beautiful colors. I sincerely hope our wedding day looks just like this next year, because it's amazing.

Not the best day for me diet and exercise wise, but it wasn't terrible. I took 12,000 steps and burned 3,000 calories, while consuming 1400. I ate a little too much today, but I was in such a bad mood when I got home that Bill just had to take me out for a little treat.

But otherwise a pretty boring day. I'm thinking about taking some new classes at the Y. Anyone have any recommendations? I was thinking of Bodyflow, Tabata, or spin? 

I worked on the wedding website a little bit today, so that should be ready to share soon. Otherwise all is well in wedding-planning land! According to my checklist, I don't have anything to do until July!

And I'm off to bed, as I'm getting up at 5 to workout.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Envy.

Good evening, readers!

Has anyone else seen every episode of Gilmore Girls at least 6 times? I'm currently watching teeny-tiny Lorelai and Rory prepare for movie night, which involves pizza, cookie dough, cereal, whipped cream, and oreos. And all I can feel right now is envy. What I wouldn't give to be able to eat like them AND be as skinny as them? #jackpot

Sometimes, when I'm out at a restaurant and I see someone eating a big bowl of pasta, a deep dish pizza, or a decadent dessert, I get envious. But I have to keep remembering WHY I'm abstaining from those foods for a year, and then give myself a tiny treat when I get home. Because I can TOTALLY do this. Especially with all of you helping!

Today was just another day in a long stretch of days where nothing exciting is happening. I took 18,000 steps, burned 3400 calories, and consumed 1240. I had this really awesome salad from Panera with red onion, avocado, hard-boiled egg, cucumber, and an herb vinaigrette dressing. Highly recommend.

At Zumba tonight it was our instructor's very first time teaching a Zumba class. She did well for a first-timer, I think, but the whole thing got me thinking... maybe I could do that? I know it's a long shot and all, but I love to dance and choreograph, and I am not nearly as afraid of looking stupid in front of people as I used to be. That might be something to look in to.

Nothing new in wedding-planning land... we're so far ahead there probably won't be a lot of news in this department for a few months, really. 

And finally, I am looking forward to tomorrow immensely. Tuesday is rest day.

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Genius.

Good evening, readers!

It's going to be a short and sweet post tonight because I find that I'm in a good routine right now, but that doesn't really make for entertaining blog posts.

This morning I got up and went to the Y at about 7:30. I got home at 9, showered, and then promptly fell back asleep for two hours. My whole plan of getting up early on Sunday so that I would go to bed early and get more sleep for the beginning of the work week was clearly unsuccessful today.

Besides my morning workout, the rest of the 13,000 steps I took today came from shopping and dog walking. You wouldn't believe how many steps you get when you're trying on clothes!

I only burned 2900 calories today, but I only ate about 1100, so it's all good in that department. I even had a vanilla cone from McDonalds (ice cream is my weakness).

Yesterday I mentioned that I would share my measurement stats with you. Unfortunately it seems as though I have misplaced my sewing tape measure. No accurate measurements can be had with a construction tape measure, trust me. Why? Because I tried.

Not super accurate, so we'll get that next week after I buy a new tape measure.

And that's all for now. Routine is good, but not entertaining.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Weigh In: Week 8

Good evening, readers.

I have to say this week I totally crushed it.

I lost 2 lbs, bringing my total to 12 lbs. I actually forgot to measure myself this week, so I will have those results for you tomorrow.

Today was a beautiful day, no? This morning I went to Zumba at the Y. I finally remembered to take a picture of my Zumba class!

It's not the greatest photo, but I just wanted to illustrate how crowded it is. The class starts at 9:10 am, and when I got there at 9 there was a line just to get in the door. It's kind of crazy how popular this class is, but it is a killer workout.

And I do mean killer. After I got home from Zumba I had a ridiculous headache and was forced to take a nap. I think it was just from doing so much cardio and being dehydrated, but it went away after drinking a ton of water and sleeping for about 30 minutes.

My other exercise today came in the form of assisting our friend Jen clean out her garage and spare bedroom. All of that added up to 15,000 steps and 3,200 calories burned, and it was fun!

Confession time: I didn't track my food today. Normally I'm very diligent about it, but sometimes you just need a break from that stuff. I can kind of estimate it by looking back on what I ate today:

Breakfast: Smoothie - 220

Lunch: popcorn - 150

Snack: Chips and salsa - 150

Dinner: Cheeseburger - 350
Fries - 140
White wine - 140

Dessert: Skinny cow ice cream sandwich - 150

So about 1200 calories... not bad!

I am happy that I can instinctively make good choices without having to rely on apps to keep me in check. I am also happy that I have made more progress this week. Hopefully we can keep it up!

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

How important is sleep?

Good evening, readers!

Another fabulous day on the books, wasn't it? This post will definitely be short and sweet, because it's late and not a lot of exciting things happened today.

Somehow, though, I ended up taking over 20,000 steps today! It seems like a lot, considering I walked TO work from by brother's house, but hitched a ride back to my care after work. Bill and I did work out at the Y today, an hour of cardio, but it wasn't any more than usual. Oh well, it's kind of nice to hit 20,000 steps; it reminds you that your body can do anything!

Food today was pretty good. My breakfast of a banana and an energy drink has become pretty standard. Sometimes, if I'm hungry, I'll eat a bowl of oatmeal at work. I haven't been hungry lately, though, and I don't mind saving the calories.

Lunch was my super extra boring predictable lunch: Turkey sandwich, yogurt, apple.

Bill and I seem to have a new tradition: Friday night workout, followed by Culvers. I had a garden fresco salad with chicken, which was super yummy. But I gave in when I saw that the flavor of the day was Reese's, so I had a scoop of that as well.

Thanks to the frozen custard I ended up eating just under 1400 calories and burned 3800! That's darn good for a Friday.

And I'm off, because my eyes are drooping. And I know that weight loss and sleep are related somehow... like somehow if you don't get enough sleep you will also gain weight, but I can't remember how it works. Does anyone have any insight on this? I can see how I would be a lot less motivated to work out if I was tired all the time, but otherwise how much does your sleep effect your fitness level? Basically I'm asking: Is a good night's sleep really that important?

I am off to contemplate while falling asleep myself.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Workout Buddies!

Good evening, readers!

As the day comes to a close, I find myself pondering many deep, deep thoughts. Specifically, why is guac so good? And why did I eat so much of it at lunch today?

Ugh dieting error. I am currently eating my light dinner of chicken noodle soup as penance for the guac and tortilla chips I ate earlier today. I just keep reminding myself that I didn't eat a dozen donuts, and I really didn't eat THAT much of it. Definitely not a whole avocado's worth of guac, even though that's how I logged in it my food diary. And as far as splurges go, it could have been much, much worse. Avocados are good for you, right?

Anyway, with that little mishap I have ended up consuming about 1300 calories today. It helps that my dinner is only 300 calories worth of soup.

Exercise today was fantastic, thanks in part to this fabulous lady:

That's my good friend Alex. We worked at Target together a long time back and have been friends ever since. Tonight we went to the Y on her side of town and took a Zumba class together. Exercise always seems easier and faster when you have a workout buddy!

I ended up taking over 16,000 steps and burning 3,100 calories. Not bad for a Thursday when I usually just want to sit around and watch Grey's Anatomy.

Nothing exciting to report from wedding-planning land. Except that we've penciled in a date to take engagement photos! So that's something to look forward to.

You know what else we can look forward to? Friday!

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Early To Bed, Early To Rise

Good evening, readers!

Would you look at that, 70 degrees outside today! Too bad I spend most of my days stuck in a concrete box (aka work) and don't really get to enjoy it. I hope someone did!

Cool picture of a Minneapolis sunrise, huh? I don't know who took this picture, but it definitely wasn't me. Even though I saw the sun rise this morning.

This morning I got up at 5 and went to the Y to workout. No, I'm not crazy. Getting up that early is tough. Really tough. But once you get to the gym, it's worth it. I love having my workout done early, because it makes the rest of the day seem so smooth. It's nice that there is little gym traffic at 5am, so I can always get the machines I want and don't have to wait in line for the water fountain.

Today I ended up taking 17,500 steps and burning 3,250 calories. I consumed 1265 calories so far, although I made some more of that guacamole earlier and I should probably sample it...

Over in wedding-planning land, I have  a very serious question: Does anyone know a salon, preferably in or around Woodbury, that does wedding hair and makeup for a reasonable price? I normally get my hair cut at Spalon Montage, and I love my stylist there. I know they would do a small wedding party, but I'm concerned about the price.

Also, is it customary to go to the salon or do the stylists come to you? I feel like this is one part of the wedding process that I have no clue about. Help!

And I know it is only 8:30, but when you get up at 5 going to bed before 9 is perfectly reasonable, right?

Random thought: My blog has hit 3,000 views! Thanks to everyone who is keeping up with our adventures! We still have a 374 days to go!

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

New Members!

Good evening, readers!

Just another marvelous day! Sorry this post is so late, but we had a big update on Destiny (the video game we play) and we spent most of the evening playing that. But while we were downloading the update we ran over to the YMCA (remember it was rest day) and made our membership official!

Yeah I was trying to wink and failing.

But there's our brand new membership cards! I'm really excited to try out some more of the classes and have our personal training sessions.

Otherwise it was just a pretty normal day. I walked to and from work, and ended up with about 13,500 steps and burned 3100 calories. I ate pretty well, consuming 1,350 calories. We ordered Chinese for dinner so as to spend more time playing our game, but I just had rice, chicken, and celery so it was pretty healthy.

And that's about all the excitement for today, I suppose.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Seriously Short and Sweet

Good evening, readers!

I know the last time I said I would make my post "short and sweet" I failed miserably and tangented for quite some time. I swear this time it's true.

I'm starting to get into a pretty good habit of going to the Y every day. I mean I've gone 4 days in a row, so that's a good start, right? I know they say that it takes 21 days to form a new habit, although it's scientifically proven that it actually takes 66 days. So either way this 60 minutes of exercise a day isn't a habit yet, but it's a start!

I ended up taking 17,000 steps and burning 3400 calories today. Zumba kicked my butt, and my arms are super sore from weight lifting, but it feels good at the end of the day.

Also, I feel like Zumba should be paying me for all the free advertising I've been giving them lately!

I ate well today, consuming 1400 calories. Or at least I will be up to 1400 after I eat the dark chocolate Hershey bar that is sitting next to me right now :). 

Tomorrow is my rest day, and I am looking forward to a day where I don't have to get up early or get home late because I'm exercising. It feels good, but there are only so many hours in the day and 12 of them are devoted to work.

And of course I was in such a hurry to get to Zumba that I forgot to bring my phone with me and take a photo. Of course.

In wedding-planning land today, we still haven't quite convinced Matt Blakeman to remain appropriately attired throughout the entire ceremony and reception, but we've got 345 days in which to convince him it's for the best.

See, short and sweet today. And since I don't have a photo to share, everyone should just imagine skinny me and Bill hanging out on a beach on April 25th, 2017. K thanks.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Why are we planning everything so early?

Good evening, readers!

It's been a pretty fabulous Sunday, if I do say so. The weather is on the upswing and all is right with the world.

This morning at church I was "sworn in" (shall we say) as an official member of Woodbury United Methodist Church. Bill's grandfather was also made a member today, and Bill had to stand up there with us because I said so.

And while this is basically the world's most unflattering photo of me, I'm learning to live with it while trying to change it.

After church we went to Bill's aunt & uncle's house for lunch, where I "indulged" in a giant plate of fruit covered in everyone's favorite condiment, whipped cream. Don't worry, that actually has a lot less calories than you would think.

Oh, before church, at about 7am, I went to the Y and did an hour of elliptical. And of course I forgot to take a photo, because that's my MO recently. I'm incredibly sore from my workout yesterday. Moving hurts.

For dinner Bill grilled brats, which I actually ate on a bun for once. And it was delicious! I also had a heaping helping of steamed broccoli with parmesan cheese, one of my favorite side dishes.

Today's stats:
13,000 steps taken
2700 calories burned
1250 calories consumed

Wedding-planning land hasn't been visited in a while, has it? On Friday Bill went to the Haberdashery again, where they basically told him to come back in November, because why are we planning everything so early?

I've been e-mailing with our travel agent lately about our honeymoon, but since it's over a year out we can't book flights yet, because why are we planning everything so early?

Apparently it's too early to book everything for an April 2017 wedding. Who knew?

Well, hopefully tomorrow I will be a little less sore and can finally remember to take a photo at the Y.

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Weigh In: Week 7

Good evening, readers!

Happy Saturday. It may have been cold, but at least it wasn't snowing. But it doesn't really matter to me, the YMCA is heated :)

This morning I got up at 8 and went to a 9:10 am Zumba class at the Y. I love that there are a ton of different classes to choose from that are easy to work into my schedule. I don't love that the class I took was very crowded. We were in a dance studio, and you really couldn't stretch your arms out all the way without touching someone. I'm hoping that's just because it was Saturday, so I'm going to try again on Monday. 

I have to say, though, I definitely worked up a sweat! And I did arm-focused strength training prior to Zumba, so I ended up having over 10,000 steps by the time I left the Y.

On a random note, halfway through Zumba class my normal Zumba instructor came up to me and said hi! Apparently she sometimes takes other Zumba classes to get ideas, but when I saw her I had a split second of guilt, like I was cheating on her class or something.

Anyway, on to the reason you are all here: weigh in time.

Drumroll please...

I lost 1 pound this week!

I'm really happy about that, because I've been trying to be more strict about my eating and working out, and it seems to be paying off. So far I've lost 10lbs total, though no inches. But that should come now that I'm strength training and working out more. If I could just lose 1lb a week until my wedding, that's 54 lbs! Could you imagine? Hopefully we won't have to just imagine, but make it a reality.

I did a good job eating today, too. I had a veggie delight sub from Subway, so I know I got my veggies in. I had homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner, and I treated myself to a slice of homemade banana bread for dessert. I ended up consuming about 1220 calories and burning 3000.

Looking good, folks! Now lets turn this fantasy into reality!

Another random side note: I keep meaning to take a picture of Bill and me working out at the Y but I keep forgetting. Hopefully tomorrow! This seems fitting, though:

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti

Date Night!

Good evening, readers!

You're going to be so proud of me today - it was like the best day ever!

I'll start by saying I took 17,800 steps and burned 3450 calories. A lot of this was done by doing 65 minutes of elliptical at the YMCA. That's right, we are on our first day of our YMCA trial membership, and we're putting it to good use! Bill came with, and we made it our Friday evening "date night" to go work out. To add a little romance, we went to my favorite restaurant afterward:

That's Bill's "You made me work out on Friday night and now you're taking my photo while I'm trying to eat?" face. But I secretly think he enjoyed the whole ordeal.

And yes, Culver's is my favorite restaurant. They just built this one about a mile from our house, and this is the first time we've been there. It did not disappoint! I even got free ice cream from the manager under the guise of joining the "quality control club." I encourage everyone to go there and see if you can get free custard, too!

My eating was impeccable today, bolstered by the fact that all the easter candy at work is finally gone. I consumed 1470 calories, but I burned off so many from exercise that I needed a few more today.

Speaking of food, I've had a few requests for my killer guac recipe, so here it is. Shout out to my coworker, Mandie, for this recipe.

Ingredients:
2 avocados
1/4 red onion, diced
1/2 roma tomato, diced
2 tsp garlic powder
2 Tbsp chilantro, chopped
lime juice, 2 Tbsp
salt & pepper

Directions:
Scoop out soft part of avocado and put in bowl. Add onion and garlic powder. Stir for about 30 seconds (if you like it chunky) or longer (if you like it smooth).  Add cilantro (I used about 2 tablespoons chopped) and tomato (to keep the guac thick, scoop out the seedy part of the tomato and just use the outside) and stir again.
Finally, add lime juice, salt, and pepper to taste. Stir until desired consistency, and eat with chips, celery, Chipotle, whatever!

It's seriously super easy. I can't believe I wasted my entire life NOT making guac at home. And I swear to you all this is the last time I'm going to mention my newfound love for guac... maybe.

Tomorrow is another big weigh-in day. It's probably too soon to see a lot of results from the positive changes I've been making, but I still have to weigh in anyway.

Until then, readers.

Kayti

Sleep? There's a nap for that.

Good evening, readers.

Tonight's post is going to be short and sweet (hopefully, sometimes I ramble.)

The only exciting news I have to report is that Bill and I finally went to the YMCA (hold your village people jokes, please)! We took a tour, talked to some of the people that worked there, and got the pricing information. We are going to pick up our temporary passes tomorrow, so we get a week to try it out and see if we like it before committing.

And can you believe, Bill even said he would get up at 5 am to work out with me some days? I have absolutely no faith in that actually happening, but it was nice of him to offer.

Otherwise today was just a normal day. I did my walk to work and back, did Cize in the morning, and followed my diet pretty well. I ended up taking 14,200 steps and burning just over 3,000 calories. I ate about 1420 calories. That's a little higher than normal, but still pretty good. It definitely puts me in the caloric deficit category, anyway.

PS - I'm totally in love with guacamole. I can't believe I spent the first 27 years of my life not eating it! I got a salad from Chipotle for dinner (just lettuce, veggies, chicken, and salsa) and put my homemade guac on it. And I have to tell you, I didn't think Chipotle could get any better until that! It was freaking amazing and I am mourning all the times I ate Chipotle without guac.

See that? It's a tangent.

Anyway, thanks for listening to all that rambling. Nothing much happened in wedding-planning land today, except a few more emails with our travel agent about honeymoon destinations and costs. 

Lastly, after writing this post, I've decided that "to tangent" should be a verb (not just a noun and an adjective). It's like rambling, except with a more pointed direction. Tangeting. 

And random thoughts aside, I'm off to bed!

(Above: Accurate representation of me for the first 60-90 minutes of work every day)

Okay one more random thought: How in the heck do you know how much sleep you actually need? I usually get about 7 hours on weeknights and 9-10 on weekends. I always feel tired during the week, though, and I can never wake up naturally. I live by that alarm clock. I thought bodies were supposed to adjust to this kind of thing? Or do I just truly need 9-10 hours of sleep a night to be a functioning human being? Any sleep experts out there have any ideas? Because that seems like way too many hours for someone my age to be needing!

Alright I'm seriously going this time.

Until tomorrow, readers.

Kayti