90 Days

It's been roughly 90 days since I started the upgrade. I'm 29lbs down and happy with where I am at. Last week I did a little bit of spring cleaning. Following my Virginia Jeans post, I realized that I have way too many jeans.

It was surprising to see that I own 8 pairs of jeans. I say surprising because I rarely wear them... mostly because they don't fit. The Virginia Jeans are loose but can still be worn without a belt. Four pairs don't fit at all. I tried on each of them and they could fit a small child in them as well as me. My belt could barely hold it up - I'm on the last notch. I had one pair that was a little tight... but close to being perfect. So I reduced this this stack to 4 pairs. I was really happy to get rid of clothes that I know I will never need again. :)

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Brittany Upgraded By The Numbers 

Starting Weight: 308.2 

Starting BMI: 48.3

Current Weight: 279.4

Current BMI: 43.8

Goal Weight: 160

Bad Brittany

News Flash: I am truly terrible to myself. I said some awful things in my head before stepping on the scale. Including, but not limited to, fat pig. I was sure that the scale was going to read a gain of a million pounds. Which I guess is reason for me to berate myself. But then I did step on the scale and I had lost a pound - in a week - which is my goal.

Eventually, I will have to learn to trust in the process and that being mean to myself is not going to help anything. The only goal of this whole upgrade is to be/get healthy. It's not healthy to call myself names. It's healthy to give myself credit where credit is due.

I've lost 28lbs in 3 months. That's an average of 9.3lbs per month... 2.15lbs per week... 0.3lbs per day. And that's compared to the 0lbs I lost last year and the year before that and any year that I didn't even try. Pretty damn good I think.

Awww.. Happy Easter

Source: weknowmemes.com via Jordan on Pinterest

Slowly

Spring is coming slowly this year. But this is the forecast for the long weekend:

The funny thing is that you get so used to temperatures like 15... 20... 30... That anything above 40 degrees is like a HEAT WAVE. I used to laugh at the people wearing shorts on cold days... now I totally understand. If it hits 45 on Saturday, I'm going to melt. 

Speaking of melting... I took some pictures of the front and back yard on Tuesday. We're slowly getting there.

Blag Housekeeping Note

Since I went all 'public' and stuff with my desire to upgrade to Brittany 2.0, I've decided to import the posts onto this site and just add the tag Brittany Upgraded. If you get spammed anywhere from all the posts that get imported, my apologies. :P

Kitchen Adventures: Pork Chow Mein

This was our first recipe from Jamie Oliver that we tried to make. We spent a good portion of Saturday tracking down some of the ingredients for this dish. We dove deeper into the downtown Asian market which felt a bit like visiting another country.

Black Pepper, Kosher Salt, Reduced Sodium Soy Sauce, Sesame Oil, Hoisin Sauce, Pork Tenderloin, Broccoli (florets and chopped stalks), Dried Egg Noodles, Corn Starch, Ginger, Cilantro (leaves and chopped stems), Green Onion - (ignore the fruit bowl full oranges and apples :P)

This was a very quick meal to make. The majority of the time is spent chopping. Ian the sous chef  loves to do that! :) Once you start the actual cooking portion it goes very FAST. The noodles are cooked in about 3 minutes. The biggest revelation we had from this meal was the step that had us cook the broccoli with the noodles. It turned out fantastic... bright green, soft but not flimsy. The stir fry of pork and the remaining ingredients is done in a wok for about 5 minutes on high heat. You're constantly stirring and flipping. If you've ever watched the original Iron Chef, I felt like Chen Kinechi! Ian helped toss it... I was too scared to do that. :) 

This was the result. Yummy. I've never had chow mein anything and this was delicious. 

Adventures in Spice

Ian and I woke up from our winter slumber and discovered that both of us have been very bored with the meals we make. We cook dinner at home 95% of the time... and everything seemed so boring it was hard to choose what to make for the week. Two weekends ago, Ian discovered the Jamie Oliver app after watching his show '15 Minute Meals'. We made an extremely delicious dish on Saturday (post coming soon) and started an adventure in spice. 

I had told an Indian woman I work with about our interest and she has been bringing items for me to try. She is vegetarian but most of the dishes can have meat added. One dish she brought still makes my mouth water - simple boiled and sauteed vegetables in lots of spice called Pav Bhaji. Pav means bread, which you can have the vegetables (Bhaji) with. This morning she brought me every spice she used. I can't wait!

From left to right - Chili Powder from India (VERY bright red), turmeric powder,
coriander and cumin powder, garam masala, cumin seeds and mustard seeds

Virginia Jeans!

A few years ago, I bought a pair of jeans in Virginia. They were tight when I bought them but I liked how they fit in the legs. I wore them for a couple months and then they got to be just too tight to wear. I would consider them my one pair of 'skinny jeans'. I put them on this morning and I slipped right into them. They were easy to do up and still had lots of room - almost to the point of needing a belt. :)

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Brittany Upgraded By The Numbers 

Starting Weight: 308.2 

Starting BMI: 48.3

Current Weight: 281.4

Current BMI: 44.2

Goal Weight: 160

Could It Have Worked Out Better?

No!

Not only do I get to see these two crazy cats get married...

and see the best mom in the world....

but now I get to see this goofy kid,

his goofy older brother...

and these two knuckleheads.

I also get to fly in a nightclub.

Pretty sweet. I can't wait for May 29th. I need a vacation. :)

The Dress That Should Not Fit

I bought a dress online that was a last minute deal. I got it for about 60% off. It was a size smaller than my normal size; the measurements were on the small side as well. I was going to have it be motivation to fit into it by end of May. It arrived yesterday and when I held it up I thought there was small chance it would fit. 

Fuzzy Picture courtesy of Ian

It really shouldn't fit but it kind of does! It's a little snug in the middle and loose on top (my usual issue!) but it did zip up without any problems. Pretty cool. Hopefully by the end of May it will be nice and loose and I can cinch it with a belt or the tie it came with. :)

The Struggle

Today was a struggle. The last few days I've been up and down weight wise. This is, from everything I've read, completely normal. I just have to keep doing what I am doing and it will work out in the end. But in the middle of it, it's still very hard. It's hard to work through those dips in energy... when inexplicably you feel really tired. It's hard on the days that you eat and then feel like you could still down a whole side of cow without being full.

I went to the gym. Did strength training and a little cardio. At the very least I can say today that I tried.

Omg It's A Baby Beaver

Source: imgur.com via Ali on Pinterest

DO ALL THE THINGS

Let's face the facts. There is no football. Ians get bored when there is no football or non-spring training baseball. We live in a house that is mostly a blank canvas. At some point an Ian will wake up in the middle of winter and say... "we must DO ALL THE THINGS". 

It is the job of a Brittany to just let it happen. That is exactly what I did! Ian woke up last Sunday and decided it was the day he was going to do every project ever. He put up curtain rods, hung the drapes, drilled holes in the entertainment center and planned out future projects. He was busy most of the day... and for a majority of the time I just walked behind him cleaning up. The following pictures are the results. On a side note, trying to take pictures of windows in the winter is hard as hell. The blinding snow confused my little point and shoot. I can't wait to get a real camera that can handle such shots!

We put up the same rod and drapes in the living room and dinette. We started to switch out the lampshades for the Ikea ones... just to add a little pattern to the room.

The dining room turned out very nice. It was really hard to imagine drapes in any of the rooms but the dining room actually looks finished! It's not and needs about 3k in decor... but that's besides the point! :) 

Again, photographing the windows was really hard... lights on? lights off? day? night? Here's the dining room with the lights on. It's so pretty!

While he had the drill out, he made the holes in the entertainment center - one for the digital picture frame and remote control charging base and then a couple air holes for the side that heats up when the doors are closed. Big thanks to Ian "The Tool Man" Matheson. He said he has a lot of "project inertia". It takes him awhile to get off the ground but once he gets going there's no stopping him. Personally, I can't wait for spring... and crazy project Ian. :)

Need A Los Toltecos Visit

Source: studybreaks.com via Jordan on Pinterest

My Passport Is Spying On Me

I had my passport renewed with my married name. The first thing I noticed was that it was VERY stiff. The cover is pretty thick plastic. But then I saw this. Pretty sure it's recording our conversations. (This post is not sponsored by Pepsi. :P)

For Future Reference

Source: themetapicture.com via Deanna on Pinterest

I Want To Play With An Otter!

A Little Slice Of Home

Ian surprised me with a visit to Target on Saturday. He said I had waited so patiently for it to open.... :P

It was everything I had hoped it would be! I found the next piece of furniture I will buy. For the loft. I don't care what anyone says. I love it. So much. 

I had no intention to buy anything. But $149 later... :) We walked out with a small piece art for the loft, small white shelves for the ensuite, a gray bamboo frame for the entertainment center and a double griddle pan that Ian has wanted since we moved in.

I used my new Target RedCard and saved $7. Wellllll worth it. :D It was the first of many future Target visits. <3

As You Wish

Source: funny-quotesetc.blogspot.com via Casie on Pinterest

25 Down

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Brittany Upgraded By The Numbers 

Starting Weight: 308.2 

Starting BMI: 48.3

Current Weight: 283.2

Current BMI: 44.4

Goal Weight: 160

I Love This

Manatees are the best.

Source: imgur.com via Jordan on Pinterest

Not My Reaction

I am not sure this would be my reaction...

Max Quacks: Getting Physical

Alternate title: He's a maniac... maniac.. on the floor.

He Has Otter Arthritis :(

Air Eddie:


 

No Fluke

I'm pretty happy today. Today I have come to accept that my weight loss is not some fluke. It's not water weight. It's not something that is going to slip away from me. It's hard work. It's slightly changing what I eat. It's definitely changing the amount I eat... and it's caring. I have moved past the 20lb lost mark and I'm at 21.4lbs lost. I pretty much have no self control and I'm weighing myself almost every day. At some point this will be bad. But I'm past caring about that. Weighing myself every day is more motivation. I fluctuate a pound here... a pound there.. but then there will be a smaller number like today. I'm logging all the smaller numbers and forgetting the larger numbers. The notch up on the chart below was my Puerto Rico trip - I quickly lost it.

I'm losing roughly 2 1/4 pounds a week.. which is more than my 1 pound goal. The best part is - I'm eating. I don't deny myself anything. If I really want it, then I'll have it. But I'll have 2 instead of 4.... or half a cup instead of a cup... or the light version instead of the full fat version. I've eaten pizza, McDonald's (don't care what people say... the breakfast sandwiches are good), french fries, and ice cream. I have smaller portions of them but I still have them. I have strawberries, apples, ORANGES, and all the vegetables I can eat. I'm also drowning myself in water and spend most of the time peeing. But I feel better. :) 

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Brittany Upgraded By The Numbers 

Starting Weight: 308.2 

Starting BMI: 48.3

Current Weight: 286.8

Current BMI: 44.9

Goal Weight: 160

Surprise! (Mug #53)

A lot of the mugs I get have come from a person I work with. I pretty much know her travel schedule so I was surprised when she pulled out this mug from Poland! Her significant other travels a lot and he happened to be Krakow, Poland for a work meeting. This city doesn't have the greatest history...

Per Krakow's Wiki page:

After the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany at the start of World War II, Kraków was turned into the capital of Germany's General Government. The Jewish population of the city was moved into a walled zone known as the Kraków Ghetto, from which they were sent to extermination camps such as Auschwitz and the concentration camp at Płaszów.