October

[fenchurch]

I can't believe how cold it's gotten here. I'm so glad I packed a jacket and a hoodie... and even more glad that I keep some winter gloves and a scarf in my car's 12-hour kit (once the temperatures drop below about 50, I *have* to wear a scarf over my face or I'm guaranteed to get bronchitis). Because of the sudden cold snap, I went out today and bought two pairs of pants, since all I'd brought with me were capris (technically, this is because they're all I own that currently fit and they're already getting baggy... a few more weeks and I wouldn't have been wearing them anyway). Had a funny moment where I went to try on some jeans and automatically grabbed an XL pair, then on a whim picked up an L pair as well. Guess which ones I bought! :-) And I'm beginning to think I should have tried on a Medium pair... I've been wearing these all day and they're actually pretty baggy, as well. Wow. I'm also going to have to retire some of the shirts I brought with me, they're getting so big on me now they're almost not wearable. I still can't believe how well the weight-loss is going!

The snow today fell for about an hour but never stuck to the ground... although my mom says that they're practically having a blizzard over in northeastern Oregon. Definitely NOT looking forward to potentially driving through the Blue Mountains with snow on the ground. Speaking of which, they're predicting anywhere from 1-6" accumulation here this weekend. I still can't believe it. Apparently, this isn't bizarrely early for here, but it's still not a common time of year for it to start.

Tomorrow I think I'm going to start working on the pattern pieces for my Halloween costume. I've gotten some great ideas from drhorribledress, so hopefully I can pull this off with a minimal amount of frustration. I think I may have enough time to do a mockup in cheap fabric first, to make sure I'm getting it right.

Comments

[geojlc.livejournal.com]

ahh. Much becomes clear. Maybe the storm is due to the fact that we'll be driving from Portland to Provo on Saturday to take my sister to the MTC... My dad is SO not excited about driving through snow in the Blues...

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Oh, that's going to be fun! I don't know about northeastern Oregon, but we're supposed to get the bulk of the snow here on Saturday... so I would suspect you're going to be in for a fun drive over the mountains. :-(

So where is your sister going?

[geojlc.livejournal.com]

Off to Nebraska. And it will be an interesting trip. We have the chains all packed up just in case...

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

*facepalm*

You know, I don't think I put the chains in my car before I left.

Ah, well... if it looks like I need them, I can always pick up a set at Les Schwab. Then I just have to remember to return them for a refund if I don't use them (and if I do use them, then they were worth it!).

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

Your folks are in NE oregon? Where? Mine lived in Hermiston for years-- until April.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

She lives in Elgin, which is about 25 miles outside LaGrande. So she's pretty much right smack dab in the middle of the Blue Mountains.

[zanthinegirl.livejournal.com]

I know Elgin well. One of my Aunts lived in Joseph for ages, and I dated a guy from there back in college. Hee! Small world!

[petzipellepingo.livejournal.com]

We're going to be almost 80 this weekend so once again - the weather is completely crazy.

[ozma914.livejournal.com]

Good for you on the clothing size!

I have to wear gloves when the temperature approaches 50, and a hat that covers my ears when it's much below that. Remember, kids, watch carefully for signs of frostbite when you're out playing or you'll pay for it the rest of your life. :-(

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Yikes! And ouch!

[rosiewook.livejournal.com]

You are SO rockin' the weight loss. I pray your success falls upon me! :)

And dang. That is a bit early for snow; even where you are.

[fenchurche.livejournal.com]

Thanks! It still keeps taking me by surprise... I think it's all in the mindset. Like I said, I just automatically grabbed the XL pair of pants... but at least it's finally starting to occur to me immediately that I should try the Large. It may take a bit before I start in with "Or maybe the Medium" though. In the mornings, I'll still hold up a size L t-shirt and think "there's no friggin' way I'll even be able to get my arms through that thing, much less wear it in public." And yet, several of my Large t-shirts are starting to get a bit loose.

I'll definitely try sending the weight-loss mojo your way! Personally, I think it's all a matter of everything being in perfect alignment or something, because there's no way it should be this easy.

[zola.livejournal.com]

I truly think it has a lot to do with the exercise. When I first started doing all my yard work, I actually gained a couple of pounds, but I talked to a body builder who was kind enough to explan the biology of what was going on so that I wouldn't give up and get depressed, and he made me understand that I HAD to eat.

So all of a sudden I'm eating more than I have in years, and I'm not gaining any weight when formerly I'd be limited to one small meal a day just to *maintain*. And though the scale was staying pretty much locked at the old weight, my clothes started to fit a lot better. It turned out I'd lost five inches off my waist and four inches everywhere else, for all that the scale didn't change.

So fast forward to now. We're coming into fall, usually I have to watch like a hawk not to put on five or ten pounds. This month I've already lost three pounds.

Again, it's the muscle spurring this, as my friend explained--since my activity is naturally slowing down due to the time of year and less mowing etc to do, my body is releasing some more of the fat it was hanging on to "just in case" since I'm still eating well but not excessively. It means my caloric intake is just right, maybe a tad too little but not enough to put my body in starvation mode when it hoards every calorie it can get.

I'm still getting enough exercise to maintain the muscle I built over the summer, I'm just not in an active "building" phase, and since I stopped starving myself, my body now recognizes that it has plenty of supply and plenty of reserve for winter, and it's jettisoning what it now sees as "extra". This could be five pounds, it could be twenty, but I'm still going to end up with a lower proportion of fat regardless.

Just like you say, "there's no way it should be this easy" but it all began the day I stopped looking at calorie restriction and diet and said "It's not the number on the scale I care about as much as being healthy enough to be be able to do the things I want to do."

Once I started actually taking care of myself, it seemed like the rest started taking care of itself with no effort whatsoever on my part other than getting the roomies to eat any goodies we may have so they aren't sitting around tempting me for days, LOL!

Everybody's situation is different, but you and I both seem to have vigorous exercise and a certain amount of strength training in common, and that really does seem to make all the difference.

[bandcandy-peach.livejournal.com]

Congrags on the weight loss!!! I have to say I am somewhat envious of the snow and cold weather I very much miss that part of living in upstate NY as I am much more of a cold weather/winter person then hot weather/summer person. Being back in Oklahoma we don't get a lot of snow or that really cold weather and summers can be brutal. Am enjoying fall though.

You will have to post pics of the Halloween costume!

[pmgoose.livejournal.com]

Wow, congrats on the weight loss!

Hope you can avoid driving in snow. *HUGS*

[saifai.livejournal.com]

Suffering snow down here in Boise. Very weird for it to snow this early. The leaves on the trees are still bright green (only a few straggling red ones). It was wicked cold when I went in to work this morning. I hadn't even bothered to wear warm clothes. I'd hate to be on a trip for it to happen unexpectedly. Sounds like you're handling things well there though.

Congrats on getting to buy smaller sizes! I'd buy the smaller one when you can though. I remember once when I lost a bunch of weight back in college. I had actually had a pair of pants drop right off me and onto the floor as I'm walking down a hallway. Luckily only three people saw it happen, and they were all friends. LOL - don't let it happen to you (though honestly, it's a the best thing that can happen on the scale of embarrassing things).

[zotel.livejournal.com]

Mmm snow! I can't wait for it to snow here so MG can play. Methinks they should make a "trial cloth" for things, just strong enough to try on and sew. Dunno if they tried that and didn't sell tho. Congrats on the shrinkin wardrobe btw.