Breakfast this morning was the result of not having enough eggs to do our normal breakfast. Michael scrambled the last two eggs and split that between the two of us. We each had 1/2 a Sandwich thin with cream cheese and 3 turkey sausage links.
I also had one cup of coffee with cream. Calories for breakfast today: 310.
Yesterday was a beautiful day. Shorts and t-shirt weather! Finally! We spent some time doing yard work. I did some weeding and pruned the rose bush. I decided that when I win the lottery, the first person I’m hiring is a Gardner! Weeding is the worst. You spend all this time pulling weeds and mowing grass just for it all to grow back a week later.
Flowers Blooming
Today I woke up sore from weeding. Not good this close to Reach the Beach! I did my Foam Roller last night before bed and that really helped my quads. But the weeding hurt my hamstrings. 😦
Pretty Day
Today is very wet. No running for me today! The rest of this week is supposed to be pretty nice though. I hope it’s dry on Saturday!
Losing Weight & Shopping Advice
Something I want to address about weight loss is the cost of buying a new wardrobe. When I started losing weight I didn’t buy new clothes in smaller sizes until around the 25 pound mark. I was having a hard time keeping my jeans on and decided I just needed to suck it up and buy some new clothes.
This began the two year process of having to buy clothes MONTHLY. I kid you not. I lost so much weight that I’d have to buy some new clothes each month. Belts did not work! I’d wear a belt to keep my jeans up but they’d be so baggy you’d swear I was wearing hammer pants. 🙂
The summer I reached the 50 pound loss mark was the summer of spending a LOT of money. The weight was coming off pretty quickly and so many of the new clothes I bought didn’t fit anymore! Seriously, I’d buy a few new shirts, wear them a few times and then they didn’t fit anymore. There were even clothes that still had the tag on them that I was never able to wear before going down another size!
And I will admit that when I got to a smaller size (size 10 and 8) I finally ENJOYED shopping for clothes. It was no longer a depressing event. I was able to shop in the Petites Sections, eventually I fit into the Juniors Sections! I had a great time going shopping for clothes, so I probably did it more often as a result of that, too.
How much did all of this cost? A lot. I wasted a lot of money on clothes. In two years, I estimate I spent around $2,000+ on clothes. What a waste.
My suggestion to people trying to lose weight is to buy as much as you can at Goodwill/Thrift Stores. Especially if you go to nicer neighborhoods in your area and shop at the thrift stores there. You’d be surprised at how nice some of the stuff is.
In Portland, there’s a yuppy/hip area called Hawthorne with lots of “groovy” thrift stores. You can easily find cute, hip stuff there. I wish I had thought of these tips before I spent all that money on brand new clothes!
When the new clothes I bought no longer fit, I passed them off to my neighbor and a few friends. My neighbor was also trying to lose weight so she was going down in sizes right behind me! 🙂
QUESTION: What are some tips you can pass on to people trying to lose weight?
110 Pounds and Counting Blog 
That is a great idea. I am about ready for new pants, they stay up due to my hips, but look baggy, like I am hiding something in them! But I don’t know that I’d be able to find them at a second hand store yet, it would probably need to be a size 20 and you usually can’t find that size at the “Trendy” ones that are all over Seattle as well (red light, buffalo, etc). I usually go to Old Navy’s Sale Rack, because the clothes on sale are cheap and also pretty disposable – for me, means, lasts about a season anyways.
Those are good suggestions. Places like Ross, Marshall’s, TJMaxx, etc. are usually pretty cheap.
These are such great suggestions. I love reading about your journey. You are such an inspiration!
I have two ideas. First, save some money for every pound you lose, like $5 a pound. Then when you hit 10 pounds, you already have $50 aside. Even if its $1 or $2 per pound, every bit helps.
Second, buy things that will last across sizes, like dresses. That is what has helped me not go into severe debt while losing!
Those are some really great tips, Beth! Wish I had thought of those years ago. 🙂
And swap with friends! Or ask who has clothes that don’t fit anymore!
Beth has a super fun idea too. It is fun to shop for those new clothes and see your work pay off
Such a great idea…ebay baby! My all time favorite jeans are from Ebay..$5.99!!
All awesome ideas. I had never really thought about this aspect of weight loss before–great to give people tips b/c the idea didnt even cross my mind.
What a good post! I agree swapping with friends helps and its cheap too. Its amazing how clothes start to look so baggy just shows how all the hard work has paid off!!!!
Agreed!!
Thanks so much for the suggestion – I always forget about the fun thrift stores as a shopping option, and should totally check them out! I’ve been having some serious trouble with my wardrobe lately, yet stores just don’t have any cute styles that I’m inspired to buy right now in my new size.
I strange phenomenon I realized was that after I lost all my weight, suddenly the new “style” in clothes was the Maternity look. Um, I didn’t work this hard to lose the weight to wear baggy clothes!
I love thrift stores and consignment stores. We have tons here and I live in an affluent neighborhood (I am the poor girl in the group) so we always have great second hand stores.
Hold the phones; these are really good suggestions! I’ve been wondering how I’m going to manage it, since my pants are starting to slide off and I know I have a long way to go until I reach my target size!
You might consider making a similar post as a sticky page up top–this is advice that a lot of people could use!
Thanks for the suggestion. I’ve been meaning to put together a page of “Top Posts” but just haven’t yet. I will be sure to add this one. 😉
Love these shopping tips! I have such a hard time with losing/gaining weight and feel like i’m always keeping a closet full of three girl’s wardrobes – just in case. And the the (sometimes) inevitable regain where I find myself sadly trudging around in the old pants. Anywho. I’m so glad we’ve found each other and thank you for your sweet and thoughtful comment on my blog yesterday : )
xox
I have no tips because I just had to buy new clothes because I’ve gained a lot of weight 😦 All my stuff is cute (to me!) though!