2 loaves of bread

i heard somewhere that a loaf of bread represents the volume of weight you lose when you lose 5 pounds. double this and you get what i've lost in 5 weeks.

i imagine tacking on these slices of bread all over my body. that's what i used to look like? pretty interesting visual, no?

this week, i played things differently. i upped my calories to 1780 daily. at first i had a problem eating so much, but my pms cravings took care of that by the middle of the week. upping my calories kept me sane and i've been able to at least maintain at a steady 183. i'm definitely considering that a victory. my exercise has decreased this week by virtue of the rain and my overall crappy sluggishness. but things should turn around this weekend in terms of weather and mood. the forecast says we'll have sun until tuesday so i have to make the most of the next four days.

i need to eat much more cleanly next week. this week i let myself eat more in the way of processed food and i can feel the difference, specifically in that my body craves it more once i've eaten it. i don't want to go down that slippery slope again. i'd started to tire of my routine of healthy food which is another reason for "letting myself go", so my goal this weekend is to try a couple of new recipes to get me through this week before the weddingmoon. but all in all, i'm pretty pleased that i was still able to eat more "cheat" foods but not go totally overboard.

my goal for april is to "do" a 5k. at this point i'm practically walking a full 5k at lunch and another by the time you add up my walking to the bus time in the morning and evening. so by "do" a 5k i mean finish in under 50 minutes which would require some running in there at some point.

another goal i have for after the wedding is to add yoga. like at a real studio. for now i think we might only be able to afford for me to go once a week, but that's better than nothing. if i'm smart i'll supplement it with another day at home with a DVD, but you know me and doing workouts on DVD. yeah, they never get done.

looking even further out, i do want to start running more. i definitely feel "the clock" ticking and i'd like to run another marathon before i get pregnant. but i also don't want to get all stressed about it. and i'd like to shed more weight to make it easier on my body. this creates a nice, naturally slow progression back into running. instead of my past efforts which usually include me being too eager for my own good. even at this pace, i still think it's safe to say that a half marathon could be in the cards for this year.