Wednesday, April 17, 2013

They call it Insanity for a reason...

So sorry for the almost two week long hiatus.... I've been so busy I've barely had time to sit down with my computer, much less think up something to write about.

But anywho... Courtney (the best friend & roommate) and I started Insanity this week. Let's just say we'll see how it goes. Yesterday was Day 2, and I'm just not sure how you're supposed to be able to go 6 days straight to let your muscles recover. Because my legs are ANGRY with me right now. But it's that good hurt, ya know? I very well might just have to adjust the program a little to benefit the way-out-of-shape person that I am. But like I said, we'll see how it goes, and I will definitely post updates.
Quit looking so smug Sean T....
my knees are going as high as they can...

I'm even boring myself here, too...

BUT....this Saturday is Beach Bash - the absolute happiest day of the Spring Semester (second only to the day the semester's over, but I don't get that day anymore....). There will be a million and two crawfish for the eating, great friends, and wonderful memories to make. This being so, I'm staying SUPER on point this week, because I know I'm going to be "on the plus" after this weekend - and it's going to be oh-so-wonderful, that is, until Sunday morning when I have to head back into the real world. I just really need a good break from reality.

Oh 20 year old Casey, that shirt was not flattering, 
and that crawfish did not want to be in your pocket.




On a much, much sadder note - my heart has been heavy this week, not only for the victims at the Boston Marathon, but for a young woman I grew up with, who lost her baby boy this past weekend. Please keep her family in your thoughts and prayers, along with the runners, spectators and families of victims of the Boston Marathon bombings. Love your family and your neighbor a little bit extra today.




Wednesday, April 3, 2013

I HATE Clothing Issues

I feel like I just need to vent a little, and since a lot of my friends on Facebook are losing weight, too, I thought I might share my issues and solutions, and see if anyone has any of their own. Sorry this is kinda long and boring today.

So I've lost 48 lbs. That's like... a 5 year old.... And I've got about 22 more to go to be at "happy Casey weight" and 32 to be at "extremely happy Casey weight." You really have no idea how happy it makes me to look at pictures from this time last year and know that I'm 48lbs smaller. But do you know what sucks? Clothes. I hate clothes right now, and I never thought I'd say that. One of my main reasons for doing my darndest to lose weight is so that I can wear the cutest of clothes. Anthropologie, Urban Outfitters, H&M, and a few boutiques have all been inspiration for me to keep chugging along. BUT, like I said yesterday, I am poor. Back in about the third week of February, I had just gotten paid, and it was all gone to bills, groceries, gas, etc within the first three days. The reality of the lifestyle I was going to have to live for the next year and a half was really hitting home, and I was really upset. I called my mother, bawling my eyes out, because I have worked since August, depriving myself of all sorts of things, saying no to going out to eat, going running when I wanted to just sleep in a little bit longer, and all for what? So my clothes couldn't fit anymore? I kid you not, 70% of my shirts are too big, while all but two pairs of pants start out fitting in the morning, but by lunch time I'm wishing I had a trusty pair of suspenders. (To even get a new item of clothing in the "Old Navy range" I have to plan for two weeks, mainly because while clothes are necessary, it's more necessary for me to be able to eat fruits and vegetables instead of Ramen Noodles.) So here I am, driving home from work having myself a good cry, and doing what I do best when I can't fix a situation, pouting. So I kinda wallow in self-pity and allow myself to be sad for the rest of the night. The next day at work, during lunch, (I sometimes like to take a little stroll through Pinterest) and I came across some pins of these really cool gals taking in clothes, refashioning stuff from thrift store finds, and just sewing things from scratch. And being the daughter of one of the craftiest women alive, I thought, "Hey, I can do that." So I spent more time than I should admit looking up sewing machines, reading reviews, etc.

Skip to that weekend, where the boyfriend, Mike, and I were going to North Alabama to visit my parents and grand-parents for my birthday. I'm sure Mike heard, probably 70 times, that I was going to get a sewing machine with my birthday money. We make it to Ardmore, and I tell my mom, who says, "oh well why don't you just let me look at the estate sales and such to see if I can find you one, or you can just take mine." But being impatient (which I'm so, so good at), I told her I was going to look for one while I was out taking Mike to meet and visit with the grand-parents. And that's when what Mike calls "a God thing" happened.

We walk into my Dad's parents' house and, I kid you not, the first words out of my Granddaddy John's mouth (past introductions and its-so-good-to-see-yous) was "Does your mom have a sewing maching?" I answer that she does and ask why. He says, "I need to get this old sewing machine out of your Grandmother's room. She hasn't used it since the 80s and it's just sitting there, and I want it out."

So I now have a sewing machine, with a whole caboodle of thread and notions! AND it smells like my Grandmamona's house when I open the thread box, which just floods me with memories every time. So, I have taken in some shirts (I'm still to nervous to do pants, I'll have to suck it up soon :/ ), made some pajama shorts, Courtney an apron, a skirt and a shirt, and I am slowly but surely getting better. I've learned that patience is key, so.......yeah......I'm working on that. I have a few projects I'm going to do this weekend, so if they turn out I'll try to throw some pics up here early next week.

Anybody have any good ideas for clothing on the cheap? Especially when you're shrinking, and know you're not going to be in that size for too much longer. Let us know!

Tuesday, April 2, 2013

Losing Weight on a Budget

Pretty Much Describes Me Perfectly


So, I'm in graduate school. And I will go on record and say, Graduate Students are the work-horses of the researching community. We work long days, sometimes even on the weekends, and get paid a teeny-tiny amount of money for what we do. When I say teeny-tiny, I mean teeny-tiny. I kid you not, I take home just barely 2/3 of my paycheck (and I thought Mr. Obama was supposed to be helping the poor man?). Well, how hard is it to lose weight on a budget, you ask? Harder than you think, I answer.

Eating Right
You would immediately think that poorer people would be skinnier, seeing as less money = less food, but look around you, and you will see that that is definitely not the case. I mean, just check out the infographic here. It pretty much hits the nail on the head when asking "why?"  Simple answer? Higher calorie foods are a LOT cheaper than healthier foods. For instance, I can get a loaf of Kroger Wheat bread for $0.88 with my Kroger Plus Card. It is 3 points for two slices, which is not too terribly bad. OR I can get a loaf of Sara Lee's 45 Calories and Delightful for $3.12 and 2 WWPP. So do i save $2 or do I save 1 point? It's a hard decision to make sometimes. A bag of fruit costs anywhere between $5 and $12, do you know what is cheaper than that? A lot of stuff. 

So how do I cope? 
Coupons. Magical little slips of paper that they are. I give myself a grocery budget of $60 for two weeks, so I have to be smart with what I buy. It typically works out where I can get meat for dinners, fresh produce, and stuff to pack in the lunch box for work, all for under $60. I won't say that coupons make everything perfect, but they do tend to make things easier, and I've saved somewhere around $700 since January alone. I'm linking ya to the Krazy Coupon Ladies, because they know everything, and can teach you way better than I can.

Working Out
The Sanderson Center at MSU ruined me! RUINED ME, I tell you! I miss that gym so, so, so much. It has everything, spin classes, yoga, total body classes everyday, free weights, weight machines, cardio machines, and indoor track, EVERYTHING, it has everything. And if you are enrolled as a student, you get it for free. 
Do you know how much a gym membership (that offers classes) for a year contract is? Over $60 a month! That is more than my cell phone bill! They will cut it down to $50 a month if you sign a 2 year contract, but hey, only the Lord knows where I'll be in two years. And let me just tell you, it's going to take some tighter budgeting to get one of those memberships, and I not sure just yet if I'm willing to sign on for a year of that. 

So how do I cope?
I run. It's practically free, once you have a pair of shoes and a couple of ($11 Walmart) running pants. Just get yourself out and go. Also, check out Pintrest. There are a ton of pins of workout videos that are compilations of different training programs (Cross-Fit, Insanity, P90X, etc.). I'm debating currently whether to get a road bike or not (with some expected upcoming babysitting money).......we shall see. But my advice is to just search around on the interwebs. It seems to me like there is a growing trend of people leaving the gym and opting for at home workouts. Hmmm.