Weigh In Wednesday Eve

This morning, dressed in my underwear, I asked Brigid to take a "before" picture of me. I wasn't wearing particularly revealing underwear, it just looked like a black two piece bathing suit with a fat woman in it. Brigid looked at me as though I had asked her to photograph me with a goat and something with batteries from Madam Giggles’ Whack Shack (that's a real place, but I am not linking to it here--this is a family site). I told Brigid it was for my "Before" picture, my "before I lose all the weight I'm going to lose" picture. My 12 year old daughter, with a sneer of distaste on her face said, "you're still posting a picture of yourself in underwear." Yeah, guess what smart ass? No, I'm not. The photo that she finally took will not be posted unless there is a rocking hot "After" photo to go with it. "Before" photos suck by themselves. "Before" photos are simply photographs of someone who is fat, ugly, hairy, blotchy, whatever but they are no good to anyone without really good "After" photos. But I do have the "Before" photo....it's not pretty, it's an outstanding "Before" photo.

I did a Crunch Boot Camp exercise video tonight, I thought I would try something more structured than my free form Just Dance workout. It was good. It was hard! And I did it without the weights, so after I get my hand weights this weekend, it should really kick my ass. My right shoulder hurts, not sure why. Either my form was off on my weightless workout or too much Spider solitaire.

I'm back. That sentence caused me to go play a game of Spider solitaire.

Now it's time for the reader mailbag. My good friend and devoted follower A---- writes:

Are you following the suggested meal plans, or doing your own? Same with the exercises. Do you pick a video or what?

 Thank you for writing A----! I look at Sparkpeople meal plans and recipes and then make up my own. I did a big diet grocery shopping. It helps to have a lot of spices around to add some flav. I have made two Spark recipes and they were good, even my kids liked one of them. Multi grain pasta is turning out, very unsurprisingly, to be a tough sell. As for the exercise....for one thing, anything I'm doing is better than the nothing I've been doing for months. I do some Spark videos. Cardio videos from Netflix. And of course, the Just Dance seizure workout which I sort of create myself.
I want all my readers, followers to feel free to contact me with diet/fitness/nutrition questions. I'm completely unprofessional and generally make up answers as I go along.


Serious aside....
Over the weekend I learned that a woman who I was friends with (not close friends, but friends) in high school passed on Jan. 1 from breast cancer. Sheila was a funny, smart girl and from what I could tell from her Facebook page and the page dedicated to her, she was a popular, funny woman with three daughters and devoted friends and family. I have been thinking of her for days and I can't imagine the heartbreak of having to leave your children behind. I know her faith was great and that she is in a better place and no longer in pain. The point being as always and ever....this life is short and no one knows when their number is going to come up. Losing weight isn't the most important thing in the world but if it helps me feel a little peppier and perhaps keeps me around a little longer to see how the story goes, that's good. More importantly, I hope to have a great time while I can, love my children and family and friends, I hope to be kind and helpful and funny, and do my best to not have any regrets.
Sigh.
On to Weigh In Wednesday!!!
xoxoxox