Firsts...

If you've ever been on a weight loss journey or a journey to change something about yourself, you will understand today's topic. Today's topic actually should've been yesterday's topic, but I was too tired to blog about it yesterday. Yesterday was a whole new day of firsts for me. I'm being open and candid...some of this stuff may seem trivial to you. But to me, it's like crossing over the top of a mountain. It's stuff I haven't done in years. Literally. Years.

First, yesterday I was able to wear a shirt and pants that was two sizes smaller than what I was wearing four months ago. I have not worn those pants and shirts in probably three years or more. When I say that I haven't worn them, I mean that they were locked up tight in the attic. Now, instead of three pairs of black pants that I have to wash repeatedly throughout the week (literally, I have worn those three pairs of pants every single day of my life for the past five years), I have about 20 more! And, I have other colors, too...navy, brown, gray, khaki (I'm still partial to my black ones though). And, the best part is, the pants were button/zip fly and didn't have elastic all the way around them. That doesn't sound like a huge deal, but trust me, it is.

For the first time since I bought my car I was able to buckle my seatbelt. I was able to do so on the passenger side on Thursday night. I did so on the driver's side yesterday. Normally, I had to have the extender (by the way, if you are overweight, the car dealership will usually give you one for free). And then, I got so large the extender did not fit. I was not proud of it. Now, I'm so proud of myself I just can't stand it, haha. It's the little things in life that make you proud of yourself.

This month I decided to up my game a little bit on my own. I told Danny about it. I think he thinks I'm a little crazy, but I've got some goals to exceed in August. I started doing an Ab Challenge and Squat Challenge in addition to my cardio and strength training. I would love for you to join me. Below are the details of what you should do if you plan on doing them (by the way, if you do, please comment on the blog so I know to encourage you along the way)!

So last night, I went to the emergency room observation unit to have the bandages on my leg changed out as I do every night. The nurse on the floor is a very bubbly lady who is friendly and always asks how my workouts went that day. I was telling her about the challenges, and she asked me to send them to her. So, I did. When she looked at them, she said she couldn't do them. My response to her was, "you can't, or you won't? Let's do them right now!" So, seriously, we stood in the middle of the ER observation unit and did our 55 squats. We got a few strange looks...and some chuckles, but it was pretty neat. I told her that even after I was done with my leg dressings, I would check in on her and see how she was doing on the challenge.

After today's weigh-in, I have lost 84 pounds. I only have 16 more to go for the month of August to reach my goal. Another first for me is truly putting in all the cardio time. Cardio is not my favorite. But, it truly works. I started with 32 minutes on elliptical Monday, and progressed a couple/few minutes each day. It's getting easier, though my legs are becoming more and more sore each day.

I encourage you to join the 30 day challenge(s). Whether you want to join just one or both, come on!