Casey Gets Fit: Week 15

Current Weight: 153.6 (down 11.4 lbs overall)
BMI: 24.1

Yay! I finally broke into 153! This was actually my Saturday morning weight, as I forgot to weigh myself Sunday morning. And I am pretty sure my Sunday morning wouldn't be quite so nice as I spent Saturday lying in or by a pool and eating copious amounts of delicious BBQ and treats. I even made rainbow cupcakes!

All the tutorials online seemed rather complex, but I just dumped scoops of pink, yellow, and blue icing at random into a icing applicator thing that I have with a star tip and I think they came out great! The randomness of the colours is awesome.

Anyway, I was talking to my Mom on Thursday about how my diet was going and I was lamenting how I've been stuck at 154 for a long time (until now!!). She asked me what my trigger was for finally sticking to a diet and exercise program after years of half-assing it (Not that she cared what I weighed, but just that she was a witness to my various failed attempts over the years).

It was a really good question, and I am not sure I have an exact answer for it. I weighed in the 150s in high school and university, and at some point after I started living on my own it crept up to 170 in 2012. I managed to lose about 5-10 lbs in the winter of that year and started training for my first 10K in 2013. I loved that run and kept up the running semi-regularly for the next year. My weight never really shifted out of the 160-165 range because I still wasn't really watching what I ate. However, I was still happy with my appearance for the most part. I am pretty well proportioned so I still looked fine in the mirror.

However over the past year I started noticing I was going up a size in pants and that I didn't like how I looked in photos. I could see the potbelly when I was sitting. A double chin had begun to show up. And I started to worry that it would be harder and harder to shift the weight as I got older. 

One day I think the light switch just turned on and I committed. I tracked, I learned my habits, I started working out more, and I just started to work towards the big picture. I'm not perfect at it (hence the slow pace of weight loss), but I have way less "cheat moments" now and I am working out like never before- and it is showing! Just this week I bought a pair of size 10 shorts from Old Navy. Last year I bought size 12 from that store!

And oh yes- I made myself accountable on this blog :). I also told my family and friends and they are all totally supporting me. That is probably the biggest factor! 

Freedom Wig Mold!

On Monday I came home to a note in my mailbox saying I had a package at the concierge desk. I was very confused over what was in this small box, and chiding myself for my excessive internet purchasing, when suddenly it dawned on me what it was- the mold for my new wig!!

As you may remember, last month I got fitted for a new custom wig. The next step after my fitting was to send me a plastic mold of my head to make sure it fits properly. My new wig will stay on with suction, so it needs to fit perfectly. Hence they send the plastic mold to make sure they have the fit right (Don't worry- the actual wig won't be plastic inside). I wasn't expecting it for another month so it was a total surprise!

The blue line is my part and the star is the crown of my head. The wig manufacturers put extra hair around that area. They will also direct the hair away from the line so it flows naturally off the head (you could actually pick the angle at which they attach the hair). I chose a side part :). It is in the same spot as my current wig.

Before you mention it, yes, I do have a fabulously shaped head. I actually get compliments on it.

I tried on the cap and it seems to fit fairly well. It suctions on really well, but one ear flap won't stay down (you can kind of see in the above photo) and there seems to be a bubble up by the crown of my head and at the back. However, the Freedom Wig people are awesome and you have a personal rep who helps you through the process, so I sent her some photos and asked for some advice. Some bubbling is normal, so I want an opinion on mine because this is my first time wearing a clear plastic headpiece. haha. But they can make adjustments- that is the whole point of this fitting.

The next step after this is I mail the mold back with any changes that I need- and then they send my wig! Well, technically they send it in 9-12 weeks (from New Zealand, so maybe longer?). At some point during the next month I should receive a hair sample of my actual wig too so I can approve the colour, and you know I will share that with you guys too.

Casey Gets Fit: Week 14

Current Weight: 154.6 (down 10.4 lbs overall)
BMI: 24.1

A tiny gain this week of 0.2lbs, but I actually had a pretty good week of eating and exercising so I think we an chalk this up to the evil diet lords :). On Sunday I ran 6.5Km, and on Monday I ran 5Km. I took Tuesday off as a rest day.

On Wednesday I had boot camp class! There was a LivingSocial deal a couple weeks ago for $29 for 6 weeks of twice-weekly boot camp classes (the deal is still on!). My friend Veronica and I signed up and Wednesday was our first class. It was TOUGH! It was like Jillian Michaels for an hour straight!

I was so sore from my workout and on Thursday the Blogger Joggers were meeting up! We actually ended up just having a long walk about Mount Pleasant Cemetery and then getting donuts :). We are hoping to meet up again in a couple weeks so let me know if you would like to join! Though, be warned that we do plan on actually running next time.

Friday is when the pain from boot camp really showed up so I didn't work out! I bought some muscle relief pads for my trapezoids that were supposed to heat up, but ended up just smelling like licorice. It was really weird. But they must have worked because on Saturday I felt great and ran another 6.5km! I think during boot camp I will only be able to run on weekends. Too painful during the week!

Saturday was my only bad-eating day this week (even that donut on Thursday was accounted for!). I ended up going to Pickering and my stepdad and mom took Cam and I up for a flight! The original plan was to fly over Newmarket, then over Lake Simcoe, then land in Lindsay for gas, then head back to Oshawa. But I got horrible motion sickness over Newmarket so we just flew straight back. Bleh. But then we ordered pizza and had homemade cookies!! :) Worth the diet break for SURE.

Then this Sunday I went to a Jays game! My friend got box seat tickets from work and invited me. It was also Country Day, hence the hats. The box seats came with free beer and food so I sure was glad I had a long run on Sunday morning to help me burn through some of it because I am not just gonna much on veggies when I have free ballpark food ;)

The Uniqueness of Small Spaces

I have been blogging about small space living for a few years and trying to give you guys tips about living large while living small. Though, through the years of trying to plan and design my own space, I have learned that it is almost impossible to find small spaces that look alike!

If you have a bedroom, you can research bedroom designs because 95% of the time the room is a basic square. But if you live in a studio apartment, there is only one room and there is so little out there because our homes are often strange shapes and full of unique challenges! I find I can get inspiration on colours and textures, but nothing really else!

Apartment Therapy is running their Small Coolest Homes Contest right now and I LOVE looking at the entries, but it really shows me how different the teeny-tiny condos are. I mean, check out these floor plans for homes around the same size as mine:

Nicole's Back Bay Studio

Ben's Philadelphia Pad

Amy's Light an Airy Apartment

Brittany's NYC Sanctuary

Anna's Serene Studio

See what I mean? 400 square feet is not a very good description of how much space a unit really has! Some of these people have actual bedrooms. Despite my lack of bedrooms though, I do like how I can have a couch across from a TV. That seems rare :)

I only have a rough floor plan of my condo (it is hard to properly measure and all my walls are crazy), but it seems a lot of studios are more square than mine- even the long ones are wider than my narrow little home!

I was asked this week if I was going to enter the Apartment Therapy contest (in case you were wondering), and the answer is probably not. One reason being simply that I would be in the international category, which doesn't divide by home size. But the bigger reason is that people on that site can be harsh on entries and while I love my condo, I don't think it would win. Some of those homes are super cool!!

Small Updates in the Condo

You know what is fun? When it is a nice day out and you are too lazy to take photos of stuff, and then the next day rains and you need to take outdoor photos so the balcony looks like cray. Because that was me this week :).

I moved all my plants (and a table I forgot about) out to the balcony this week, just in time to enjoy the summer weather that has been rolling in!

You can't really see it, but it is filthy out there. There is mud all over, which makes very little sense to me. Because I am many floors up.

My polka dot plant is still living indoors. Every time I take it outside it pretends to die, because apparently it is a sissy plant and can't take the heat (even though all internets says it likes humidity). Perhaps I accidentally bought a pansy? HA! Burn! So it is sitting on my ottoman and is looking totally happy in the comfortable temperatures. The only issue being indoors is that apparently the leaves will turn green.

In other change up news, I took down the canvas by my TV.

I keep feeling like that wall was too busy and didn't really fit with the black and white vibe of these walls. Plus it is good to have some empty walls to help a room breathe (I think). I am still getting used to it! What do you think? I still like the painting (or fake painting? What do you call these things?), but I think it will go down in storage with it's twin until I have walls that they suit better.

Casey Gets Fit: Week 13

Current Weight: 154.4 (down 10.6 lbs overall)
BMI: 24.1

Woohoo!! Under 155!! Though, I am not 100% sure it is accurate because I was a little hungover and probably dehydrated. But I will take it! I had a lot of food and beer this weekend too- alas patio season has arrived and I think it will work against my weight loss plans :). I have been taking the slow and steady technique through this whole thing and so perhaps it will just start getting a bit slower, but hopefully I can stay on the downward trend!

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My only ability to counteract the delicious beer is going to be exercise. I have barely worked out since my 10K run, due to my shin splints. But it has been a couple weeks now so I think I am going to get back into running consistently. And my friend and I signed up for a twice-weekly bootcamp class, which I expect will kick my butt and help me tone up my flatter tummy.

In other running news- the Blogger Joggers are going to be meeting up on Thursday at 7pm to go for a run in Mount Pleasant Cemetery, followed by some delicious doughnut eating. Please shoot me an email at caseyinTO@gmail.com if you wanna come join us!

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