Long, rambling update.

The real update is that there is no update! I am in the same place I've been for the past few months. So, 133 pounds lost. I'm totally ok with this. I just want to maintain. 

Now, I do have a lot I want to ramble about. I'm going to try to be organized about it, but my brain gets out of control sometimes, and I can't keep my thoughts all in a line. 

1. I did start jogging again. I was going to do the same program I followed before, but then I got sick. I was shocked. I haven't been sick in a long time, but the weather has been crazy and my allergies have been out of control. So, while I was sick I read up on the real Couch to 5K thingy and decided to give it a try. 

How do I feel about it? I like it. It's different. It gives me something on paper to follow. I like having a plan when I get to the gym, and when I can complete that plan, I feel great. I'm in my third week. I'm adding the jogging in on top of my regular workouts. I'm trying to be more active. 

2. Speaking of active, I'm also trying this 100 push ups thing. You can find their website here. I'm also in the third week for this program. I was starting this the same time I was starting the jogging again, but I got sick and ended up moving it back a week. This site has a lot of cool little challenges. I think I will do more, depending on how the push up thing goes. I've pretty much managed to put myself on the middle track. Every so often I have to see how many push ups I can do at one time and that helps me to determine what workouts I will do. I like it. It gives me something else on paper to follow. I'm also doing this in addition to my regular workouts. 

3. So, I got sick. It really effed me up for a few weeks. I thought I was having allergies and a cold, but I really had bronchitis. I kept looking at my doctor like he was crazy. I have not had bronchitis in I don't know how long. I didn't even feel bad. I went to the doctor to get more allergy medicine and I figured since I was there I would ask him about this cough I could not get rid of. Turns out my cold was worse than I thought! Anyway, I've been on the meds for about a week now and I feel a lot better. 

4. The holidays have been in full swing around me. I feel myself being too tempted. I know I have not been the best eater lately. It's starting to weigh on my conscience too. I'm really needing to tighten the reigns here for the rest of the year.....and next year. I don't feel myself slipping backward, but I'm noticing little habits creeping back in. I'm trying to catch them and squash them before it gets bad, but I know I have not been the best eater lately. Working out has been no problem. I wish I had more time for the gym, then I could just pig out all day....yum. 

5. There is something that has been bothering me lately.....skin. I am so over this extra skin. I'm sure a lot of you can understand that feeling too. I just want it gone. It will not go away on it's own. I'm am very proud of the fact that I lost all this weight with no medical intervention. I worked my ass off, literally. It was a slow process and I will forever be so proud of what I did, but this extra skin is really giving me different body issues. I'm at the point that I don't even want my boyfriend to see me in pajamas.....and that is a really unrealistic request! I need to save money to get it removed, but there are so many other things I need before I do that. It's on my list though, and it will happen. I'm just so tired of all this skin. 

Well, that's my rambling update for the day. I need to spend more time on my blog and reading other blogs, but I just get so busy. I'm thinking about scheduling a true "blog time" for myself a few days a week! That might help me get my act together and keep me more accountable to myself!

Stop pinching your skin!

***First of all, I can't believe it's March!! Where is this year going??***           

          There are very few downsides of weigh loss; excess skin and loose skin. I’m sure there are more, but it is really hard to think of bad things about losing weight. Anyway, I have sagging skin in all the typical places; arms, belly, thighs, etc etc. I use lotion every night trying to fight this problem head on, but it’s still not enough.

            So, I’ve developed a new habit or problem. I pinch my skin. I pinch it so much that I don’t even realize I’m doing it. The other day at the gym Janelle was yelling at me to stop. I didn’t even realize I was doing it. I know I pinch my skin on my sides, my arms, and my legs, but I usually do it at home when no one is looking! It’s just crazy that I can grab handfuls of skin.

            Once she pointed it out to me that I was pinching my arm skin, I couldn’t stop. I felt like I had to do it! I started telling her a story and I didn’t even realize that I started pinching my arm skin. Janelle started yelling at me and that’s when I realized that I had just reached over and started pinching my arm skin again!

Hi, my name is Sarah
and I pinch my arm skin. 

            I was trying to explain to her why I keep pinching my skin, but I didn’t even have an explanation! Maybe it’s a nervous thing. Janelle keeps telling me to stop doing it, but it makes me want to do it more! She keeps telling me that it’s just skin and I can get it taken care of at a later date, which I do plan on doing. Until that time, I’m just going to have to resist temptation. 

It puts the lotion on its skin...

            I have used so much lotion in the past year. I’m trying to keep my skin as hydrated as possible in the hopes that it will all shrink back to normal. Every night, no fail, I slather up in lotion before bed. I’m to the point now that if I don’t do it, I can’t relax and fall asleep!

            I have used every brand and every type of lotion possible. At first I was buying the lotions that said they would firm skin, reduce stretch marks, and fight the signs of aging. Some were good, some were bad. It’s also very confusing because everyone claims to have the best lotions with the best ingredients! Cocoa butter, shea butter, olive butter, vitamin E, sunflowers, collagen, hemp, coconut milk, and even goat’s milk (seriously); I don’t even know where to start with all of these choices!

 I really just like any kind of Palmers the best, but apparently so does everyone else. I can never find it these days. I also like Johnson’s baby lotions and baby oil gel. When I used to get really dry skin I would put on baby oil and top it off with a layer of Vaseline. It was a slimy mess, but in the morning I would not have any dry skin! I liked the Jergens lotion, I liked the Vaseline lotion, and I liked the Nivea lotion. I really didn’t like St. Ives; it seemed watery, but since I bought it I used it until it was gone.

            Honestly, I think the skin firming thing is a scam. I’ve stopped buying new lotion, and now I’m just trying to use everything that I have lying around my house. I used to collect body sprays and the shea butter lotions that went along with them, so I’m just working my way through all of those before I go out and buy new lotions again. The only down side of that all the perfume that’s in those lotions. I do have sensitive skin and sometimes my body just doesn’t agree with perfumes, but my skin needs to realize that I’m not buying more lotion right now. I have plenty!