#52. Get down to my preferred weight

I've decided to actively tackle this one.  Since moving in with my husband, I've gained nearly 20 pounds.  I didn't even need to weigh myself to know this since hardly any of my pants fit anymore.  On weekends my husband gets to watch me groan and struggle to squeeze myself into my pants, and on the rare occasion I succeed, there's a nice muffin top hanging over the top of the pants.  So I decided NO MORE!  I'm not willing to buy bigger pants.  I'd rather lose the weight and be healthy.

I've struggled with an eating disorder for a major chunk of my life.  When I was 11, one of my gymnastics coaches informed me that I was getting heavy.  When I was 12, my mother commented that I was chubby.  A short time after that, I happened to be at the doctor's office and was informed by a nurse that I was 112 pounds.  The heaviest I had ever been.  I've always been thin, to the point where I'd get made fun of even before my ED started.  Needless to say, the "fat" comments from my mother and coach stung, but seeing the "112" on the scale absolutely freaked me out.

I struggled with my weight in the ensuring years, getting as low as 85 before my mother threatened to take me to the hospital.  The idea of a feeding tube being shoved down my nasal passage scared me enough that I brought my weight back up to 100 pounds and maintained it around there.

In February 2011 I moved in with my husband.  Cue the bad eating habits.  We pig out and snack constantly.  We both have trouble putting our pants on.  So we've jointly decided to lose weight and get in shape.  He's much better at physical activity than I am, so he's focusing on workouts.  I'm much better at controlling what I eat (obviously), so I'm focusing on dieting.  We're helping each other with the other's weak point.  I'm struggling to not fall back into my old disordered habits.  It's way too easy to go overboard and just never eat.

So far I've been doing well.  I joined My Fitness Pal and began recording my food intake and exercise.  I've started researching healthy foods and cutting out junk.  I haven't been weighed in awhile, so I'm not sure if I've lost anything, but I'll find out tomorrow when I buy a scale!  I'm going to keep the MFP weight loss ticker here on my blog so I can keep track, and hopefully soon make it down to my ideal weight!

#92: Rock the Dress photo shoot

My wedding day went by way too fast!  Before I knew it, it was time to take off my beautiful gown.  I was desperate to wear it again, and luckily I have a friend who's an aspiring photographer.  We chose to do the shoot in Forest Park, St. Louis's version of NYC's Central Park.  I had always wanted professional photos done during the fall when the leaves were changing, so November 6 was the ideal day.

A few of my favorites:

#35: Make homemade pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving

I had been wanting to do this one for quite some time, but had never had the opportunity.  This year I was a newlywed and decided to finally tackle the challenge of making a pie from scratch (sort of!).  I immediately decided to buy pre-made pie shells, since I knew I wouldn't have time to make it from scratch.  Naturally I waited until the day before Thanksgiving to buy them, and fought my way through the crowds to get the last pack at Dierbergs!

It looks pretty gross in the picture, but turned out very well, if I do say so myself.  :)

#42: Donate hair to Locks of Love

I had been desperately wanting a hair cut for ages.  I watched enviously as the other ladies in my department got cute shoulder-length cuts.  But I had promised my stylist that I wouldn't get my hair majorly cut until after the wedding.  Finally, back in October, I got my long-wished-for "wife chop"!

Before:

After:

Day One

Welcome to my blog!  I started the 101 in 1001 (Day Zero) project and decided to track my progress by creating a blog.  I can't remember exactly when I started the project, so I decided to go with October 1, 2011, making the final day June 28, 2014.  So here goes!

-[ Entertainment ]-

1. Go one day per month without tv  (2/33)

2.  Attend five trivia nights  (0/5)

3.  Read all the books currently on my shelf that I haven’t read yet
     Hunger Games:  book 1

4.  Go to City Museum at least once per year  (0/4)

5.  Stay overnight at the Lemp Mansion

6.  Walk through a corn maze

7.  Go sledding

8.  Go to Butterfly House when it’s snowing outside

9.  Go to the Belleville drive-in with Nate

10. Go to a concert with Nate

11.  Take pictures in a photo booth

12.  Re-read all the Harry Potter books in order

13.  Watch five of Nate’s favorite movies/TV shows that I haven’t seen
        MXC

14.  Finish my hockey spreadsheet

15.  See 10 classic movies I've never seen 
        Gone With the Wind

16.  Arrange a game night with friends

17.  Have a picnic

18.  Do zip-lining at Meramec Caverns

19.  Go to a live comedy show

20.  Catch up on Supernatural

21.  Go horseback riding

22.  Sit in the front row at a Blues game

-[ Finances ]-

23.  Pay off credit card

24.  Pay off student loans

25.  Go one month without spending money on anything other than necessities

26.  Transfer SAMC 401k to WFA

27.  Save all the money I make from this project

28.  Put $10 in our cash jar for every goal completed

29.  Buy a lottery ticket every time we go grocery shopping for a year

-[ Food ]-

30.  Shop at a farmer’s market

31.  Take SWIC’s cooking classes

32.  Go grocery shopping at Whole Foods

33.  Make a fancy birthday cake for someone

34.  Bake something every Sunday for Nate to take to work on Monday for a month

35.  Make homemade pumpkin pie for Thanksgiving

36.  Compile my recipe box

37.  Make 30 recipes I’ve never made before

        Ranch chicken pizza
        Pumpkin pie 
        Italian chicken and broccoli 

38.  Eat at 10 restaurants I’ve never eaten at before in our city

-[ Good Deeds ]-

39.  Participate in the Komen walk

40.  Participate in the Lymphoma walk and donate at least $100
41..  Volunteer at five different places

42.  Donate hair to Locks of Love

43.  Adopt a child for Christmas

44.  Make and send a care package to 3 soldiers

45.  Donate $1 to a charity for each item I do not finish

46.  *private*

47.  Give a 100% tip

-[ Health ]-

48.  Draft a will

49.  Be able to run a mile

50.  Do my health regimen for at least one month

51.  Don’t eat out for an entire month

52.  Get down to my preferred weight

-[ Intelligence ]-

53.  Get a state map postcard from all 50 states  (31/50)

54.  Learn how to change my car’s oil

55.  Learn how to shoot a gun

56.  Get a library card

57.  Have Nate teach me how to drive a stick

58.  Cross-train/shadow at work

-[ Relationships ]-

59.  Have a game night once per month with Nate  (2/33)

60.  Send birthday cards to all my friends for one year

61.  Take a carriage ride with Nate

62.  Have dinner by candlelight

63.  *private*

64.  Create a time capsule to be opened on our 20th anniversary

65.  Buy a bottle of wine that should age well for Nate and me to open on our 10^th wedding anniversary

66.  Babysit once for April

67.  Complete the All About Us book

68.  Sent Robbie a St. Louis-themed gift box

69.  Sent Christmas cards every Christmas  (0/3)

-[ Travel ]-

70.  Travel to Virginia Beach

71.  Attend a Blues/Cardinals/Rams game in another city

72.  Get passport with new last name

73.  Visit Robbie in Texas

74.  Visit all wineries on the Shawnee Wine Trail

75.  Visit at least one state per year that I’ve never been to

76.  Travel to Las Vegas

77.  Go snow-skiing in Colorado

78.  Go camping

79.  Go on a road trip

80.  Spend a weekend at Hidden Lake Winery

81.  Riverboat cruise in Louisville

-[ Misc ]-

82.  Influence a person to make a Day Zero list

83.  Don’t log into facebook for a whole week

84.  Drive the jet ski around the entirety of Kinkaid Lake
85.  Swim in Kinkaid Lake

86.  Finally deal with photos and frames

87.  Vote in an election

88.  Finish Christmas shopping before Thanksgiving

89.  Don’t go anywhere one weekend day per month  (2/33)

90.  Buy a house

91.  Photograph a landscape from the same location, capturing all four seasons
92.  Rock the Dress photo shoot

93.  Get wedding dress cleaned/stored

94.  Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years

95.  Participate in the 365 Photo Challenge

96.  Adopt two dogs

97.  Organize my paperwork

98.  Participate in PostCrossing at least twenty times  (5/20)

99.  Photograph one place each month and make a calendar for the next year

100.  Make a honeymoon album

101.  Go catfishing