HYC #8: Measurements

The good news is... I found some measurements I'd forgotten I'd taken! Last entry I was lamenting that I didn't have any previous to the ones I just took for the beginning of the May Exercise Challenge, but then I randomly stumbled upon a notebook with some measurements from, I think, the end of February, and they indicate some progress! I'm skeptical of the progress, since I don't feel very confident of my measuring skill, but it looks good! They're all in centimeters. 

2 inches below belly button
3/1 - 106 
5/8 - 98

belly button 

3/1 - 100

5/8 - 91

mole
3/1 - 87

5/8 - 83

top of scar mole

3/1 - 92

5/8 - 85

left thigh

3/1 - 64

5/8 - 62.5

right thigh

3/1 - 62

5/8 - 60.5

Now, if only I can see some more big changes at the end of May! 

I was in desperate need of some procrastination on Monday to avoid lesson planning, so I went mini-skirt shopping. Now, I knew this would be a futile venture, because Korean people are so skinny, but I was feeling bold, and my self-esteem was strong, so I decided to give it a try. Needless to say, I didn't find one that fit, and I discovered something dismaying... the awesomely cute Korean shorts I bought, which I was so proud of being able to fit into... are men's. Ahaha. I should have known, too... that's the best part. Korean girls would never wear knee-length shorts! What was I thinking? They wore mini-skirts with leggings in the dead of winter. Whatever! The shorts are my style, and I still like them, so that's all that matters. I figured out that apparently the sizing is the same for men and women, by waist centimeters, which is why I couldn't find any mini-skirts in a size 82. Alas. 

I did, on a whim, try on a mini-skirt (size 78, I think), and the awesome part was that my waist was not actually the problem. It was a little tight at the waist, but entirely doable. It was my hips that made the entire thing unworkable. I didn't even know I HAD hips! I've got love handles, of course, but my biggest remaining fat stores are solidly in my muffin top. It's disappointing, because aside from the top 3 inches of my thighs, I have really great legs (if I do say so myself). They're a hold-over, I think, from my high school softball days, and with a pair of heels I'm absolutely killer from the thigh down, and I was finally feeling brave enough to wear a skirt above the knee. But oh well. :) I've decided to use that mini-skirt as my article of clothing for the May Exercise Challenge. I definitely remember how it fit, and the excruciating process of extricating myself from it, so I'll go and try it on again at the end of May. I'm sure it still won't be purchasing size, but I'm hoping it'll slide over the love handles a little easier. 

Speaking of the MEC, the first week was ace! I passed my weekly goal and did at least one workout everyday - 485/400 minutes! So next week I'll try to beat that... I'm one two-sticker (perfect) day behind, but I'm hoping to make it up and get back on track today and tomorrow. My meals have been fine... snacking's been my enemy lately, but I haven't gotten too out of control, and the numbers on the scale have continued slowly going down. I weighed in at an even 176 this morning, which means I have exactly 21 days to lose 6.1 pounds. It won't be easy, especially if I keep sabotage-snacking, but I'm feeling good about it! I can do it! The 5k is also exactly 10 days from today... something to keep me honest. I finished my two 32 minute runs and my two 34 minute runs, so there's only 4 more training runs left before RACE DAY! Tomorrow I'm doing 35 minutes, which'll be my longest run ever. I'm hoping I won't have to run 35 minutes on race day, because I'll be finishing in 32 (ha!), but better to be prepared, I suppose. :) 

In other news... I don't think there is any. Oh, I have a funny story. These days it's generally accepted amongst my Korean acquaintances that I'm no longer really fat. Now, I'm just "little fat," which is cute. Curvy, if you will. And this is a look that doesn't occur much in Korea, so I've at least got novelty on my side. There ARE non-skinny girls, but I've found that most of them stick to baggy jeans and shirts... there's not much effort to use and celebrate their curvaceousness. So the other day my most adorable third grader (he's actually high school freshman aged) was trying to make me feel better about not being Korean-sized by assuring me: "I like little fat girl. I will marry with girl looks like you." Thankfully it was over instant messenger, so I could laugh for 20 minutes without offending him. 

Next week's lesson: Euphemisms.