what a great week!

I'm so excited. I managed to lose 3kg. this week. 3 kg. in 1 week. How is that even possible? Well, I'll tell you. By now, I'm sure most people know that I'm very active. I didn't have anything on the program Tuesday and Saturday, but other than that, I've been busy with various dance and zumba classes. Since I basicaly live in my sports bag, I don't have much time to cook. There for I'm so happy that I discovered a very simple dish, that only takes 5 minutes to prepare. "Root fries." I rinse potatoes, carrots, selleri and red beet, cut them in to french fries sizes and put them in my Tefal ActiFry. Because I have had a tendency of preparing (and eating) too much, I now only prepare 500-600g. While that cook in the ActiFry, I have time to get ready to leave after dinner or jump in the shower if I'm just home from zumba.

Another thing that's helped me lose the weight is... WATER. I received a new water bottle from my cousin a couple of weeks ago. It was one that I requested from the states, but she didn't have luck finding it till now. I now use the "H2O Water on the go jr." water bottle and drink much more water than before. I always bring water, but lately I noticed that I didn't drink as much water as I used to. But after switching to the new water bottle, I drink 1l. of water. The water just come out with a better flow and the handle makes it easier to carry. I even fill the bottle after zumba and drink another liter of water on my way home. I saw the bottle used by Cameron Diaz in the movie "What Happens in Vegas". It just looked so simple to drink from.. And it realy is.

So there you have it. My succesful weightloss this week is a combination of zumba/ dance, water and veggies. I'm not a vegetarian at all, but if meatless meals will make me lose weight, I have no problem not eating meat.

So, Friday my zumba instructor informed me, that the funk classes I was looking forward to, won't be a reality anyway. The instructors are too busy and the gym is about to close. Not close, but move to a new address. That's suppose to happen in April. The gym chain I go to, have 5 gyms in the city and I can join all of them, but I go to the ones I feel have the best classes to offer for me. As things are now, I still don't have anything on my schedule Tuesday and Saturday, but in February I'll start the Cuban lady styling class. Well, the good thing about being me is... I can do whatever I decide to do!

Next week, my schedule will look like this week. No changes. I hope my weightloss will continue, cause truth is. I never wanted my weightloss to end, as I have a long way to go. But I feel great the way I am now. I feel healthy and happy, but also big. I gained a bit from zumba muscles, but now that my body seem to have gotten used to the new muscles, maybe now it will allow me to start losing weight again. That would be great. If not, I'll just enjoy being healthy.

Skipping zumba, the Royal wedding and a Family affair

Last Friday, zumba was off due to the holidays. Saturday they put two substitue instructors on the job, as our instructor would be away on holiday. I was planning on going to zumba Saturday morning. I woke up and got ready, but wanted to check the meet-up at the gym's website before leaving. To my surprise, I saw that 17 people would not be coming, which would leave me alone with just 10 other women. So I decided to stay home. After all, I was on my holidays, too. So I didn't go.

Monday I was at my usual latin mix and dance fit class. The instructor has come up with some hard steps for dance fit. They're not realy hard, it's just that I have this problem with my ancles, making it impossible for me to do those steps properly, as it was suppose to be small, but super fast, stepping back and forward on the heels.. And well, I couldn't do it, so I just did something to make it look like I was doing the right thing. Well, my calfs were aching so much afterwards, and the next day. I guess I didn't stretch out enough.

Tuesday I went to the other gym for a class of latin mix and dance fit. Luckily the dance fit routines seem better for my foot work, at the Tuesday classes. Sadly this was the last time that this gym would be offering latin mix and dance fit classes on a Tuesday. The instructor wanted to finish her classes here, with waacking. Waacking is basicaly dance routines with your arms. I've actualy become so good at whacking, that I was able to put some attitude into what I was doing. But then again, the whacking that we've been working with in these classes has been realy simple. I wish I knew how to waack this way:

It was sad to end the dance fit class that day, knowing that I lost one of my work out days. It seems that lately I have to make a new schedule all the time. In order to replace my Tuesday work out, I saw, that the same gym is offering samba classes all May. Every year, by the end of May, my city has a big carnval, where everyone can join. Our carnival is open for everyone who wants to join. Everyone can join the parade. I have no intention of joining the parade, but thought it would be fun to join in on the samba classes.

My work out schedule for the month of May will look like this:

Monday: Latin Mix, Dance fit

Wednesday: Samba

Friday: 2 x Zumba

Saturday: Zumba

If I feel that I need to work out more, I can always decide to go to the two other gyms in town. But for now, I'm satisfied. However, knowing that the gym where I go to for my zumba classes, will be closed for 3 weeks in June and July, makes me a bit worried. But I will find a way.

I'm not going to Zumba tomorrow. The instructor is going to  another zumba marathon down in the country. They did put a substitut instructor on the job, but since there is a big flea market that I would like to go to with my family, I decided to cancel.

Today was the big day of the royal wedding in Great Britain. Being a true Dane, I'm also a big royalist. Althoufh I must say, the royal family in GB hasn't been on my mind since Diana died. Hopefuly, the newly weds, will be able to change the boring way the royals seem to be ruling in Great Britain. I think they're in need of some young spirits.

Anyway, to honor the newly weds, T-mobile made this comercial using royal lookalikes. I think it's awesome! Actualy the zumba group on facebook, was the one who introduced me to this video, as they mentioned it could be zumba... Hmmmmmm it has a variety of funny dance moves in it. Check for yourself

I saw the wedding cermony before I went to zumba, but I had to take a shower and get ready, just as they were leaving the church.

Wednesday I went to the German border with my parents, brother and his girlfriend. I was determined on buying some cute tops for the summer and ended up buying... 18!! I had the money and feel like showing myself in cute, printed tops this summer. Just as we were leaving a mini mall, my mom said she saw some shoes that I should go see. She wasn't sure if they were Skechers' Shape Ups, which are currently my no. 1 shoe. I went to the shop and couldn't believe my owns eyes. It was indeed the Shape Ups. Now I already promised myself to buy the new Spring collection Shape Ups, as I allow myself to buy a new pair every day. Well, in the German shop, they were 80 $ off the price they have here in Denmark. It would be silly not to buy them, so I did.

I love them, but as I looked at them when I got home, I realised that they were not the regular shape up shoes, that I was going to buy in a shop here... But Shape Up "toners" - which means, they have a different sole. However, They're still so comfortable to wear. Very soft. And they have such a sparkle. When the sun hits them, they light up and sparkle as if they were made of diamonds:

The instuctor brought some new music today along with some old. He also said that his doctor had warned him to take it easy, as he had a minor damage. Well, if you love zumba, there's just no doctor that can keep you away.. Here I'm thinking back on the time that my doctor told me the same thing, and I went against his wishes. Well, it didn't harm me. Anyway, he said he might be taking it slow, but of course that was not what happened. He came up with new funny, but hard to figure out, steps. But as always, we just goof around and have fun trying to do what he wants us to do.

In the break between the two classes, my cousin showed up. She had asked me before where my regular zumba classes were and how she signed up etc. I think it was easy for her to tell the difference between the other zumba that we both used to go to, and this. I think the zumba I do Friday and Saturday is much more efficient than what I do to work out the other days. Why do I think that? Well, I sweat more and I have a hard time catching my breath cause there is so much cardio involved in the dance routines our instructor comes up with. He might be doing a special zumba program, to test if zumba is working.. Some people say they're not losing weight. But I think I'm living proof, that zumba does work. I lost weight. But not only did I lose weight, I lost sizes in clothes! I can now fit some of the clothes I bought way too small. My main problem has always been my arms. I always had to cover my arms, which meant I had to wear the same "see through" mesh shirt over my top, every time I went out.. But I found new things to wear, to cover my arms, and it actualy tucks them in so that they don't look fat at all. In fact, I lost so much fat on my arms, that the little "bingo arms" I have left now, is lose skin with a minor fat cover on them. The same goes for my stomach. Lose skin with a small fat cover.. My legs are giant because I've been building up a lot of muscle carrying around the weight that I used to.. But a big part of my thigs and butt was fat. I don't think I'll ever get so skinny legs, that the skin will be lose, so instead, I try to keep them firm, by working out. I feel much better about my body now.. Not because I lost a lot of weight, but because I gained a much better figure.. This has made me think, that this summer, I want to start wearing dresses!

Merry Christmas

The time has come to wish you a Merry Christmas and reveal my new zumbalicous body. This is me after 6 months of zumba

Those used to be the pants I wore before.. In 6 months I have dropped 4 sizes in my pants. To be fair, I should say that my stomach was never filling out my pants.. But sadly, my thighs and butt did, which was why I had to get them so big. Well, now everything on me is slimmer.. Butt, thigs, stomach and arms.

Now here's a clip of my first split second on regional tv.. It's a clip about my instructor, but hey, the zumbanistas are in it, too and I was there for a very short second.
http://www.tv2nord.dk/arkiv/2010/11/21/24369?autoplay=1
It was from the last Zumba Event that I attended.

A couple of weeks ago, the local paper also put in a bigger photo from the Zumba Marathon in October and I was finaly able to spot myself in that picture.

Nathan Blake didn't upload the video he shot with us yet, so that one will have to wait.

And yes, there is a zumba marathon tomorrow. I should join it, but I'm having trouble deciding.. I already signed up for zumba-like fitness at the gym.. I don't know anybody who's going to the marathon.. But with all the Christmas food I've been having latey, I guess I should go.. One thing is for sure. I'm having salad tonight!

Merry Christmas!

I lost 20 kg!!!

Yesterday I had 2 hours of zumba and this morning I stepped on the scale and saw that I lost the 20 kg. (44,09 lbs).. 20,1kg. to be exact. I was so happy.. Cause eventhough I already lost that weight before, it felt good to prove to myself, that I could do it all over again in 6 months! This time I know I'm keeping it off because I have zumba in my life now. Before I had nothing except the 1 hour of hard and boring work out at the gym that didn't realy do me any good. Now I go to zumba as much as possible and it's always a joy!

This morning I left at 9:50 AM to catch a bus to zumba. It was cold and raining and most people would have stayed in bed.. But I left with a smile knowing that I would be spending time with a dear friend.. Zumba! Well that and the other zumbanistas and the instructor who's secretly been bringing his girlfriend to the classes yesterday and today. I felt like I was the only one who knew about it, so I just kept it to myself. It was funnt standing next to her while taking instructions from her boyfriend. If anything was different from the usual zumba classes it was the level we were doing. It was a bit more difficult to keep up than usual... I don't think was was trying to show off to his girlfriend. I think he thinks that we have reached another level on the zumba latter.. Fine with me, cause the more he makes us work, the more calories I burn and that's what makes me lose weight!

Here's one of the songs we use in his classes now.

We don't use the same choreograph, but something close to it.. But basicaly it's all about keeping your waist spinning to the changing speed of the music.

I have a latin fitness class tomorrow. Then next week I'll have a super busy schedule with zumba and latin every day.

Zumba Master Class with Nathan Blake

Time is going so fast these days and I know why. I go to zumba classes (a mix of real zumba and latin fitness classes), 6 days a week. It's dark and often late before I return home from zumba, so when I get home, I fall asleep on the sofa right away. Fall has a great deal to do with that.. Cause it's dark most of the day now.It makes my body wamy to sleep and that's why I never seem to find time for blogging any more.. But I will try to do an up-date now.

Last Friday, my zumba instructor was not able to have his 2 zumba classes that I normaly attend. Instead, the Colombian woman took over. I normaly join both of his classes, but since it was the woman, I decided only to join one. She's no where near his level and I find it so frustrating that the woman can't keep up with the music. What I mean is.. She's rushing and everything seems to come to her in a distant moment and nothing is planned ahead or practiced.. She simply speeds up and doesn't follow the music. Luckily the zumba instructor was back for Saturday's zumba class.

Friday I was told about a Zumba Master Class with Nathan Blake in town. I didn't know who he was, so I did a youtube search and decided to sign up for the class, which is next Thursday. From the videos I saw, I can tell that he's at my instructor's level, so hopefuly I will be able to keep up. Easpecialy since Nathan Blake is known for his videos on youtube, and I have been informed, that zumba wear would be perfect for this event since it will be taped. I'm a bit nervous about that.. but what the heck. I've seen other people look goofy on videos, too. But I'm getting very excited.




This morning when I went on the scale, I found out that I'm now just 1 kg. (2.20 lbs) from dropping the 20 kg. (44.09 lbs). When I look back at my old weightloss, it took me 6 months to drop that much, which means, my deadline is in 4 days. I won't be mad at myself if I don't make it, cause I've already acomplished so much more than just losing weight. My life has changed for the better.. There's still room for even better adjustments in my life, but right now I feel so happy and confident and that alone is a great achievement.

Zumba weightloss weekend

Friday I had Zumba straight from work.

One of my colleagues also started doing Zumba, and she was complaining about how her shoes were too hard to move on the floor, so I showed her my Zumba/ Dancing shoes. She said she would bye some when she was 100% sure that she was going to keep doing zumba.

When I started my Zumba adventure, I used my normal gym shoes that I had always used. I have weak ancles, so I found some gym shoes that worked out well for my ancles.. However, I noticed that they were not good enough for zumba. Then I saw a shop selling shoes they claimed were great for zumba. I tried them on a few times, but the problem of staying on the ground was still there. So I decided I was passionate enough about Zumba to buy real dancing shoes!

Friday was the first actual Zumba day with the male instructor this Fall season.
There were a lot of new people there, so he took his time explaining everything. I heard him say everything before, but I didn't mind, because I know he likes to talk to make sure that people know exactly what zumba is, how the body works etc. Of course he talked about my shoes and several people came to ask me where I got them, how they were, would they be suitable for their weak knees etc. etc. I like helping people. Why? Because I'm very passionate about Zumba and want to spread the joy.

The instructor had us dancing like cowboys to "Tribute to U.S.A." from one of the Zumba cds.. It felt silly to play air guitar and showing off invisible guns.. but I had the feeling that maybe he was trying off his routines for the Zumba Marathon on October 9th. We'll see.

Friday night I layed on my couch as always. I fell asleep and didn't wake up till 6 AM.. The downstairs neighbors were playing loud music all night long. Usualy I would be anoyed  about the loud music, but Friday night I didn't mind. I think the bas sound in the music, might have had a comforting effect on me that night. When I woke up at 6 AM, I decided to go to bed and sleep for another 3 hours before getting up.

Saturday I made a short stop at the Zumba shoe store in town. I wanted to pick up some flyers to bring to the gym since I have a feeling that more people from the new zumba classes, would want to stop by. I also got a bunch of flyers for the Zumba Marathon as well. I hope I can take them to the gym on Tuesday, although I still didn't get a spot on Tuesday or Friday this upcoming week, since I didn't sign up on time. Usualy a lot of people don't show up, so I'm hoping there will be a spot open for me.

Saturday I also went to the farmers market in town. I bought several vegtables.. More roots for my oven baked roots, broccoli, zuccini for my tomato soup which I plan on making tonight (Sunday)..
Since I was in town, I decided to shop a bit. I went to Outfitters Nation and managed to find a shirt that I thought could work with my Zumba tank top. I needed sleeves for that top, since I hate my arms. The shirt from outfitters nation is perfect! And best of all. It was a size XS.. I used to be a size XL, so to now be an XS feels amazing! Now this top was bought to be tight, so that's why XS is perfect. I noticed that the Zumba clothes for Fall actualy has sleeves, so I wonder if they finaly realised that some of us are not that happy about showing off our arms?

I also made a stop by the new MAC store in town. I always wear make-up and I've been missing a MAC store for ages. Now it's finaly here, so I stopped by to buy a new eyeshadow.

I woke up this morning and was pleasantly suprized when I saw that I finaly lost another kg. Total weightloss so far 17kg. (37,48 lbs.). That's a clean 10 kg. (22.05 lbs.) thanx to Zumba and 7 kg. (15,43 lbs.) from
before I started zumba.

Today I have a Zumba class in the afternoon. I know it's not right to call it Zumba, cause it's not. But then again, it is. It's a gym chain offering latin fitness, which basicaly is Zumba.. So I just call it all Zumba. I know that the best Zumba class is by the male instructor, who is a qualified Zumba instructor.. but the latin fitness instructors have also been educated, so it's fine with me. As long as they can make me sweat and have fun at the same time, I'm happy!

My weightloss is showing

I was looking forward to today's zumba. I signed up for 2 and had so much fun.. As always.

Today diffentent people came to me and congratulated me on my weightloss. They said they could see a big difference with me from when I started zumba 2 months ago. It makes me so happy to know that people can actualy tell that my hard work is paying off. I'm on a roll here and I know that if I don't go to zumba most days of the week, I'll end up with my old habbit of sitting at home in front of the computer every day. Zumba is so much more fun!

I went to re-fill my water bottle in the break. When I got back, the instructor was already calling our names.. When he came to mine he said "K... she's always here!" No wonder... if he's there, I'm there. No really, I just love dancing and this is a great alternative to going out clubbing every week-end like I used to do when my friends were single and didn't have kids.

He said that next week he won't be joining us as he's attending a dance expo in the Netherlands. Instead he'll be sending his friend who has a latin dance studio in another city.. I doubt that this new guy can live up to what we're used to, but either way, I think we'll be having fun no matter what. Another change for next classes by the male instructor is that it's in the afternoon. I'll be coming straight from work, which is a new experience for me. I used to do that when I went to the other gym once a week. I also signed up at a Zumba class at the other gym straight from work Wednesday. What I'm looking forward to the most, is not coming home so lste in the evening!

Yesterday I bought my ticket for the Zumba marathon in town. It's October 9th. I still don't know anyone who's going, but I decided that Zumba is my life now, so I should show up and see how much fun it's going to be. It's quite expensive to participate, but since the money will go to support the Breast Cancer awarenes campaign, I'll be glad to do it. Especialy since my mom just celebrated her 10th. anniversary of being cancer free after dealing with breast cancer.

The instructor mentioned the Zumba marathon today and said he would be one of the instructors at the event. Of course I already knew that. He also said that some of his other Zumbanistas from Sweden might attend. I don't know what to think about that. I know the instructor is so popular, but why would people from Sweden show up? Is it cause we're not good enough, so he's bringing them to show off? Hmmmmmm It's ok, I know he likes me and my moves even if I still haven't figured out how to work both my feet and arms at the same time. I think what he likes the most, is that everyone in his classes are doing their best to keep up.

Now I'm resting a bit before going to bed. Tomorrow I have a zumba class with the female instructor. Her classes are so different. It's more like speed dancing than zumba. I know she's not a certified zumba instructor, but I also think that one of the differences that ocur is that she's from Colombia and the male instructor is from Brazil. The guest instructor we'll have next week is from Peru and he joked about his height. Aparently he's very short. None of the instructors in the other gym are certified Zumba instructors and they're all Danish. So all in all, there's a big difference in skills etc. But it's ok. I know that we get the most qualified classes by the guy who has the certification. He's also the most educated and talented of them all. I don't think I'll ever stop feeling honoured being one of his students/ zumbanistas.

I dropped 1 kg. (2-20 lbs) in one day!

I was so tired yesterday before going to Zumba.. I think it must be because of the bad weather that set in the day before. It's been nothing but storm and rain for days now. But afterall, I did go to zumba tired and dreaming of a nap. But as I returned home, my energy was back.

Monday's 2 classes of zumba realy paid off. I FINALY hit the 15 kg. (33,07 lbs)... But not only that.. I managed to drop a whole kg. (2.20 lbs).. That leaves me at a total of 15,8 kg. (34,83 lbs) and I'm so proud and happy, too. For a while there, I was thinking that my weightloss had reached the climax, but now I think I can go much further and it makes me so happy!

Tonight I'll be going to another 2 classes with the male instructor. He knows that some of us are there to lose weight and have fun, so I think he will know which moves will do the trick tonight, too, like he did the other night. I'll report back later!

Welcome to my Abs and biceps!

I was planning on going to the shop that sells the actual dance/ zumba shoes in town.. But decided to go tomorrow instead. With some luck ( a lot of it ), I will reach my 15 kg.(33,07 lbs) tomorrow.. Which means, it's time to treat myself with a gift.. I'll definitely go have a look at the shoes tomorrow.. I hope to buy some, too..
I'll continue to treat myself with something whenever I feel I earned it. I already have a list: Shoes, hair cut and a jacket/ coat for Fall.. Cause let's face it. Although I have jackets that fit me last year, my waist has gone completely bananas this summer.. I'm actualy seeing abs!!! Even my arms have biceps now. It's amazing.. I never in my life imagined that would happen to me.. I still don't like to see the bingo arms under my arm, but my biceps are becoming more and more noticable. Don't worry. I won't allow myself to end up looking like Hulk. But I do want to maintain. Today was my first time to see my biceps, so I'm still very amused by looking at them.. haha

Another thing I want to treat myself with is this top. Crazy Happy describes exactly who I am.. I have been using the nickname crazy since 1998 and zumba has definitely put a smile on my face. So I will put this on my shopping list, too. I already use pink tops for my zumba classes, so this one is going to be a perfect match.
The other day I met my friend. She told me I looked much slimmer now.. And she said my neck seemed longer. I think that might also have something to do with my happiness. Whenever you're happy, you tend to lift your head higher and smile at the world. I think that is why. Everyone should be facing the world with a smile on their face. I'm not always happy, but my weightloss is making me proud and happy. If you're struggling with weightloss yourself, just remember.. even the smallest steps are a victory!
My next zumba class isn't till Monday. So in order to stay healthy, I've decided to go for a somewhat long walk to a pond nearby. That's my exercise for today and it's also away to stay away from food for some time. When I return, I'll have something healthy for dinner. This morning I had a bun and a Danish at work. We get that every Friday and I never find it a problem. As long as I eat healthy for the rest of the day, it's ok for me to eat unhealthy foods too every now and then. That is my advice to everyone.. don't deprive yourself from the food you love. Just eat smaller portions or healthy food for the rest of the day. You will find your diet easier to follow if you allow yourself to have "snacks from the past" every now and then!

(8/13/2010)

4 hours of zumba this week!

Monday I went to 2 hours of pure zumba. Normaly there's only 1 zumba lesson a day, but the male instructor at my gym is a pro so he has 2 classes.. And of course I signed up to both of them cause I love to dance!! I'm far from a pro and he did have to come down holding my hands as he showed me the steps 1 - 2 - 3... Reminded me so much of river dance.. Oh well, he finaly let go of my hands and I was free again.. I don't really like it that he comes so close.. Why? Cause he's really cute and it's so embaressing that he finds you doing a mistake. I wonder if he shook hands with Madonna like that when he was helping her with her dance steps? In the 5 minute break between the two classes, he saw me waiting and asked if I was joining the second class, to which I replied "yes!" - He was really happy to hear that. He's such a happy spirit and for a few seconds I thought I had made him even happier ;) 2 other people from the first class had decided to join the second class, so he told the others to look at what we did.. As if I already knew the steps to the dance he just taught us.. I can move my hips alright, but the dance required an almost worm shape with the spine and I don't know how to move my spine like that yet.. But I think there's hope for improvement. I can definitely see that he's also been helping out Usher..
The next day we had the female instructor.. I heard some women say that she's the best instructor out of those two.. But I don't think there's a difference.. They tend to do things different, but I like both ways. The guy is spending some quality time explaining about the muscles, anatomy etc.. and the woman skips everything and at times it gets too fast I think.. And both ways have showed out to be very effectful. My stomach has never been as flat and toned as it is today, If it wasn't for the lump of lose skin on my stomach, my stomach would show a 4 pack.. working on the 6 pac, haha.. Now that my stomach has become nicely toned, I hope I will start to lose some of the fat on my thigs.
Today I have a zumba class at my regular gym.. I decided to go there so I could use the weights for 45 minutes before zumba. I will make sure to stop by that gym every now and then to work on the weights.. I see how sloppy my arms are starting to look cause I lost a lot of the fat, so although we tone the arms at zumba, the weights will be a better way to shape up I think.
I went on the scale this morning and had lost 14 kg. (30,86 lbs).. I told myself that when I hit 15 kg. (33,07 lbs), I would buy myself a gift.. The gift might very well be the real dancer's shoe for zumba.. I like the new ones I bought, but I think the other ones might be more ideal.. So I will go buy them soon.. I know I probably won't hit that weight tomorrow.. But I still plan on having a look at the shoes tomorrow after work.
When I hit the 20 kg. (44,09 lbs), I might go have my hair done at the salon.. I rarely go to the hair salon since my hair is long.. But I think it would be nice to have it shaped a bit before Fall.
Next week I signed up for zumba classes:
Monday: 2 hours

Tuesday: 1 hour

Wednesday: 2 hours

Thursday: 1 hour

I love dancing and zumba is showing me so many good results, both on the scale and on my body shape.. I get more and more compliments on my weightloss.. And people say I look so happy.. And I tell them it's because of Zumba. Read in a magaszine that someone said "Zumba is Happiness" and it's true.. because of the many endorphins you release while dancing, you feel a constant rush that makes you happy. Gotta love that!

(12/08/2010)

Summer party in the rain

The plans for last night changed a bit, since one of the girls who were suppose to come to my place, got ill.. So instead, I spend the entire day and evening with my other friend, whom I went to the mall with.. It was nice to spend time with her again, as we don't do that too often now that she's married and lives a bit far away. Well, not that far.. But an 11 minute train ride away.
I took the train home around 11:30 PM. It was clear, that the city she now lives in, is much smaller than where I live. Teenagers were at the station, dressed up for party and drinking. Here in Denmark you have to be 18 to drink, and some of these guys had just barely crossed that age. As I stood there, listening to the girls' conversation, it reminded me of my own early days of clubbing. I used to love that. And I still do, which is probably why I was starting to feel a bit jealous of these happy young people. I knew where they were headed. Cause living in a small city, of course you would want to get on a train out of there, to go clubbing in the big city. Personaly, I live in a suburb myself, but with only a few minutes to the center, it feels like the city out here, too. Especialy after the mall came out here... And Ikea.. I now think of this area, as the center, cause we have it all here! Except for the clubs.. But that's ok.. They're only a bus ride away.

I couldn't sleep when I got home. But eventualy, I went to bed at 2 AM.

I woke up at 6 AM.. I'm serious.. I really think zumba is boosting my body with energy in a way, that I don't feel so tired.. Well, in the evening I will yawn, but that's all. Or maybe it was because I was excited about today, that I had woke up so early.

Today, my parents throw the annual birthday/ summer party for the family at their summer house.. It's a tradition that everyone asks about.. Fine by me, cause that means my aunts and uncles still buy me presents. The same thing happens with my younger brother's birthday.. As he was born December 25th., everyone in the family comes to an anual birthday/ Christmas party as well.

I was a bit sceptic about the weather. And I still am. It keeps changing from rain, to something that looks like it's clearing up, then turns grey and rainy again.. That is giving me many thoughts on what to wear.

I think I will go with the summer dress I originaly planned on wearing, but with a long sleeved top underneath..

Last time I wore this dress, was at my aunt and uncle's wedding in 2007 and I looked very chubby then.. But since I was never afraid of bold colors, I bought the summer dress and made it work with a scarf covering my big arms. Now I'm totaly ok with wearing it without covering my arms.. My waist has also slimmed down drastic since then, and the dress probably fits perfect now compared to back then, when I just decided to make it fit.

My problem area number 1, has always been my big butt.. But the part of my body I always hated the most, was my upper arms. I always loved wearing small tops.. And when I did go clubbing every week-end, I always had on a perfect cute top, but had to cover up my arms.. With my own solution. A see-through open shirt.. I admit that it sometimes ruined the outfit, that I always had on that open shirt. But since I love to dance, I would always be shaking my arms a lot whenever I was out dancing.. and to prevent people from seeing the fat on my upper arms go from side to side, I noticed that the black see-through shirt, would cover up a great deal.

I swore many times, that if I had the money, I would have a fat suction on my upper arms cause they have been my biggest pain to look at throughout the years.. Now my confidence is good enough for my to walk around wearing a sleeveless shirt... Cause by walking around, I don't put my arms in the air revealing the fat. But when I am occasionaly going out, I will find my old best friend, the black see-through open shirt.

I did go out for a few hours last Friday.. And I had come up with an ok styling of my spaghetti strapped top and the sleeved open shirt. My friend who is very skinny, doesn't understand why I always have to cover up my arms. But really, they're a nightmare to me. I am noticing how the fat on my upper arms has started to shrink in. I can now twirl the skin.. That means, less fat. I really do hope, that some day I will be satisfied with my upper arms and not have to worry about the bingo arms. It actualy looks funny now that it has shrinked in, cause everything is hanging so lose. I wonder if I'll end up having to get a skin reduction on my arms. I think I will put that on my list of goals.. To lose enough weight to get a skin reduction on my arms. If I ever slim down my thigs, I don't think a skin reduction will be neccesary, cause losing weight slowly, is actualy making your skin find its' own new shape... Or so I've heard.. but it would be nice to see how much more I can slim down.

My stomach and waist are smaller than ever.. but my butt and thigs were actualy smaller during my last weightloss.. If only I had listened to the instructors word "The wave machine is not good for people with a tendency for big thigs" - She became my worst enemy when she told me that.. Cause I had been using the wave machine everytime I came to the gym, because it was the only cardio machine I seemed to be able to use without either my knee or ancle hurting... And I noticed how I burnt calories a lot faster on that one. Up untill I started zumba, I would use the wave machine for 30 minutes, burning 500 calories.. Then zumba became my new best friend. They say, that you can burn 1000 calories in an hour, which is basicaly the same as I did on the wave machine... Only zumba is so much better, and work on the entire body.

(07/31/2010

The start of a new era...

This is another atempt of me actualy having a blog. I personaly love reading other people's blogs because I find it very amusing how other people live their lifes.. So this is my life and you're welcome to follow my life.

Yesterday was my birthday. I turned 34 years old and decided that today would be a perfect day to start something new.¨

I'm currently on a diet.. Well, change of lifestyle, I guess you could call it. I watch what I eat and try to be healthy. From January 2008 to January 2009, I lost 30kg. (66,14 lbs).. In 2009 I got lazy around my health and started putting on weight..

In April 2010, I attended my friend's bachelorette party. When I saw the pictures from that day, I decided to go back to my healthy lifestyle again.. Motivation being, I did not want to end up on pictures from my friend's wedding, looking chubby.. So a couple of days later, I started my healthy lifestyle again... which means, no candy or bread and a normal healthy thinking about food.. What's good for you and what's not.. It had worked before, so I knew I could do it again!

I did lose weight before the wedding in June.. I lost about 8 kg. (17,64 lbs).. But That was not enough for me. I wanted to give myself one year to lose as much weight as possible, just like I had done it in 2008-2009. Not saying I will lose another 30kg. (66,14lbs), but as much as possible, is the plan.
June 22nd., another friend invited me to join her at a zumba class.. And let me tell you. Zumba is my new obsession and the tool I have been looking for all my life, to slim down! I love to dance at clubs. Yes, I'm 34 years old, but I still love to go to clubs, just to shake my talefeather.. and since I'm single, I think it's definitely ok to do that once in a while.

I loved Zumba and made sure to join the next class, and the next one and the next one. Since I started doing zumba, I lost about 4 kg. (8,82 lbs.)..

I used to go to the gym once a week, burning 500 calories at the wave machine in 30 minutes followed by weights in 30 minutes.. But it didn't show much on the weight. Instead my thigs seemed to get bigger, which was not what I wanted. With zumba, I burn calories and lose the fat on my thigs and my arms.. But I must say, my stomach has never been so flat before either.. Cause like the instructor said "every dancestep you do, is a push up" and it's true.. Zumba really works!
People are (finaly) starting to notice and commenting my weightloss again, and it's only been 3 months.. I can't imagine what the result is gonna be like in 9 months, but I'm sure I will like it.

Today, the scale showed a weightloss of 12,7kg. ( 28 lbs.) and my muscle percentage had finaly gone up by 1 %.
I'm off work this week, so I was able to join the morning zumba classes at the gym. But on a regular basis, I go to 2 zumba classes a week. I gained so much energy from zumba, that I could easily do a class every day.. If only it would work around my schedule.. I'll try to do something about that in the near future, even if it means I have to go to different gyms.. Cause zumba is doing so many good things for me!

(7/29/2010)