Thursday, August 15, 2019

I don't believe in my dream :-(

That's my biggest problem. Self-image.

I mean... you remember that photo last time. I was 15 in that photo. It was my confirmation. I believed I was fat already then. I weighed almost 70 kilos. I was size 42. I was the only person I knew over 40, except for other fat people. The dress I'm wearing is a new one. I didn't fit in the old one, the dress all three of my elder sisters had used...  I was superfit. I mean, my result for Cooper's test at that time was 3200 meters. That's about as good as it gets. There was another girl who run a couple of hundred meters more, but the rest were several laps behind us. The thing that still surprises me is that... it meant nothing. The teacher didn't say anything, she just recorded the results, and it didn't show in my physical education grade. I learned only a couple of years ago how extraordinary that is. Anyway, those 70 kilos were mostly muscles. I had wide shoulders and back, thighs like tree trunks - and I felt big and ugly and fat.
I also have short, thick neck. Enhances the fat impression.
I also got into puberty at 12, and have big boobs. As you can see from this photo of me as 18 years old.
I mean... I understand why I thought I was fat.
What I don't understand is why no-one told me I wasn't. I remember my big sister saying "even your toes are fat". I was about 15 or so. Another sister was freezing, and my cousin referred to me, wearing just shorts, and that I wasn't freezing, and my sister said "she has all that isolation". Meaning fat. I was 16-17. I once overheard my sister speaking to another sister in the phone about how quickly I eat and that she has tried to stop me. And that I had surpassed "the magical 70 kilos". I look at that photo, I look at that curve under the breast, and how the fabric goes smoothly down over my tummy... what tummy?

I get so bitter and sad about all this.
Another thing... that girl had never been kissed. No-one had even tried.
Ugly and fat. (What? Seriously? Yeah. That's what I thought then and still do.)

The thing is that... if I was fat and ugly when I was in the best condition of my life, and I looked like that and run 2 miles in 12 minutes... I will be fat and ugly rest of my life. There's nothing I can do to not be fat and ugly. It scares me.
I mean, if people are going to see me and treat me as I was fat and ugly, I could as well get the benefits, and enjoy all I can eat buffet of delicious, fatty, sugary carbs and bacon and all that. And just slouch on the couch all days and watch telly and surf and do nothing. It's bothersome to exercise. Muscles get sore. Running unfit hurts. It hurts your feet, it hurts your lungs, it feels like your heart is going to burst out of your chest and veins burst and you get the blood taste in your mouth, and then it's sweaty and uncomfortable, and all the blubber gets in the way, and makes it hard to bend. And breathe when you are bent.
But... I am not doing this (losing weight and improving my fitness) to get praise or so that people would like me and want to be with me. I'm just looking at all these happy social fit people doing all kinds of fun things together, and talking about their trainers and whatnots. How do you get a trainer?
And I get distracted by that.

I am not doing this to be seen as pretty and skinny and fit and all that.
I am not doing this to get friends and... I don't know, internet fame and to be able to make viral videos of me being so flexible and whatnot. There's plenty of young people doing that. And even though it might be a good idea to add some middle-aged people doing all that in the mix, NO! I AM NOT DOING THIS FOR THAT!

I am doing this to get lighter so that my body doesn't need to carry around so much and things will be easier for me.
I am doing this to be able to DO things. I want to do things like climbing and parkour and dancing and all that without needing to stop to breathe every 5 seconds.
I am doing this to me.

And, of course, it would be nice to have the other things too :-D
Though I think the most amazing thing that could happen is if I could watch myself in the mirror and admire what I see... I don't even dare to think about that. To see me and not see all the problems and wrongs and bad things, things I don't like...

But - I don't believe I will. I don't believe I will lose weight. I don't believe I will ever be able to do any of those things. I don't believe I'll ever look in the mirror and like what I see.
That girl over there... that's not me. I couldn't possibly ever have been that cute. And pretty. And that body looks very nice.

So - that's my biggest obstacle here. I know everything is possible, if I just believe, but I have to believe it 24/7 with my whole being.

There was this guy who got 20 cm taller...



Sunday, August 4, 2019

I tried this thing...

I have been pinning things on Pinterest about fitness and sports and stuff. I love dancing, I love parkour, I love moving my body and using my muscles and such things.
So - I have been pinning some workout videos, and today I decided to stop pinning and start doing.
I chose a video, it looked easy enough, they said it was easy, and probably it is... but I couldn't do it.
And I panicked.
I tried to hang on, but while I was trying to figure out what her legs did, she did something with her arms, and moved on, so when I was ready to do what she did with her arms, she has moved on to the next movement, and after JUST FOUR MINUTES I was two moves behind, and completely lost, confused, and bewildered, at the brink of tears and panicking.
"I CAN'T DO THIS!"
I just wanted to quit and run and hide in shame - and go sit in my bed and do nothing, but eat. I want pizza. Junkfood. Candy. I want to go back to my childhood and not care about anything.

You see, I am good. I am very good. I can do most things at first try. Especially physical things. So when things don't happen, when things aren't easy, when I don't succeed at first try, I get shocked and don't know what to do about it. And I give up. I quit. I have done that for 50 years now. Taken the easy way out.
But no more. I will not quit. I am not 16 with physical fitness of an Olympic athlete. (Yes, I was that 34 years ago. I just didn't know it at the time. I wish someone had known. Someone who had known what to do with it. I would have been a great heptathlete.)
I am 50, I am about twice as heavy as I should be, I am sick and I haven't done much anything about my fitness since my father died 2014.


 So - I got so upset and panicky I had to stop and go away and walk it out.
But... I didn't want to quit. I wanted to finish it. So I got back and tried to take it slower. 50% of time was too fast, and I got back into panic.
I don't want to quit! Not this time! Never again!
I will do this! It is not difficult. Hundreds of people are doing it! I will, too. Might not be able to do it now, today, but I will take it on again tomorrow, and see how far I get, and this time I'll start in 25% without sound, and learn the choreography, how ever simple it is and how ever stupid I feel, because I WILL NOT QUIT. Quitting is not an option anymore.

After I decided that, I went to my rowing machine and rowed three sets of my maximum. Which is only 1 minute of rowing, but it will grow. I will not quit. Not this time, not ever again.



I just saw an episode of --- and there was this woman who was a ---... and the more I watched, the more I disliked her. So... she just blurted out something as something she wants to do, and she got to do it. But... she didn't seem to think much of it, not really want to do it, didn't seem to appreciate it much and hasn't mentioned it since. Or then, either. Anyway, I kind of forgot all about that during the show, and in the end, when they presented her, they presented her as a --- and I just about died.
Because it is true. She is a ---. I am not.
It is so unfair! She got it for free! I can't even imagine how I ever could. :'(

Saturday, August 3, 2019

Don't weight yourself often

Like, don't weight yourself every week. I am going to do that, though, to see if I need to put in more work, and I definitely do.

Hmm... how did they come up with 1200 kcal and 4-8 hours exercise?

I weigh 118 kg, and I need about 2000 kcal to stay alive. (Which means that when physically very active men talk about the normal calorie intake being 2000, I say "anorexia".)

They say 3500 kcal is 1 pound weight loss. So to lose 1 pound of weight every day, I need to burn 3500 kcal more than I usually do.

Now... apparently everything I *can* do, burns about 150-300 kcal IN AN HOUR. I don't understand how I could burn 3500 kcal in a day. I would need to do what I can like for 15 hours.
If I eat less, I don't need to exercise as much, but if I eat 1000 kcal less a day, I still need to burn 2500 kcal, and that's 10 hours of my low impact exercise. 

If I eat 1200 kcal a day and exercise (low impact, slow, as I can) 4 hours a day, I will lose 1/2 pound a day. 1200 kcal is very little.

I don't like this at all. Because at the moment I can't do any high-impact activities. I can't run or skip the rope or do burpees, because I have arthritis in my hip, and that would damage my body more than it's already damaged... even normal walking hurts so much the next day I won't be able to move at all. Rowing is nice, swimming is nice. But I am not strong enough to do that hard and long enough for that to use more calories than some 400 in an hour. Which means that I should do that for 6 1/2 hours every day.
Dancing probably uses about that amount of calories as well...

What I need to do here is to do something, and keep thinking that it might not be much, but "not much" is not nothing, it's something.

My husband just told me that when I began walking 3 miles with our dog, it took me over an hour to do that, and when I did my last rounds, it took 45-50 minutes. So it does work. I have thought that it didn't show anywhere. But it did... huh...


The adjusted plan; 3 kilos a week - from 120 to 80 in 3 months. Amazing.

3.8 - 118
10.8 - 115
17.8 - 112
24.8 - 109
31.8 - 106
7.9 - 103
14.9 - 100
21.9 - 97
28.9 - 94
5.10 - 91
12.10 - 88
19.10 - 85
26.10 - 82
2.11 - 79

adjusted plan, 1,5 kilos a week - under 100 kilos in 3 months. Still great.

3.8 - 118
10.8 - 116,5
17.8 - 115
24.8 - 113,5
31.8 - 112
7.9 - 110,5
14.9 - 109
21.9 - 107,5
28.9 - 106
5.10 - 104,5
12.10 - 103
19.10 - 101,5
26.10 - 100
2.11 - 98,5

modified plan - 1 kg a week - under 100 this year. Still great.
3.8 - 118
10.8 - 117
17.8 - 116
24.8 - 115
31.8 - 114
7.9 - 113
14.9 - 112
21.9 - 111
28.9 - 110
5.10 - 109
12.10 - 108
19.10 - 107
26.10 - 106
2.11 - 105
9.11 - 104
16.11 - 103
23.11 - 102
30.11 - 101
7.12 - 100
14.12 - 99

Friday, August 2, 2019

Today was another day

Ok, so I have been adding up the exercise.
I am still looking... I know I should stop looking and start working, but... uh. Can't be bothered.

I fell for freshly baked challah with butter. A lot of butter. :-( I hadn't eaten much during the day, so I'm in for 1300 kcal, but... it was delicious. I regret only a little. I'm more afraid of that this isn't going to work. But I weighed myself today. I was 119 when I came home, and now I'm 118. It's going to the right direction. But there's no way I'll weigh 116 tomorrow :-D

Thursday, August 1, 2019

Ok, so what is going wrong?

I have eaten my 1200 kcal for today. I fell for temptation, and ate more pita bread pizza, but kept the calories at the low level. Better than yesterday.

Exercise didn't go too well, though... :-( Not 4-8 hours heavy exercise. No. But I did do something, so that's positive. I will get there. I know I will. :-) I will be 80 kilos this Christmas, and 60 next summer.

Wednesday, July 31, 2019

First day of this time :-D

So, I made myself an eggwhite-yoghurt-berry-smoothie for breakfast. About 200 kcal.
I couldn't drink all of it at one go, so I put it in the fridge to wait for when I was hungry. I got hungry at 1 P.M. and added a handful of almonds in it. 300 kcal :-D I don't think I'll do that again :-D
This was about half an hour ago, and I am still hungry, so I am grilling myself a chicken filet, which I plan to eat with lots of green salad and a vinaigrette. It's a big filet, and a lot of lettuce and such green stuff, so I don't think I want to be eating anything more today, but if I'm still hungry, there's room for something more, to fill it up to 1200 kcal. I'm eating too much protein and too little carbs at the moment, though... I might eat a roasted piece of full corn bread for supper, though. To get a little minerals, fibers and carbs.

Food is not going to be a problem. Workout is. I am so unfit and stiff and untrained! AND I USED NOT TO BE! I used to be really fit, trained and flexible - but it was all active, I mean, I never went to a gym and trained. I used to freerun in the forests, climb rocks and trees, jump and hang and all kinds of things. So I don't have any routines and habits to support my weight loss journey. Nor a personal trainer. I have to do this all by myself. Now, a benefit here is that I am rather physically intelligent, I am able to use the internet and be certain of that I do the movements right. I know my body and know how to use it, even though it has been sadly neglected for years, and thoroughly rusty and gunky.
But - it is possible. Marci did it, and she had never been fit and eaten right. If she can, I can. I have full confidence in me. It might take longer than 3 months, but I will eventually get there. I know I will.

And it pleases me enormously. I will get my fitness back. :-)

But - how will I put in 4-8 hours of workout?
I have been rowing, but I can do it like two minutes or less and I'm all tired and huff, puff and wheeze :-D I almost have the blood taste in my mouth, and I'm seriously considering if I should go for that :-D

This 50 minutes to hell sounds like a good option - I think all of it is possible to me... perhaps not the "man maker"... that jump-thingy in the middle looks too much for my hip... perhaps one could do it, like, slow, avoiding any jerks and jumps. And, of course, the jumps in the end. No burpees and box jumps for me, at least not yet. Perhaps when I reach the 80 kilos. Or 60.

I would need some sort of HIIT thingy, on the floor, focusing on core...

Callanetics work, and so does Jane Fonda... though I can't do the warm up... I have to find some way to warm up that doesn't involve jumping and such...

BTW, now it's 10 P.M. and I need to go to bed. Tomorrow starts the new 6WC - 6 weeks of studying languages 24/7.
And I failed with the food. I ate a pizza. :-( So somewhat over 1200 kcal, but it's still under 1700. Not too bad. I'll take it back tomorrow :-) Less tea with milk, more green tea, and I'll wait with my breakfast smoothie for as long as I can. :-)
And I'll do some sort of crossfit tomorrow. :-) It will be great!

Tuesday, July 30, 2019

Ok, so...


So... he weighed 120 kilos on July 1st. He weighed 80 kilos on January 1st half a year later. Now, it doesn't say what he did or what he ate, but probably a lot and pretty healthily :-D

MTV's I Used To Be Fat showed Marci in episode 2, season 1, and she lost a pound a day, by  
"During the show Diet - oatmeal and eggwhites breakfast,grilled chicken Green vegetable lunch,low calorie soup or salad dinner (1200 kcal per day). Workouts were bootcamp drills,football drills and were 4-8 hours a day",
as she said on Facebook, answering questions people had about it.

I had a good experience of my "do nothing else to lose weight but eat less" diet :-D I ate less than 1600 kcal a day and lost steadily a kg every week, until I didn't, got depressed and stopped dieting. I don't have the slightest idea what I weighed during that time, but as I weigh 119 now, after heavy eating in Finland during my vacation, I think I probably weighed 117 when I stopped... :-( Which was not much over what I was supposed to weigh. So, I have a couple of weeks to take back, and losing 40 kilos in 6 months like PJ did, or in 3 months like Marci did, sounds like a good moral boost-up and a carrot. I managed to keep up with the diet for 7 weeks, so keeping up with the diet for 13 weeks doesn't sound too hard. Especially if I do manage to lose 40 kilos. That would be amazing.

So - the plan:
3.8 - 116
10.8 - 113
17.8 - 110
24.8 - 107
31.8 - 104
7.9 - 101
14.9 - 98
21.9 - 95
28.9 - 92
5.10 - 89
12.10 - 86
19.10 - 83
26.10 - 80

How to reach it?
4-8 hours heavy exercise every day. I have arthritis, so no jumping and drills for me, but I can row, so that's what I'm going to do.
breakfast - oatmeal eggwhite smoothie
lunch - green salad with grilled chicken
dinner - low calorie soup
1200 kcal per day
And then I'm going to drybrush my skin every day to see if that helps it to not sag so much.


Friday, July 5, 2019

Autumn Wardrobe 2019

1) Decide the color


Two neutrals; golden brown and teal (yes, teal counts as neutral, just as navy and burgundy)
Two accent colors; red and burgundy
Golden brown leather, bronze metals

Things to note:
- the style and impression I wish to make: Baroque, Mother Earth, warm, playful, sensual, soft natural, folklore
- lifestyle and needs: I'm living on a disability pension. I am chronically ill, with fibromyalgia. I basically do nothing. I like writing, crafting and making art. I like cooking and baking. I need clothes that are comfortable and easy.
- climate: humid continental. The weather is SLIGHTLY colder (a couple of degrees, not more) in Stockholm than in Boston, but practically the same.
- body type: V/O - I do have a waist, but it's very, very short, and disappears between my large chest and a big tummy. I also have square hips and not much bum. I'm fat. Size 52-54EU. Figure problems? Nah. But I would like to look less fat and like I have a waist. Best features; face, cleavage, hands.

* Building up a capsule wardrobe as Janice from Vivienne Files

Step 1

1) 1 bottom, 2 tops, of which one is layering top, shoes

"A pair of wrinkle free cotton pants". So boring I'm ready to cry! No!

I have used pants as my "uniform". I had a pair of black jeans, then I had a pair of brown jeans. I fixed the black jeans by sewing pretty fabric on the hem, so that I could wear them turned up and the colorful lining would show up. I also embroidered a dragon climbing up my leg.
Frankly, I don't know why I stopped wearing those pants. I wish someone had told me that all I have to do is to stay skinny, and I can wear those jeans for years. I only wore them like 5 years. Plenty of mileage in those. I just didn't stay skinny.

So, let's say, a pair of jeans. I have to fix them to be special, though. Let's say light golden brown pair, with painted leopard spots.
And add the printed lining in teal and pink... like Chinese silk... tassels? Embroidery? Maybe embroider some leopards on the jeans.

 And I want a bronze sequin cardi, in the twin-set style, with v-neck, slightly fitted, so that it can be used as a cardigan, sweater and jacket.

Anyway, after the pants, you are suppose to get.... loafers.
Yuk! Those are among the ugliest things you can wear and no woman should have them! THEY ARE UGLY!!! It is possible to get comfortable shoes that are NOT UGLY!!!

But - let's say a pair of comfortable promenade shoes one can walk the whole day and barely notice one is wearing shoes. These should be golden brown, the color of all leatherwares.

And then a t-shirt. Long sleeves, because it's Autumn. This one is teal. I mean... my Autumn wardrobe is supposed to be teal, and so far I have no teal items.

2) bottom and top

Then Janice adds another pair of pants and a shirt. Now, she is the kind of a woman who wears pants and shirts and ugly shoes. I am not. So I am going to choose as my second bottom, a skirt. This will be teal corduroy. I will take the white buttondown shirt, though, but mine will not be crisp, it will be soft linen.
So... here I have some outfits...
1. white shirt and jeans
2. white shirt and skirt
3. teal shirt and jeans
4. teal shirt and skirt
5. cardi and jeans
6. cardi and skirt
7. white shirt and jeans with cardi
8. white shirt and skirt with cardi
9. teal shirt and jeans with cardi
10. teal shirt and skirt with cardi
Now, I could be wearing the cardigan both buttons front or back, and basically that's two different tops. I could be wearing the t-shirt backwards also, though that might not work too well :D Perhaps under the cardigan or under the white shirt.
I could be wearing the white shirt in several different ways, even as a skirt.

Step 2

3) Accessorise...

So... plenty of tights :-D And a bodysuit. But that's not the kind of accessory Janice is talking about.

She talks about jewelry, scarves and belts and such.
I would choose a simple, feminine watch. I would choose bracelets. I wish I was the kind of person who uses bracelets.
Scarf, of course.
Maybe something like this? It's made after Gaudi's mosaic

Spats would be fun.
Gloves and a hat.
Umbrella.
Belts? I'm apple shaped. Right now I'm fat. Do you really think I should wear a belt? I don't. (Though it looks rather nice to put a belt on my true waist, which is basically straight under the breasts...

Brooches. I would like a rather big one I could use as a belt buckle, as I don't have a belt. Somewhere on the hip area.
Glasses. I need glasses... it would be nice with leopard spots or tortoise shell (of course fake), maybe with some sparkle and color, too?
Mobile phone as a fashion accessory. If the world was my oyster, I'd have a bronze colored peacock themed Art Nouveau style phone case I can carry around my neck.
I really need to make my Mucha ear phones. :-D For Autumn... Autumn leaves... a crown of Autumn leaves... or maybe panthers in a rainforest... though they don't live in rainforests... maybe a jaguar, then?
Now, I have big, chunky hands, but they are beautiful, graceful and I have long fingers, so I can wear big rings and get away with it :-D
And then big earrings. Like oriental earrings.

How to train yourself to accessorise

3) And then two more tops and a scarf more... I think I might want to choose a shawl. I like shawls.
These two tops should be somewhat simple tees in accent colors, so red and burgundy.
And just simple long sleeve t-shirts. Now, I might want to have tunics, but I have used ordinary long sleeved tees, too, and they are more useful, as they can be used with anything. I mean, it's hard to fit the white shirt and the cardi over tunics or elaborate tops. A peasant top might do as one of these, though.

4) Then she adds one more layering piece, one more pair of pants and boots.

Now... I am planning on sewing myself a skirt, a pinafore dress, a pair of pants and a kimono jacket of the teal corduroy. So I suppose the pants and the kimono jacket pass as pants and layering piece.
I have a pair of burgundy boots.

The pants are going to be a bit like this

Let's see what can be put together of all this:

jeans
-  with a cardigan
-  with top 1
-  with white shirt
-  with top 2
-  with top 3
-  with cardigan and layering top
-  with top 1 and layering top
-  with white shirt and layering top
-  with top 2 and layering top
-  with top 3 and layering top
-  with top 1 and cardigan
-  with white shirt and cardigan
-  with top 2 and cardigan
-  with top 3 and cardigan
skirt
-  with a cardigan
-  with top 1
-  with white shirt
-  with top 2
-  with top 3
-  with cardigan and layering top
-  with top 1 and layering top
-  with white shirt and layering top
-  with top 2 and layering top
-  with top 3 and layering top
-  with top 1 and cardigan
-  with white shirt and cardigan
-  with top 2 and cardigan
-  with top 3 and cardigan
corduroy pants -
-  with a cardigan
-  with top 1
-  with white shirt
-  with top 2
-  with top 3
-  with cardigan and layering top
-  with top 1 and layering top
-  with white shirt and layering top
-  with top 2 and layering top
-  with top 3 and layering top
-  with top 1 and cardigan
-  with white shirt and cardigan
-  with top 2 and cardigan
-  with top 3 and cardigan

That is 42 different outfits of 9 pieces of clothing...

now... I could add all the tops with the cardigan AND the layering top,
AND I could use the white shirt as a layering top
AND all the tops with white shirt AND the layering top.

I also could use the cardigan backwards and get another impression, and I could use my top 1 backwards and use it as a boatneck top, but then I would need to use it with a layering top, any one would do.

THEN I could try out all the different ways of wearing a white button-down shirt and get some more mileage of it.

THEN I could try out all the different ways of wearing a sweater or a cardigan...


Step 3

Funny that she says: "Ah, this capsule wardrobe is starting to have some personality!" :-D

Personality of a dishrag... No. I'm being mean here. This is a dependable, no-nonsense person, who values quality over quantity, practicality over style, and comfort over flair. She would not dance on the tables, but she could still be funny. I think she's good at her job, what ever it is, but it's probably not creative, artistic job.
Anyway, not me. I am an artistic person, sensitive, passionate, emotional, drama queen, not so dependable, no... I do value quality over quantity, but style, beauty and flair over practicality, no question about that. Comfort is important to me, but it is defined highly subjective. I don't necessarily deem high heels uncomfortable... :-D I am not good at my job, which is the main reason to why I don't have any.

But, back to third step.
5) She adds two more tops and a "flash of color" in the shape of a necklace.
One of the tops is a layering piece.

Now...  if I were smart, I'd choose a multiuse piece like Cozy, but... it really isn't my style. So, I choose a boatneck sweater and a long, big, comfy cardigan, like these two.
They were my favorites at Polyvore, used them all the time... but then they closed Polyvore just like that, and it wasn't possible to save anything. Or, yeah, they let you get some files, but it wasn't like you could choose and save what you wanted, and then my computer crashed and took the files with them, so - yeah... I hates them. Don't go to ssense.com. They were in it. Anyway, this is what I could "salvage" from a few sets that are still around. Hates them. May the a-holes stoke on the money and may their clothes be itchy and chafe. I loved Polyvore. :´(
Yes, I know there are others, but I don't want to get attached to something to then have it snatched away like Polyvore did.
Sorry about the rant. 

So, back to wardrobe. Again.

6) Next addition to the wardrobe is a dressy outfit. It can be a dress, it can be some silk slacks and a blouse, it can be a skirt and a blouse. Now, if it's more than one item, it can be used together with the others. Now, for example, if I chose a pretty blouse, I could use it with my jeans and corduroy skirt and pants to make them dressier. In fact, they would be dressy enough for most occasions with a nice, dressy blouse. But I love dresses. So I will choose a dress and heels. My dress would be a "little red dress", which can be used both in parties and in everyday life, depending on how it is dressed up.

7) Next is a jacket and another top. The jacket is supposed to be something one can use inside and outside, an everyday jacket.
Now, I don't use jackets inside, but I have always wanted to have a blazer, a tweed jacket. I used to have one, when I was like 12 or so. It was dark grey wool with black satin collar, and I loved it to bits. 60s style, my mother's old one. So, I would like something similar, but in golden brown tweed, for my Autumn wardrobe. Now, there's more of this golden brown tweed coming on this list, because I would really like to have a suit in golden brown tweed, in 40s style. 

For the top... I suppose another slouchy long-sleeve tee is an option. I'll have to think about that.

So far we have:

1. a bottom 1 - pair of jeans - golden brown, leopard spots
2. a layering top 1 - cardigan that can be used as a layering piece or a top - bronze metallic
3. a top 1 - simple, flattering long sleeve tee - teal
4. a bottom 2 - skirt - teal
5. a white shirt - white (perhaps colored? Maybe striped?)
6. a top 2 - peasant top - burgundy
7. a top 3 -long sleeve tee - red
8. a layering top 2 - kimono jacket - teal
9. a bottom 3 - a pair of pants - teal
10. a top 4 - V-neck sweater that can be worn in different ways (see the video above)
11. a layering top 3 - long, comfy cardigan - red, could be bright mustard, too
12. an LBD - red
13. a tweed jacket/blazer - golden brown tweed
14. a top 5 - long sleeve tee - teal

3 pairs of shoes; teal walking shoes, burgundy boots and red heels.

Stage 4

8) So... first a whole outfit for purposes that aren't covered yet with those clothes on the list. In my case that would have to be loungewear, but - let's use normal clothes, OK :-D
I really don't have anything I would need another outfit for, but I would like to have a tweet skirt and vest. Perhaps a blouse as well. 40s clothes suits me.

9) An Autumn coat is the trenchcoat. My perfect trenchcoat is red, rather deep red than bright red. It is double breasted, with coated metal buttons, and it has napoleon collar and wide lapel with throat latch, gun patch/storm flap and rain guard at the back, epaulettes, belt with D-rings, loops and buckle (metal), buttoned storm pockets, breast pocket sleeve straps and loops, wedge back vent with button tab and it would be long, half calf. It would also have a detachable wool lining and hood. The material would be wool gabardine. It would also be A-lined, and not straight, like men's coats are.
One day I will have it.

I would need a hat with it, a scarf and gloves. I would also want oxfords.

10) Then the "leisure wear" outfit. I think there her idea is very nice.
I used to have a pair of "jeans" made of white knit, the stuff college shirts and jogging pants are made of, but these were "real" pants. I also wouldn't mind a simple t-shirt, another boatneck and another cardigan.

Another dress? Yes, please :-D
This one will be the teal pinafore dress

Jennifer Lauren's Ivy pinafore pattern - this is basically exactly what I want :-) One can use it as a dress on itself, or as a pinafore dress which is basically a vest and a skirt.

15. a bottom 4 - skirt - golden brown tweed
16. a top 6 - blouse - ?
17. a layering top - vest - golden brown tweed
18. a trenchcoat - red
19. a bottom 5 - jersey "jeans" - white
20. a top 7 - t-shirt - white?
21. a layering top 4 - cardigan - white?
22. a bottom 6 - pinafore dress - teal
23. a top 8 - ?

Step 5: balancing out

BTW... If you don't feel comfortable wearing a color near your face, DON'T USE IT IN YOUR CAPSULE WARDROBE!

Another article about balancing the wardrobe


Hmm...
golden brown, 4 bottoms, 4 tops
teal, 2 bottom, 3 tops, 1 dress
white, 1 bottom, 2 tops
red-burgundy, 4 tops, 1 dress
bridge garment; 2 tops
Is the red-white striped top red or white? :-D

So... I would need one more teal bottom... maybe change the jeans to teal instead of brown?
I would need another pair of flats, golden brown ones.
I also think I need a couple of short sleeved t-shirts.
The golden brown (or mustard) tweed suit is a guilty pleasure... It really doesn't need to be there.
But... there's 7 bottoms (8 if the corduroy pinafore dress counts. Practically it does.)
There's 13 tops that can be used alone as tops
There's 6 layering tops (the vest and the sweater included)
There's 2 jackets, that could be worn as layering tops, if one could. I couldn't. They count as outerwear for me.

That gives us 104 outfits with just 1 bottom + 1 top.
there's 64 different layering combinations. Combined with the 7 bottoms, you get 448 different outfits. Add 55 for the pinafore dress. I could use it with everything but the sweater, and principally there isn't anything that stops you from pulling the sweater over the pinafore dress, too.

So... with these 25 items, you'll have over 600 different combinations... 8-o
And I forgot to count the using the sequin cardi as a top... oh, well.

And the more I look at this, the more I notice that this is too much clothes. Basically, I should be able to manage the whole Autumn with just 7 tops and 7 bottoms, and if I add a couple of layering pieces, even more so. The purpose is not to manage 90 days without wearing the same outfit twice.
7 tops and 7 bottoms gives one 49 different outfits.




Tuesday, July 2, 2019

Hunger

So... 10th of May I found out I have arthrosis in my hip joint.
I weighed 124 kilos.

So, I started dieting. I ignored everything except that I have to eat less calories. I have been eating between 1000 and 1600 calories every day. Or, that is what I was supposed to be eating. There were days when I ate almost 3000 calories, and then the following day I would eat only some 700 calories. All in all, I ate about 1500 calories a day.
I lost about a kilo every week.
Until last week.
June 22nd I weighed the 118 kilos I was supposed to weigh.
On Wednesday, 26th, I weighed myself and I was 117, 5.
I fell on my knees thanking God and crying of gratitude.
Next weekly weigh-in. And I'm 119. 

How can this be? I'm shocked.
My hubby says that it might be the monthly water retention doing it's business.
Ok... it might.
Today I weighed myself again. I'm 120.
I'm panicking.
I can't eat anything ever again! I HAVE to be 116 next Saturday! I MUST!!!

I am hungry, but I keep telling myself that I can't possible be hungry. I weight 120 kilos.