diet, phase I, take 2

[velvetpage]

This is the first time I've tried cutting a post, so if it doesn't work, bear with me. I'll get it right eventually!

I'm starting the Curves diet, again, today. I weighed five pounds less this morning than I did the first time I tried this diet, which is very good. I also weighed three pounds more than I did a week ago when I was so pleased at my breakthrough, which is very bad. Hence the new shot at the diet.

Goals for this week: five pounds, give or take one in either direction, no birthday cake and no cheating, work out four times at Curves and take long walks on off-days, and eat only veggies and dip at gaming sessions during the week.

In other news, I intend to actually shorten my own newly purchased clothing for the first time in a good twelve years. For those of you who, like me, fall well below the "average" height and therefore often have to shorten pants in order to wear them, there are various techniques one discovers to make clothes wearable. As a teenager, my mother did it for me. The downside here was that she did it on her schedule, so it might take a week or two. A few times, I did it myself. Downside: I wasn't that good at it, and I'm a fundamentally lazy person, so I often didn't get around to it for weeks on end. Neither method was working. Since I've had a full-time job, I've done one of two things: a) bought only petite-length pants, which is difficult but not impossible, or b) taken them to Stitch-It to have them do it for me for about $10. A good solution, and they generally do a good job, but this summer, I have no money for that. I do have a lovely new sewing machine, and lots of time before September and school, so I'm going to try it myself.

Well, I'm off to my cottage cheese and blueberries breakfast. Wish me luck!

Comments

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Good luck! :) I've been reading lately (and please don't take this as an Atkins-related thing *shudder*) that eating protein first thing in the morning is the best thing you can do, diet-wise, which on an instinctual level makes sense (I don't know about you, but cereal first thing in the morning has never held much appeal). Cottage cheese sounds really great, right about now...

The main thing about hemming pants that I always find a pain in the keester is getting someone to help pin up the legs -- and do it right. My mum was great at that (goodness knows, she had to be -- she was shorter than I am!), but I find it's hard to do it by yourself, and folks who don't sew are all "uh... I *think* that's even... um... let me just adjust this..." and you're there for ages and ages. So I've got all these pants with ragged hems because I wear them without properly shortening them, and don't want to pay the good folks at the sewing kiosks the extra $10 to do it right. :P Oh, the perils of being petite! *chuckle*

If you've got any tips and tricks, do share, please -- one of these days the sewing machine's coming up from the basement and getting a workout!

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

The good people at the sewing kiosks pin one leg, then measure the inseams of both legs and shorten to the measurement, rather than the pin. I'm going to try it that way and see what happens. If I screw it up, oh well - they only cost me $20 on sale, and they won't fit that long anyhow!

The other possibility is to put safety pins every inch for about the distance you think you'll need to cut, plus one inch. Then try them on and figure out which pin is closest to the measurement you want. Take the pants off, adjust that pin slightly, try them on again, and repeat until you get it where you want it. Longer, but possibly more accurate.

I'm enjoying my sewing machine - I actually sewed buttonholes the other day, accurately! Of course, I tried it about ten times on scrap fabric before I got it right, but practice does indeed make perfect. :)

[anidada.livejournal.com]

That's very cool! Buttonholes scare me. Not as much as zippers, mind you (at least there's a "buttonhole button" on my sewing machine!).

Let me know what happens with the hemming. I think I'd probably be more likely to try the first option than the second -- just because it takes less time, and the potential for throwing a hissyfit and botching the whole thing increases the longer it takes to sew something right... *grin*

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Very true. The thing I hate most about sewing is the setup - threading the machine, winding the bobbin, troubleshooting both, measuring twice or more to get it absolutely right - the sewing itself is fun.

[anidada.livejournal.com]

I totally agree -- and if you only have to do a straight stitch on regular tension, it's also ridiculously easy and confidence-boosting! I ran up a whack of rod-and-pocket curtains that way once, and felt quite accomplished by the end of it. :) But let's not talk about stretch fabric, or leather, or thick polar fleece... argh...

You know, it's probably a good thing that I didn't go further with wood shop. Better to get frustrated with a sewing machine than with a lathe!

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

I've done rod-and-pocket curtains. Lots of straight lines! Wonderful!

I went for a sewing machine tutorial at Sears a few weeks ago. The lady showed me all the specialty stitches, what they look like and how to use them, including the buttonholer and how to use a zigzag stitch to sew on a button. Now I just need time and impetus to get fabric and patterns and try some of this stuff. Actually, it seems to me I have a pattern for a simple stretchy top, very fitted, which might be quite nice. It also takes just over one metre of fabric, so if I screw it up, I'm not wasting fifty bucks' worth of material. :)

[anidada.livejournal.com]

Cool! A sewing machine tutorial sounds like a seriously good idea... did it come with the purchase of the machine, or was it extra?

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

It came with the machine, which I didn't even pay for - it was a gift from my mom. Apparently, if you have a Kenmore machine, you can book one anytime, even years after you bought the machine. It would probably cost, though. It was definitely worth the hour or so it took.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

My mother-in-law suggested this, and it works. Take a pair of pants you already own, which fit basically the same as you want the new ones to fit. Lay them out on the floor, new ones on the bottom, older ones on the top. Leave yourself some seam allowance and cut the bottom pair to match the top.

It worked - my new beige pants fit quite well now.

[jadecat.livejournal.com]

So what exactly is the 'Curves diet'? I'm looking for ways to shed a few pounds. See, I quit smoking 3 weeks ago and have already started to gain a little bit of weight- and I don't like it... (Okay, so while it's only been three weeks I'm amazingly proud of myself and quite sure that this time it'll take. This time I have really good motivation- I promised myself I would quit smoking by the time I turned 30 or was getting married, and the two are running neck and neck right now. :) )

So anyway, good luck with the diet/work out routine. It can be hard to get into, but I'm told very worth it. :) I think I'll just try to walk a bit more (between them my housemates have 2 dogs that can always use a walk) and watch what I eat.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

The Curves Diet is low-carb, but for a specified period of time. It also has a technique to raise your metabolism at the end of the diet so it takes longer to gain back a few pounds. The idea is that you eat normally for two weeks or so until you reach your predetermined "high weight", 2 or 3 pounds above your "low weight". Then you diet to lose the 2 or 3 pounds, usually just a few days, then you go back to eating normally. I've taken two weeks to gain the 2 or 3 pounds, so now I'm out to lose them, plus a few more, before cycling through it again.

The real benefit, for me, has been the workout program. With the strength training, I've lost 13 inches at last count, so I look like I've lost about 25 lbs, while in fact I've only lost 10. Best of all, more muscle translates to a higher metabolism, so as long as I have muscles, I can eat more and still maintain my weight or lose. Plus I've got more energy.

Even if you're not into the diet, I highly recommend the strength-training workout in addition to any cardio you do. It pays huge benefits for relatively little time investment.

[velvetpage.livejournal.com]

Oh, and congrats on quitting smoking! A few extra pounds would be worth it to get rid of something that huge, health-wise.