Monday, October 17, 2005

Bikini Back to Basics Blitz

I didn't mention the bikini back to basics blitz before? That would be because I've had virtually no time to sit down with the computer for longer than about 5 minutes in the past couple of weeks. I'm absolutely worn out at the moment!

Anyway, on the way to Marrakech I bought a bikini at the airport. I've never been one of those fat girls with a complete horror of bikinis. Just covering the flesh with skintight swimming costume as opposed to leaving it bare isn't going to hide the fat, is it? And a bikini is far more user friendly for those wearing a bikini under clothes in case you have a sudden need for a swim or sunbathe days. So I've always worn bikinis, but usually with the assistance of a sarong, and anyway, they were quite voluminous. Plenty of fabric, shorts bottoms, or vest tops, or proper bra type tops rather than triangles and string.

Well, the new bikini is more of the triangles and string variety. And it's a size 14. Now, that shouldn't be a surprise on the basis that I am a size 14, but it still looks bloody small. Not much coverage of anything, to be honest, although it does fit. As it should, with me being a size 14 (still need to repeat it frequently to believe it!)

Anyway, that's the bikini bit, but the blitz bit? I blogged what seems like ages ago about my 3 week "break". It did get a bit more breaky than it started off, as I started slipping back into feeling more comfortable about giving myself treats every now and then, but it's come to an end. Quite successfully, really. I started at 189, went down to 186 in the first week and am now back up at 187. Which is 2lb lower than the figure I was aiming for as an achievement. Maintaining on my mother's cooking and eating out isn't particularly easy.

I've said before that this time last year I well and truly fell off the wagon. I regained most of the weight I'd lost last summer (only about 12lb, but still more than I needed to), and I got out of the habit of doing good things for myself. It wasn't so much the fact that mum was here and I got out of the habit for 3 weeks, it was the fact that I never got back into it because the mornings were too dark and cold and the food was too nice. It took me til the new year to remember what I was meant to be doing.

So, not this year. I want to get back in the saddle before I end up in the same place this year. I have 2 weeks before I go to visit my family in Spain, and I know I could sit here and think that there's no point doing it for 2 weeks then stopping again. But that would be bad thinking, last year's thinking. So instead I'm thinking of the bikini. Every pound I lose before I put that thing on is one pound of extra confidence that I can actually carry it off. And hopefully it will get me back into the routine of doing this and keeping it going over winter rather than just summer.

So even if I don't quite summon up the guts to wear the triangles (and believe me, the sarong will still come in handy for this one...) the bikini will have served its purpose of reminding me what I'm doing and keeping me on the straignt and narrow.

I'm not intending to do anything drastic, just cutting down the snacks that seem to have been creeping into my eating habits (eek, no chocolate for 2 weeks?) and having a good "clean" 2 weeks on the understanding that it's not forever. I'll be back on the more maintainable version of what I do when I get back, with treats in moderation, but with it being a manageable timeframe I'm interested in seeing whether I can do it.

3 Comments:

Blogger Kathryn said...

Good luck with it. I can't imagine ever wearing a bikini.

10:38 PM  
Blogger K said...

Well done on the maintaining, and I am in awe at the bikini bravery, although I take your point about one-piece swimsuits not really hiding much more. (I am not a big fan of them either, as my arms and legs are my worst bits. I just get into the water as fast as possible and stay there...) They do provide more, um, support up above, though. At least, some of them do.

Good luck with the challenge.

1:13 PM  
Blogger B said...

Yea, no bikinis for me either, it's bad enough trying to make myself wear a regular swimsuit, or even shorts for that matter! But I digress. Good for you for challenging yourself in this way, what a positive goal you'll soon reach!

Beverly

8:58 PM  

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