The $1,000 Weightloss Challenge

   I don't think I have talked about the weight loss challenge that Alex and I started a little over two weeks ago (on May 10th). We both started super close to 136.5 pounds, so that is the starting weight we used. I was actually 136.8! My highest ever!! I was 135.0 on the morning Emma was born, which makes it pretty terrible that with all the breadsticks, pizza, and ice cream, I weighed more than I did when my uterus was filled with baby, amniotic fluid, and placenta. I was reading some other posts on here under the search categories of "skinny" and "vegan" and found that in 2017 I lost 17 pounds in 100 days (14 weeks), going from 129 pounds in the beginning of June to 112 pounds at the beginning of September when I met my parents at Daytona Beach for my dad's birthday. The following year I was able to go from 127 pounds to 119 pounds in 40 days. I came across a journal note recently (that I no longer have) that said I weighed 118 pounds in October of last year, but I don't really believe that because this first picture was from them & check out that thick upper arm cellulite! Other than that it is a nice family photo. 

   I really love this photo of me and Emma on December 23rd, 2019 and feel like a lower weight is more believable then, but I don't weigh myself unless I am trying to lose weight, so I assume I was still/ back up to around 127-130 pounds at that time.

   The money part of the challenge comes in when Alex felt like earning money or the whole "not wanting to lose money" threat would finally be something to motivate both of us, and so far it has been working. Our goal is to lose 5 pounds every month between May 10th and September 30th (that equals 20 1/2 weeks) and we are both hoping to get down to 110, our final weigh in being October 1st. My main talk of motivation -not counting the money- is wanting to be "slim and trim" for Greg and Britt's wedding the last weekend of September. I hope that is still happening as the Corona Virus rules are letting up and now some of the non-essential stores (junk stores like Home Goods and Ross, as well as restaurants) are opening up for customer business at 50% capacity. Seems too soon for me, but I guess the stores were going to completely lose their business and go bankrupt if they didn't open again? Even Universal Citywalk and Disney Springs are opening up again, but not the main parks yet.
   Another exciting motivation thought I have came to last night when I got a message from AJ Prescott saying he and Mabel are planning a Full Sail reunion later this year in Orlando!! I was skinny most of our time there, so of course I have to be skinny (and toned) again for the reunion.  But, going back again to the money part of this challenge with Alex, she said if one of us loses the five pounds and the other person doesn't, then the winner gets $150 from the loser. This goes for each month! And if neither of us lose the five pounds, then we both have to donate $200 to charity.

   This is a nice photo I found from our engagement pictures, which AJ and Adea took for us. We needed engagement pictures, they wanted the photography experience. Win/win! I do believe I was maybe around 110-113 here? I didn't have a scale at school, so I only got to weigh myself when I went back to Gainesville to visit my family and friends.
   I don't want to jinx myself by writing all of this too soon, while only being on Day 17 of this 145(?) day challenge. Although, I say it actually goes for the next 21,000 days because I never want to get up to 137 or even 120 pounds ever again after this!! I told Alex that our "giving each other money if we fail" agreement flips after we reach 110, and for a full year after October this year, if either of us gains back more than five pounds, then we owe the other person who stayed under 115 pounds $150!!
    I get so disappointed in myself for stopping once I previously reached 118 or 112, even though I got tired of eating healthy. Maybe this time has been easier because I'm focusing on intermittent fasting and eating less food at a time, but more often to keep my tummy satisfied throughout the day. Or maybe it's because I have been upset with myself for the past two years and am tired of constantly failing.
   Usually I would eat two packs of oatmeal for breakfast at work. Now I just eat one at a time, with two hours in between. Or sometimes I only eat one, and then a couple hours later eat something different. Most days I have been able to wait at least four hours after getting up before eating (that's where the intermittent fasting comes in to play!), which means not eating until 9am on work days and holding out to 1pm on days I am home, if I am able to without getting a headache. It is not worth it to get what will most likely turn into a migraine. Alex has also been getting me to do small exercises when it is not busy at work, including calf raises, high knees, and wall sits. I also found a 3-minute arm video that I like by Boho Beautiful on YouTube.
   Other things I have enjoyed recently are: Greek penne pasta from the Publix deli, cinnamon raisin bagels (only 1/2 at a time), banana-peanut butter- chocolate smoothies, Chipotle tacos (never order it again with the red sauce!!), steamed broccoli, I like the Green Giant seasoned and cheese bags. My first official splurge was yesterday when we ordered spinach dip and chips from Bahama Breeze. I'll talk about that in the next post because it was a really great family day. ♡♥♡

   Now here are some more pictures from our Blood Widow behind the scenes filming that I was looking through yesterday. I am mainly using the ones of me and my hot June 2011 bod. I assume Michael took all the pictures that I am in, but I was the main BTS photographer. Sadly a lot of the pictures I got are blurry, as if the shutter speed was not set fast enough. Obviously I didn't post those. These were all taken the month after Michael and I got married. He was stressed on our Honeymoon because that was a full week he did not have to use in order to prepare and create the special FX pieces for the movie (fake legs, hands, and heads to be chopped off by the killer)!

   ^^ I was nervous to meet the main characters, Gabbie Henry and Danielle Lilley, even though they were not (yet) A-list celebrities as I was treating them like. I had no reason to be nervous and my nerves went away quickly as I began treating them like friends within a few hours of meeting them.

   ^^ my favorite. Supa best friends for 2 years!! We still talk sometimes now and I was 

very, very glad that Ryan got to visit last summer and meet Emma.

      ^^ Recreating a pose for my mom that I did when I was maybe 2 or 3 years old.

^^ When I got to dress up as Blood Widow because that day they only needed and over the shoulder shot and Gabbie didn't want to have to drive all that way (almost 2 hours each way) for one shot. 

She gave me permission to play the part that day since we were the same size. She was a few inches taller than me so I think I had to stand on an apple box, but cant remember for sure. 

My over the shoulder shot is at 37 seconds in the official trailer!! 

   ^^ with Julie, Love, the costume designer. Also a good Full Sail friend! 

Now the rest of these are more promotional, with Gabbie Henry as Blood Widow.

 ^^ Jeremy Buckhalt, the director. And in the second BW picture I posted at the top you can also see Chad Coup, who was the producer. This stray dog that found us was named Hugh McSwaggs by Michael Mowen who was the sound guy and my husband's best friend during the shoot!

   I am sooo happy and thankful that Michael and I both got to be in the same group as Jeremy for our Final Project in December 2010 and January 2011, because a lot of the people who worked on his short film, Gruff's Bridge, also got to work on Blood Widow after we all graduated. A lot of us had the same jobs on both projects, including me as 2nd AD, Michael as Special Makeup FX, Rebecca Wise as 1st AD (assistant director), Ryan as the UPM (unit production manager), and Julie Love as costume designer. Chad, the BW producer, played the part of Gruff six months prior. I really loved the 2nd AD position for those few months, but in real life it is a really hard spot to move up to, and I didn't love it enough to start off as a barely paid PA (production assistant) in California for 10 years, getting people coffee, etc. Plus I am big on financial security, so I was/am fine with working at the Sheriff's Office for a steady paycheck, helping save lives on 9-1-1, confirming felony warrants over the radio, and other important things within our community.