Eyes on the Prize: Superheroine Updates

So, Memorial Day weekend is our next gaming convention and it is my goal to be spandex-ready.  

Why spandex?  Because if left to my own devices, I will theme everything with super heroes.  I needed an idea--a theme, if you will--for the Charity benefit on May 24th (Friday night of Gamex).  Super heroes seemed a good one, so I decided to cosplay Zatanna for this event.

Fosse!

But that meant I needed some cosplays for the other two days, as well.  What better way to challenge yourself to get into good physical shape than by playing super heroes!  So, next on my list is Mystique...but, with a twist.  Rather than walk around virtually naked like Rebecca Rajimon, I thought I'd do a more classic Mystique.  I remember in some of the cartoons, they would draw Mystique as her shape-shifted person (so, full costume of whomever she was), but either leave her skin and hair OR keep her yellow eyes so young viewers (such as moi) didn't get confused.  Therefore, I'll be cosplaying Mystique.... as Emma Frost.

 

 

 

 

 

Smexy!

Now, just one more.  Who could I do?  Rogue?  She's my ultimate.  I need to play her soon, but I'm just so...afraid.  Plus, I really need a Gambit to play off of.  I'm taking applications for a sexy Creole with snappy playing cards.  So, I thought about what got me into super hero cosplay and I knew who I had to play.  For 6 years, I played a game called City of Heroes.  It was uncerimoniously closed in November of 2012.  What better homage to my friends who created the characters than to cosplay one of the cannon gals, Sister Psyche.

R.I.P.  You were the 2nd to die...and then they killed them all.

To that end, I thought I'd just give a quick update on my progress, post-Whole30 number 1!  My measurements are down, again!  Not much, but hey, it's still progress!!

Bust: 38" (Think this is stuck here, now)
Waist: 31.5"
Abdomen: 36"
Hips: 37.5"

My goals are as follows:
Bust: 38"
Waist: 28"
Abdomen: 32"
Hips: 36"

Once I hit those, we'll see how I look and feel and if I want to decrease any of them.  I think those are pretty healthy numbers and pretty attainable and maintainable numbers, as well.

The Whole30 Recap

Today is Day 30 of my Whole30 challenge.  I'll do a recap later for what today's foods were, but for now, I want to share the awesomeness of the success.

When I started, these were my numbers:

Weight: 172.3
Bust: 39"
Waist: 33"
Abdomen: 39"
Hips: 40" 

Roughly.  There was up to an inch variance depending on time of day and tape measure used...and whether or not I could breathe.

As of this morning, my numbers are:

Weight: 161.4
Bust: 38"
Waist: 31.5"
Abdomen: 36"
Hips: 38"

...and I can breathe when I take the measurements. 

Not to mention, I feel amazing.  I feel healthier, stronger, clearer.  I still have a raging case of ADOS... (Attention Defici---oooh, sparkly!), some anxiety/panic attacks, and seasonal allergies.  BUT!  I have lost my allergy to pineapple and kept off my allergy to iodine!  So, yay!

Ultimately, I'd like to lose another 10lbs or so and see if I can drop those numbers to 38-28-36.  My first goal was to get my hips to 38"....SUCCESS!  Now, to get the other number for my waist to cooperate... :D 

I'll do another Whole30 challenge in April, just to make sure I'm super hero ready come Memorial Day for Gamex.

Tales from the Gym - Personal Training

I have a goal.  My goal is to be spandex-ready and worthy by Memorial Day weekend.  Specifically, May 24.  To that end, I talked to one of the trainers at my gym yesterday about personal training.

I was set up for my free consultation for this morning.  I am fairly certain the guy was trying to kill me.  I've been doing StrongLifts 5x5 since November and only recently hit plateaus in everything.  I did a 20% deload and am going to work back up from there.  

The guy who was doing my consult today, thinks I should stop SL because it's "advanced" and I need to work the smaller muscles to build them up to push through stalls, etc.  Resistance training.

But.  I like SL.  

I also like the torture he put me through today.  I, personally, think both would work nicely together to get the results I want.

We'll see if the trainer agrees.  Her name is Nike and she told me she wanted to train me.  She knows what I lift; she knows my goals.  We chat because she's awesome.  As much as I like the super-cute trainer, Daniel, I think he'd be a little distracting--though, he's pretty awesome as a bench press spotter.  Very encouraging.

Anyway.  Chris, the training director, really put me through some hardcore stuff and I discovered I have a phobia of balls.  He had me doing squats with a yoga ball and I was afraid I'd pop it (hey, I've been told I was *fat* all my life...).  Then, he wanted me to do burpees with an 8lb weighted ball.  I knew the instant I put it down, my arms would slip and I'd break something...and I just sorta stood there, staring, trying to psych myself into it.  I finally turned to him and said, "Can I not do that with this?"  He was confused and started talking about strong cores, etc.  I said, "Yeah...see...it's not my core I'm worried about...it's the fact my hands will slip off the ball and I will collapse onto it, crushing my sternum."  He laughed and handed me a set of 12lbs dumbbells...that were circular on the ends.  I put them down on the mat and stared a minute...then stood up and said, "Can I just do regular burpees?  I'd rather not roll around and really hurt myself."  Apparently, though, this fear of mine is because I don't have a strong core.  Couldn't possibly be because I have no depth perception and very little coordination...coupled with a severe lack of confidence in doing anything involving something that requires depth perception and coordination.  I digress.

There were a few exercises I just couldn't do.  Planking and lifting a 12lb dumbbell was the first...followed by the stupid weighted burpees...and ending with a step thing where you step up onto a raised platform, balance and lift the 12lbs dumbbells over your head, then step off the other side.  Remember a lack of depth perception and such?  I also have a lack of balance...and a bad knee....which gave out on the step down.

TIME TO WORK THAT KNEE!  Dear lord, I thought I was going to die...and I'm a pretty strong girl... But, then again, my left knee *is* pretty jacked up.  As is my left shoulder.  I'd really like to do things like what I did today as a supplement to my strong lifts.  Hopefully, they'll agree.

Day 22 - The Whole30 Program

Zoiks!  What a wild ride this week!  I totally spaced out yesterday, but that's alright.  Food was not on my brain, but I managed to eat breakfast (egg and a half with some bacon and 2 clementines), and a snack of an apple and 2T of peanut butter.  Dinner was steak, swiss chard, and sweet potatoes.  So yum!  I had a gin and tonic that lasted me from about 8pm til about midnight, just because I needed some sort of flavor.

I'm not drinking enough water.  I know this.

My ankle's doing much better from last week.  Given that the hotel still has a hold on my account (I paid for incidentals in cash) and that hold has now caused my account to have an overdraft fee...and I have a ton of work to do for work plus knitting projects to finish and list, I have yet to make it to the gym this week.  My plan is to go running on Saturday.

Still, all in all, I'm pretty happy with my progress thus far.  I'm also excited because I now have a new cosplay goal!  I'm supposed to be Zatanna, Mystique (as Emma Frost), and Sister Psyche over Memorial Day weekend (who knows, maybe I'll throw in a female Captain America, just for kicks!) and I'm totally stoked!  I know I can pull off the looks and not have to worry that someone's thinking I'm too fat (even if that someone's me).

So, to recap food today...

RECAP

Breakfast: 1 mollet egg & copious amounts of coffee

Lunch: I was bad and skipped it...

Dinner: Buffalo Chicken Chopped Salad.  It's very tasty....very tasty.

Back to knitting my epic pet sweater!!