Paintball!

I played Paintball for the first time today... it was a blast! My co-workers play often, and they have this great wooded spot near Stillwater they go to. I purchased camo pants and a jacket for myself at General J's Military Surplus on Nicollet Ave. I told the huge, black salesman I was here for Painball camo, and he looked at me in surprise, saying "you?" Yes me... don't let the work clothes fool you! :) After trying on a few sizes and styles, I bought pants and a jacket. Each piece was $30, but well worth the money.


(My new camo and Brian's gun)

We arrived at the spot around 11 a.m. this morning. Brian let me borrow his brand new gun and a face mask, and Scott let me borrow his extra gloves with armor-type plastic on them. I think there were 10 of us total. The first game we split up into teams, 3 against 7 (the big team consisting of a few newbies and semi-experienced players). About ten minutes into our capture-the-flag game, I hunkered down at one of the wooded bunkers they made a few weeks back, and assumed I was safe. Everyone seemed to be shooting in a frenzy, so I shot back... little did I know Brian snuck up behind me to my right, and BAM! I felt my first ping of a paintball slam into my side, then my back (and later I found out, in my right butt cheek!). I yelped out in pain and yelled a series of "stop shooting me" words, and had to walk back to our base with my gun in the air (signifying I was out and had to restart).

This image below is what became of the very first shot I experienced, in the right love-handle:


(Okay, this photo does NOT do the bruise justice! It looks much worse in person... all purple and black. And it's 2 inches wide!)

Let me be honest and say getting shot hurts like HELL! My first reaction with these three back shots was to keel over, then yell for people to stop shooting. Then once I got up to walk back to base, I had to laugh and how badly that hurt, and just the fact that I thought I was safe behind the bunker. The pain is only temporary though, and it's more startling than anything. I managed to get Brian back later, with two straight shots to the back!


(Brian & Me)

We played three more games after that. Brian shot me again in the second game, including one very scary neck shot! Man... that one hurt, too. It felt like it had gone through my camo collar, with paintball-on-skin contact, but it didn't. Here's the damage:


(Neck hit)

This is what most of my 9 total bruises look like (all red and white), except for the top shot; this one below I got on my hip, but didn't find until I showered this evening.


(A second hip shot)

Here's a list of my 9 total hits taken:
• right butt cheek
• under left arm (this one still stings occasionally)
• right mid-bicep
• left side of my neck
• right of my spine in the middle of my back (the most swollen of all the hits)
• right love-handle (the ugliest!)
• above the knee on my thigh
• below my bikini line on my thigh (which I originally thought was the crotch shot someone made)
• and my boob... yes, my boob. I also thought this shot hit differently out in the field, on my sternum; but later, I found the small bruise.

Most of the shots were tolerable, but the love handle... man, it's hilarious how funny I must have looked when my legs buckled from the shock and pain of it, then hearing my yelps for people to cease fire.

Really I'm just glad I didn't get shot in the fingers. I was afraid for my neck, but once it happened, I didn't expect it to surprise me as much as it did! So overall, I had a great time! I sat out for the fourth 'kamikaze' game... too tired and beaten up. I can't wait to see what that huge bruise on my hip will look like in a couple days... I'll have to add an updated photo on here when the times comes. :)


(The group. Front row = my co-workers!)

UPDATE: The bruise is getting uglier! This is 3 days later... it almost looks like a sunburst or something... might be a decent tattoo! :D

Photo Shoot

Crystal is an amazing photographer yet again! These pics, I plan to send to a local modeling agency to see if I can get some part-time modeling work... fingers crossed!

3 Month Results

Hello all! As promised, here are my 3 month results. These past few months have been challenging and tough, but I think I'm at a pretty good spot, considering my "comfortably slow" weight-loss attitude and occasional bad eating habits.

My routine:
• BodyPump twice a week at the YMCA (missed a few sessions)
• Pilates for Abs (DVD by Kathy Smith) four days a week for the past five weeks
• P.M. Yoga two to four times a week (DVD)
• Lite Caesar salad with shrimp, for various meals, three times a week for the past five weeks

Combined with my 6-week results I posted previously, the 3 month total inch loss is 5 inches! Areas of inch loss include my lower thighs, upper thighs, tummy, and waist. I gained a total of 2.5 inches of muscle mass, too, which include my arms, lower thighs and chest.

I'm very happy with these results, considering my 'take it easy' weight-loss attitude. The next time I do measurements will probably be in two months.

As far as the Dex, I haven't been taking it as religiously as I was last month. Overall, it hasn't made me lose weight or fat; however, it has helped my hunger pains feel less intense, it helps me eat less during meals, and it control my sweet-tooth cravings. So it does work... just not for strict fat reduction in my body type.

Weight-Loss Adventure

Boy have I been busy! Work is crazy and I'm trying ever so hard to keep up with a good diet and my exercise routine. Both have been going fairly well these past few weeks... the latter, more so.

Just wanted to update everyone that I'll be measuring again next week, at my 3 month mark. I'll be excited to see the results of my stomach this time, as I've been doing Pilates for Abs four times a week, for five weeks now. Bad eating aside, I should get SOME results... right?

9 Month Anniversary!

This month of April marks the 9-month anniversary of my egg donation! Long-story-short, I donated my eggs to an infertile couple last July. It was a two-month long process for me, full of needles, drugs, blood tests, and lots and lots of bloating! The extraction was last July 3rd, and I had called a few weeks later to ask if there was a successful pregnancy. There was, but that's ALL the information I am legally allowed to know.

Therefore, this month means that, if the pregnancy was carried to term, my egg baby (or babies) could be born at any time! This thought had popped into my head randomly last week, so I wonder if that meant my earthly intuition was kicking in... ;)

I do hope she/he/they contact me when they're 18 and can legally obtain my information... what a wonderful treat that would be when I'm in my mid-forties. :)

DEX Con't.

Ugh, you guys, I've been so bad lately! I just get on these eating kicks, and can't stop eating or buying bad stuff to consume... or I see something on TV and I crave it so much, I have to eat it soon! I'm disappointed, but I have to remind myself that it's okay to fall off the wagon sometimes, and I can get back on my feet quickly. However, I was exercising a lot during my bad eating period, so I'm hoping it kind of equalled itself out.

Yesterday was a good day though! I had a huge Lite Caesar salad with [unfortunately soaked-in-sodium] shrimp for lunch, then Special K cereal with chopped up banana for dinner. I do notice when I eat badly, the next day, Dex doesn't work so well, and I have to snack like I used to before my Dex discovery. I also treated myself to a Tootsie Pop (my usual post-lunch treat) and two Twizzlers sticks. But only two!

I cannot wait for warmer weather! Then the bf and I can finally get out and bike on the weekends and be active. Don't get me wrong, I love chilling at home and watching great movies and TV shows, and reading Harry Potter all weekend, but I hate winter, and at least want the option to be outside. Don was fixing up his bike this past weekend, too - via the inspiration of warm weather we had last Saturday. I think mine is good to go... just needs air in the tires and to be dusted! Yes, I keep my bike inside... it stays cleaner this way, and I spent a lot of money on it, so I'd rather keep it in near-mint condition as long as possible. But now, in retrospect, I wish I had gotten a smaller and lighter bike... these things are so heavy and clunky! Oh well. I got a great deal on it via someone I knew who worked at Eric's Bike Shop.

In other news, BodyPump is going well. I haven't upped my weights in awhile, but I still see results and 'feel the burn', so I'm not worried about it. One of the instructors has these amazing thighs! I want someday... :)

Okay, so overall with the Dex, I have been eating a bit less than normal (even though I always ate small amounts anyway) and there's a lot less snacking, which is great; but in the long run, I feel like exercise is what is making me lose weight faster. So hopefully people aren't dependent on Dex; rather, take it as something to assist you with snacking and cravings, and not weight loss entirely. That's my experience with it, for my body type and weight, anyway. I'm curious to see others' results and how their bodies react, so keep those comments coming!

Answer for Lori!

Hey Lori, thanks for your interest in my blog! I'm glad so many people are reading it...

Anyway, here's an answer to your question:
"My question is the manufacturer claims that the dex-c 20 targets stored fat,(tummy, hips, boobs). Do you find that is true? Are you loosing fat in the tummy and hips?"

Just the Dex alone, no, I'm not losing much in those areas... which is good for the boobs, though! :) My hips though, are a pretty standard size... I don't have much fat in that area (but the love-handles are another story!). I hope this info helps!