Yay, Becky! You made it to the pool, I made it to the gym. All is right in the world!

How long would it take to swim a not-very-fast 400 meters in the pool? I have a friend trying to get me to sign up for a sprint triathalon and the only part that makes me hesistate is the swim.

Krampus, we shall need pix of you in your New Years dress! Sounds fun!

1 week after my return from my Thanksgiving travels, and I'm back to my pre-Thanksgiving weight. 6 lbs of water weight (and I'm sure some dessert weight too) gone, and downward from here! My "work out lots and eat totally cleanly while BF is away" plan is working so far.

My trip into NYC was cut short so I did not get to go to Uniqlo. Next time... since my parents now live an hour north of the city I'm sure I'll be back more often. Taking the train into the city was very easy.

It sounds like everyone is doing great! Let's keep up the good work!

xty, I hope you feel better soon!

Becky, yay for the pool! And your 1500 after not swimming for months is still waaaay faster than my 1500.

Midwife, is the swim in a pool, a lake, or the ocean? That can make a big difference in time. Swimming in a pool is faster and less stressful and prone to panicking. One of the tri's in my area does a 400 meter swim in a pool, and the last person to finish the swim usually comes in around 20-24 minutes (the first person comes in at 5 minutes!). For me at least, swimming in open water instead adds about 3 minutes to my total time.

In any case I'd guess you could probably finish 400 meters in about 15-18 minutes if you're a slowpoke like me, and much faster if you have a strong upper body.

Megan, good job getting rid of the turkey weight!

I posted dress pics here. My back still has ROLLS somehow at 126. With no weights, gym or pool handy, what can I do aside from pushups to fix that? I do plan on wearing shoes of some sort and probably black tights. I'll be in Berlin where it will likely be well below freezing.

http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/3598144-post53.html

Definitely pool. Lakes and oceans have fish and fish poop and maybe dead bodies.....Indoor pool even better than outdoor pool! Yeah, I'm weird! Thanks for the times. I can do that!

Krampus, you look terrific!!!

Well Krampus, I don't know what rolls you are seeing, because I don't see any. Girl, you don't know from rolls.

Jay

Yeah "rolls" is a bit much but I do sadly have permanently rounded/slumped shoulders from years of terrible posture. When do I get shoulder blades? Grumble, grumble. Aside from that though I do feel pretty cool in that dress.

An animal print! Love those. (I just got leopard-print shoes the other day & I am overly enamored of them.) You look really good. I don't see any actual rolls, either.

The hoodie in your avatar doesn't show your pretty hair, the way this picture does. Are you going to let it hang? Maybe you have some updo in mind, but somehow I think it looks better just hanging with the animal print.

But don't accessorize with bananas. Try a long, gnawed-on bone or something. It's fiercer.

saef you're funny! Bananas would undoubtedly get eaten before I made it out the door anyway. My plan was to let it down/messy curls, maybe accessorize with a bloody gnawed-on femur (great suggestion - I was thinking "caveman" too).

Great dress. Boots sound good too.

But this bit sounds wrong: I can't believe this is a permanent thing. Start working on your posture. Stand up straight, hold your tummy in, chin up, shoulders back and (in the words of a friend's mother who died last year at 91) THRUST your chest out! You have immediately lost 5lbs +. Thinking you have a golden thread to the sky attached to the top of your head also helps.

(My strapline used to say 'working on posture'. Being aware of it and adjusting the way you hold your body through the day really helps.)

midwife - yay us! I'm going to go back and try to do another 1500 tonight. I am so sore across my back and triceps ... but sore in that "okay" sort of way that makes me think I could loosen up just by doing some more laps (crosses fingers). Paperclippy's time estimates sound good to me as well. I do recall seeing some long-course 400m's go under 4 minutes at Nationals one year, but 10-15 minutes should be very reasonable for the general swimmer. Confidentially, I feel the same way about pools. Seaweed on my toes totally creeps me out.

krampus - I agree w/SB. I thought I had an unusually prominent collarbone, but all it actually was was a huge muscle imbalance from years of swimming that had me curled forward. Two easy exercises that will help unlock it: With your head up straight, touch your finger to your chin. Keep your hand in the same place as a reference, and move just your head back as far as you can. You might feel the strain in your upper back/neck. Do 10 reps a couple of times a day - you'll find that you'll be able to get more distance from your fingers. Not sure what this next one is called - my trainer called it "crucifixions" - take a resistance band in both hands out in front of you, stand up really straight and tall, and pull the resistance band as you spread your arms parallel to the floor. Concentrate on the feeling of pulling your shoulderblades together in the back. Hold for 5 sec; repeat until you can't do it smoothly any longer. I was hunched up because my chest muscles were far stronger than my back, and as everything rebalanced, my collarbone receded and so did the beginnings of the "dowagers hump". Even better, I actually gained a half inch of height, too! I admire your fashion sense - the dress is great and you look like a million bucks.

Thanks for the posture tips! Let's see if I can't fix what may not be broken after all.

I am also trying to pull back my shoulders which like to be rolled forward and down. It does help to be aware But I still end up slouched.

ok- back to the drawing board. operation 5-10 lead me back to scale smiles
at 128 x 2 days
was 124

WILL WORK it back...before these lbs want to stick around!

looking for leopard print dansko shoes. they are no longer made. missed the boat. I see vinyl ones but not the actual furry (sorry...) ones.


ETA-- of course, Kramp, you need to know that you are SUPER HOT in the dress. Bloody gnawed upon bones would only enhance your look

Krampus, you look fantastic! Rolls?? What rolls, woman, you need new glasses!

I'm still at 135, but it's the lowest weight I've seen in 6 years, so I'm thrilled. When I lose one more pound, it'll be the lowest in 9 years! I can't wait.

hi everyone - I am almost back to normal after my death plague! havent been working out a ton, but that is a-ok. weight is doing very well...123.4 today AND I bought holiday dresses (2 diff bcbg dresses in a size 2, pics to follow when I actually take some).

speaking of dresses - krampus is H O T!! girl, all I could see in those pics are your killer legs, wow am I jealous. I guess we all have our least fav spots (my back is so skinny you can see my ribs and spine, but oi the legs are not so pretty). you should NOT wear tights....id go with something more sheer to show off those gams! I will be wearing totally opaque tights, lol. and as everyone else noted, those are not rolls. sometimes while working out I physically grab my shoulders and push em back and the boobs out to get correct alignment and open up the chest.

dont forget to stretch too. will help pull your shoulders back.