Bodice Challenge Finish Line! 5 weeks in review~

Well friends, I made it. I decided 5 weeks ago that I was NOT  "faire ready" or in enough shape to traverse the hills of the Sterling Renaissance Faire.

ANYONE who goes there or works there knows that the hills KILL.
They seem to grow by the end of the day!
And unlike most, I traipse them in bodice, long skirt, carrying a guitar, drum and a belt that weighs about 10#. It's a VERY physical day, especially if you also include that I play 5- half hour shows (with jingles on my ankles dancing/tapping them for percussion) and I also have to participate in 2 parades through the grounds each faire day. It's rugged to say the least.

I started this "Bodice Challenge" to get a bit more in shape and thusly to fit into my "bodice" better and be able to breathe, I promised that I would blog about my journey.
I would cover these 4 areas every day.

1) Exercise (to MAKE me do SOMETHING daily)

2) Food intake (the good, the bad, the ugly....hopefully keeping me more on the good side and around 1500 cals a day

3) Creativity Accomplishment (something outward and not just a self involved quest)

4) My BP reading (I gave up my salt shaker and have been trying to lower it)

Here's what happened.

I gave up Bread. Haven't had ANY in 5 weeks! NONE. I almost faltered last night tho, making Harry a tunafish sandwich. ("oohh, the bodice challenge is almost over...2 slices won't kill you" said the devil.) But I DIDN'T. I had my delicious tuna on mixed greens instead. It was just as yummy.

I gave up eating cheese (for the most part) nothing "melted", no slices to yum up. Just a sprinkling of feta or blue sometimes on a salad. I don't drink milk at all anyways (milk intolerant since childhood when they had to raise me on goat's milk) but I can tolerate Greek yogurt which I've really been loving. I do Almond milk on cereal if I want it.

No fast food burgers, fries. Altho' I did get Arby's chicken tenders twice.Once on a trip on the thruway and yesterday because I was starving.

I'm measuring and counting pretty much everything.
I have greatly reduced my wine consumption. I did drink tequila last night and I was grateful for the offer and the company of a friend who knew I needed it and the chance to talk.

I have lost a total of 9# since beginning!

Have also lost 12 and 1/2 " (measurements came from arms/bust/waist/belly/hips/thighs)

My BP overall has been great, but the past couple days I've been under high stress and it has peaked at dangerous levels again. I am striving to lower it and I realize that while high blood pressure is about what you eat, drink and how you exercise, it is also about stress levels. Even tho my food intake and daily exercise have lowered it greatly, my blood pressure can spike under great duress.
My BP was 150/95 yesterday. Today it is lower (but still high) at 118/88. I'm trying to relax....and let the Gods take me and go with the flow of the Universe. Not sure where it's taking me...I'm fighting it a bit, but feel it's for the best.

There have been many folks who have read this blog who also became inspired to take on a similiar challenge for themselves:

Lynn (God bless Her!) also blogged daily the same as I did and took on the same 4 blogging points! She's feeling much better and I'm sure she'll look fetching in her bodice tomorrow!

Brian decided to "give up bread" altogether and even stood resistant to a day when his office carted in yummy deli sandwiches and Dinosaur BBQ cornbread!

Cynthia, is already very healthy, but she decided to add additional exercise to her day, climbing the 6 flights to her office and walking the 10 blocks to work! She is in a smaller pants size today!

Linda decided to start walking and put an app on her FB to measure her calculated progress daily!

Denise follows my blogs faithfully and has been very supportive to me along the way, with her stories, blogs, poems she sends and her tales of drinking water every day in certain quantities at certain times. She looks fabulous!

I am proud of you ALL!

I hope to be able to get through my opening weekend tomorrow with a lot more strength, and BREATH for the hills and the singing. And my face is thinner, and I feel pretty good about my promise to you all to blog all this time, all this blather, and I hope to continue my quest of keeping at my health, exercise, food intake, and creativity and monitoring my BP without going on medicine for it.

This is my last installment of the Bodice Challenge Blog. Maybe next year, I'll do another...but hopefully I'll keep up the good work and won't need the "whip into shape" attention that I did this year.
Thank you VERY much for reading, for your support and for also going on your own quests because of my silliness here. I'm glad you have been inspired. I hope to keep being an inspiration for a long time.

It's been a bumpy ride....but I'm still trekking.

BTW~ Some mischief for you:

Harry did ask me during this quest: "So....how many calories are in a blowjob?"
I told him "None, if you don't swallow it "
:)

See you at the faire!