Monday, January 09, 2012

Measurements, Goals and Realizations

Good evening...er....morning?

As promised I have taken my measurements and have them for you! Thanks to the help of my wonderful boyfriend, as I discovered that it is quite difficult to take your own measurements. So without further ado here are my measurements as they stand, now I know that some people out there measure differently so I will explain how I did my measurements before I give you the numbers. Also, those with crude, obnoxious or offensive comments, keep them to yourself, they are not wanted here.
 
Bust measurements I will have 2 - one will be taken from the point on my breast that comes out the furthest around to my back - therefore this number will be including my actual breasts (which will affect the number) and the second will be the measurement of where my bra basically goes. I am taking both out of curiosity however the measurements I have for Marilyn Monroe is only the one for the band - but that is fine. I'll deal with it and keep track of my bust for any shrinking.

Waist measure measurements will be taken from just above my belly button and around my back - basically from the smallest point in my waist, which is where my natural curve is.

Hip measurements will be taken from my pelvic bone around to my buttocks. (that one is fairly simple).

So without further delaying, my current measurements are as follows:

Bust: a: 44 1/2 inches. b: 37 inches
Waist: 34 3/4 inches
Hips: 42 inches

All of that being said, I never realized how large my frame was until I finally heard these numbers, and let me tell you honestly that I was not happy. However this is the starting point, and with determination and self control, these numbers can only get better. Now that all of that is out of the way, you may realize that I have not added a picture, this is for a couple of reasons, the main one being that my camera is not available at the moment, so I will have to add the picture(s) at a later point preferably this week. If not then there will definitely be some added by next week.

I just realized that I never actually stated what my end goal would be. As I mentioned in the previous post, I have a larger frame in general compared to the late Marilyn Monroe, also I am a good three inches taller than her 5 5 1/2 frame so I will need to scale these measurements to fit my frame. This being said, Marilyn Monroe's measurements, scaled to my height are as follows:

Bust: (only band size) 38.17 inches
Waist: 24.05 inches
Hips: 37.97 inches

Wow. Weird to see it like that eh? Well, I did my calculations over and over but that is what I found so that is what I am going with. However I have said it once and I will say it again, that waist measurement looks like a doozy to me so I will be using my judgment to decided at what point I am hourglass and at what point I look sickly.

So, let's see what we're up against shall we? What exactly am I hoping to lose - is this even plausible? Well I guess we will find out.
Bust: For my bust size I am presently sitting at 37 inches. My scaled Marilyn size came out as 38.17 (or just 38) inches. Well, isn't that interesting? I don't need to lose anything. In fact I am safe gaining some. I wouldn't have thought that would happen. Oh well, as my band size is basically my actual rib cage, I wouldn't really be able to lose much off of that really, so I guess that is good news.

Waist: My waist size is sitting at 34 3/4 inches at the moment. My scaled Marilyn size figures out to be 24 1/2 inches. Well...as I said, doozy. If I can actually get to this measurement I will be losing nearly 10 inches off of my waist. This is why I have said that I will be using my best judgment. As much as I would like to acquire this figure, I am not going to end up in the hospital because of it!

Hips: My hip size is sitting at 42 inches at the moment. Whereas my scaled Marilyn size is going to be 37.97 or roughly 39 inches. Again, that doesn't look so bad. I will only be required to lose roughly 4 inches off of my hips, this one I am going to have to focus majorly on toning my legs and bottock to make sure that I don't lose more than necessary. Which leads me to my next subject.


How exactly will I be reaching this goal of mine? I know that in the previous post I have put lists of my rules and regulations, but what am I doing to achieve this goal? Well I will tell you. I have stopped drinking pop, now this is not to say that I will not drink pop at all, but I want to go at least a full 2 weeks before I have another glass. I am already half way there, so this should be fine. The only reason I say that I will not my cutting it out completely because a) when I do drink I use a mix and b) you will be hard pressed to find any sort of healthy alternative at a restaurant or movie theatre that doesn't either cost three times as much, or taste like dirt (or worse). Now, alternatively, I will no longer drink pop at work or at home just because I don't want water. Instead I will be drinking more tea, and if I absolutely must have something sweet, I have made sure to stock up on juice and lemons. Problem solved. Along with the pop vs water, I have started finding healthy foods that even my boyfriend will eat, which is good, and I have made sure that vegetables always out portion everything else on my plate (not saying that I increase all of my portions though - I keep it to a normal (suggested) portion, or less if I don't think that I could eat it. I have also taken to eating raw fruit for breakfast, which gives me tons of energy and also takes me longer to chew therefore giving my body tons of time to register that I am full. I have also cut back on dairy, mainly because I am realizing that I am back at my highschool woe of too much dairy (and MSG for that matter) give me stomach pain that results in me not moving for hours and wanting to die. So there is more or less what you need to know about my eating as of now, if anything new comes up I'll be sure to let you know!

As for exercise, I have been exercising for a little while now, but I haven't really been able to build up a proper schedule because my job sucks and gives me shifts that result in little to no time to go to the gym. None of that matters though as I have figured out what will need to be done. Originally I was doing the 100 workout which is as follows (with my changes)

100 jumping jacks (with 5lb weights in each hand)
90 crunches (done on machine with 90-110 lbs of weight)
80 squats (straight down arms in front until knees create 90 degree angle)
70 leg lifts (rotating between laying on right side, left side and back)
60 jumping jacks (with 5lb weights in each hand)
50 crunches (done on machine with 90-110 lbs of weight)
40 squats (straight down arms in front until knees create 90 degree angle)
30 leg lifts (rotating between laying on right side, left side and back)
20 jumping jacks (with 5lb weights in each hand) 
10 minutes of hard biking (supposed to be running, but after all of those jumping jacks I wouldn't trust the treadmill with my life.


Honestly I would recommend this workout to anyone who wanted a consistent and hard workout that your body never quite adjusts to, however with research I discovered that doing crunches would actually be bad for developing any sort of hourglass figure. You see, one of the tell-tale signs of an hourglass figure is have a small waist, what most people don't realize is that by doing abdominal exercises you are actually hindering any sort of hourglass figure you would be developing thanks to these types of workouts strengthening your core and in the end squaring off your abdomen. So sure, if you want to look like any belly-baring female popstar of the 90's, go right ahead, but if you want to get that pin-up look, instead keep with cardio, anything from running or biking to dancing. Also be sure to tone your upper and lower body with weight training, the only thing your core should ever experience is twisting movements, anything else, forget about it.

So what is my new work out then? Well, as of a week ago I have been going to the gym and jumping right onto the treadmill for at least 20 minutes - more if I have time. Then grabbing some weights and doing all of those all to often ignored arm workouts. Just remember that sometimes it is good to forget about all of those "new fangled" machines and just use some old fashioned dumbbells. I always do sets of three and do flys, shoulder presses and curls, usually with a simple 10-20lb weight. Sounds easy right? Well as long as it makes you sweat, it will help.

I am also lucky enough to have a sauna in my building as well so again, if I have time, I reward myself with 5-10 minutes in there.

Alright, I think that you are all up to date...and I should probably get to sleep to make sure that I get up on time tomorrow, girl's gotta work ;)

Goodnight/Good Morning for now!

(oh and here's my Monroe inspiration for the day...)











 

2 comments:

  1. I LOVE your goals and I'm so glad you're sharing them in a blog! This is such a fascinating and wonderful project.

    Please keep sharing! I just started working out recently, I hope to reach similar measurements (we're about the same height & current measurements, extra yay!). I wish you all the luck in world!

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    Replies
    1. Thanks! That's funny that we are similar measurements, it's rare in the town I'm in right now. Lots of very short women haha. New post and full updates should be up tomorrow night. Going to make sure that I AT LEAST post every Sunday, and will hopefully be able to do some random posts in between.

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