Yes! After ALL of the Holidays, With a Sweet Tooth, and our dog, who does not like the cold wind, (This is an exercise plan based solely on walking out dog!). Yes, I am still fitting into my smaller sized bras, panties and t-shirts!

Better than that, I, a chain smoker, no longer feel the hills we walk up! Granted, I did not become winded before all this dog walking, just exhausted.

As it happens, I even wear negative heel sneakers, when it is dry. I used to feel like I was walking up hill all the time in them. That is over too!

I did get another terrible cold last month. I took every opportunity to lie in bed shivering under the blankets. Here is what I else I learned about dogs, well this one at least.

This dog, our Teddy, got out of bed with me every time I had to blow my nose one night. That turned out to be every 15, no kidding, minutes!

I got up, again, and went to work when it was time. The poor dog slept almost all day. I am not surprised that an 160 lb women has more stamina than a very loyal 15 lb dog. I am still surprised that he got up with me every single time I did. He is a real cuddly creature!

Well I have not lost any more weight. I do not diet, but I believe I read somewhere this is what dieters call a plateau, I think….Do you know?

I feel this is still going rather well considering we, well my daughter, wanted a dog. It was not as if I planned to get a dog to enjoy his company and go walking with to loose weight. That is just what happened.

Perhaps when the weather gets a bit warmer, between freezing and 50 degrees, perhaps, I will consider what else I can do to drop a bit more weight.

Right now I am enjoying being thick set, rather than roundish!

Not only have I shared my good experiences with you all, in writing, I also share them with my daughter, in practice. I started walking her, and our dog, to school and back, rather than driving.

This was fine until directly after my last post here. Later that afternoon, I went to give a friend of ours, for whom walking will not work, physical problems, a ride.

We got in my car; I turned the key and the car said, “Click”. That is when I realized I have owned this car for about 6 of its 10 years, and had never brought it a battery!

The things one does not always think of!

So if you start replacing your driving with walking on a regular, daily basis, be aware of how old your car’s battery is.

Good thing for us our friend needed a ride. Otherwise, we would have found out on Thanksgiving afternoon, before driving out to see other friends and relations!

This, in our household, before Thanksgiving, is the time of lots of Halloween candy and two birthdays. How did my newly reduced waist line, bra band size and panty size hold up?

I showed absolutely no restraint. One of those birthdays was my 50th. Not only did I show no restraint, I ate more Halloween candy than I think I ever have. Yet we still have some left. Cake, on the other hand, has not a chance in our household.
Not only did I eat as much cake as I liked
I added, one a week it seems, Duncan Dounuts Sausage and Egg Croissant sandwich, with a side of hash browns to my diet.
That has loads of fat, so I replaced my supply of Centrum Cardio vitamins, soon as I ran out.
I might have eaten slightly less ice cream these last few weeks than my norm.

You may have noticed I do not believe in diets. Well I do believe if you, like I, have heart disease in your family, taking certain measures, or Centrum Cardio, and aiming for a high fiber diet. The latter gives me my excuse for usually having two heavy on the bean and jalapeños Nachos for breakfast!

Yet the up shot of all this indulgence:

• As I continued to walk our Teddy dog 2xs a day, usually 45 minutes to an hour
• My size large Victoria Secrets bikini undies I was so thrilled to wear, without roll, ( I can not stand roll down), down, again are still as saggy in the rear as they were before Halloween
• I still need more sizes 34J, possibly 34H or HH, well I should be refitted. I need some smaller sized bras than my good supply of 36J, that no longer fit since walking Teddy
• I needn’t undo the zippers and buttons on my misses size 14 Levis jeans, So eventually I will have to breakdown and buy smaller jeans too.
• Our, who knows if its reliable, bathroom scale declares me a tad under 160, as opposed to my, thrilled to see it under 170 of most of last summer.
• Most satisfying of all, friends who have not seen me for a while noticed I got slimmer!

The last one strikes me as strange, because one of them has a wonderful dog, Max. I am afraid she does not have the time to give him long walks. This is especially sad, because she started weight watchers at some point last year. She appeared to be slimming down, and now has noticeable weight gain, more than before Weight Watchers.

I hope that this will inspire her to take a break and make time to walk their wonderful dog Max!

Now, it rains more often. Our Teddy dog is a fair weather pup regards to rain. Some of those walks in recent weeks have been just 30 minutes or less. He does have furry paws he does not like to get wet, and HATES to get muddy.

I wonder if we will be fitting him for a pair of boots for the snow and ice. I bet we will have to for the slush!

So far, I can tell you as company, just like cats, dogs are tops! Unlike cats, you can walk your dog a lot! Even a cat size dog like our Teddy. As inadvertent exercise plans go, its just the best for your cake and candy season.

Soon to follow, the dead of winter baked potatoes with loads of butter season! I wonder if I will still need smaller jeans, and so on, after that!

Owing to several reasons;

• The wet weather and, at first, our dog wanted little part of puddles and wet fur
• Our dog started sleeping, late, with my daughter
• After 3 weeks of illness, I was relieved to be merely exhausted, yet got less done than when I was actively ill.

 Our dog and I, I can’t keep calling him our dog, his name is Teddy, ended up walking about 1 to 1.5 hours each day, rather than the 2 we got up to.

 Even so I find:

• My waist is still 34.5
• I am down a bra band size, but darn, not a cup size! Large cup bras are pricier, and fewer in available styles!
• I will soon have to either buy size 12 jeans, or as I considered while freezing up on the hill waiting to pick my daughter up from school, start wearing my leggings under my size 14 jeans. I will likely settle on doing both.

I could not bear to drag the pleasantly sleeping pup out of bed, so the full 1-hour early AM walks got reduced to later in the day, 40 to 50 minute walks.

Then, these last two days,  Teddy, has gotten himself out of bed a bit before my daughter, so we have restarted half hour walks in the early AM.

 The first of those two days it was still raining, not hard, but steadily with strong winds, but the pup must have developed cabin fever. He ever stopped jumping over puddles. So as it turns out, at least with our Teddy, this will not be a fair weather exercise program!

 I am beginning to feel like myself again, rather than exhausted. I have concluded that illness, or delirious with fever, on and off, seems to have a momentum that recovering from illness, and being exhausted does not. I had not been that ill since high school, so I had no real recollection of a weeklong recovery time.

Last week I was just dragging myself through each hour of every day. We had less walks, and owing to my general fatigue, especially les up hill walks. Even so, it the greatly decreased activity level seems to have no effect on the shaping up gains of the previous, I guess about 5 weeks now!

 More reasons to be cheerful! Nice to know you can suffer through illness, recovery, and end up, as good as, if not a tad better than, before the sickness took hold!

Well I have been sick now for going on 3 weeks. Regardless, I missed all but one or two walks; someone else in our household took our Teddy for his walks instead. I know my leg muscles are still in great shape, because these walks, with rare exception have been the same length of time, or a bit longer. In fact, some of the workweek AM and PM walks have this week gone from 45 minutes on the outside, to an hour.

Eddie, a shih Tzu dog up for adoption curently

Our long walks did not start until the temperature got below 70 degrees Fahrenheit. He has a great deal more fur than the dog in the above picture. Shih Tzu dogs, as I read at Animal Pet Finder, do not do well in humidity. Something else we have in common!

Fortunately, we live in a hilly area. Therefore, when I know the temperature has dropped, rather than I have the chills, I walk us up the hill our street is on so we both warm up fast! My jacket was purchased to keep me warm ice skating at an indoor rink, does not break the wind. I do not know if the cold wind makes much of a difference in to Teddy, but just in case…

Pet Finder’s info on Shih Tzus also says they like short walks, though the above dog, Eddie’s write up says he likes long walks too. So I guess it may be an individual thing.

I don’t know what I’ve got, sore throat followed by flue like symptoms and feels like my ribs are gonna break coughing fits one week. The next week sore throat, coughing fits and flue like symptoms replaced with fever and congestion. This week feels like a really bad cold gone worse! So I guess this is getting better. (?) Through it all Teddy liked snuggeling with me when I was too wiped out to do much of anything!

Plus Teddy keeps me moving! Sure he wants me to play with him and his toys, and yes he is very cuddly too! But because he needs the exercise as well as to go out side to use the facilities…Well that is where the fun of having a dog comes in. I would get my self outside twice a day for him, but not for me alone!

I have heard dogs can be expensive, and I can tell you the vet bills for just the normal heart worm preventative, Front Line to keep fleas and ticks off, and the check up, and no less than 3 vaccinations (this Sat. Approx $147), no they are not cheap. However, I am willing to bet the normal care and keeping of a wonderful dog is cheaper than the health problems I am likely staving off by enjoying our walks!

The present time rewards for fitting in fitness; It sure is nice to have some of my old, smaller, clothes fit again. The scale I did not trust weeks ago, says I have dropped 7lbs since I started using it, and my jeans agree.

It’s all because of Teddy our dog that I am really feeling sick, but actually enjoy 2 long walks each day. At no point in all this illness did my leg muscles cramp! I bet I am feeling as well as one can while having what ever it is I’ve got! Though I swear that at least 2 evenings last week a 14.4 lb dog was actually successfully tugging an 160 lb women around our town!

If  you adopt a dog, you could be helping yourself as much as you are that dog!

About a year and 6 months. Last time I wrote about fitflops I was concerned mine would fall apart, they were so comfortably light! And that was on July of 2008. Well last Saturday, the thong disconnected from the foot bed, which is how most flip flops die, and I have worn many of them. Even my Birkenstock thong sandals, which were a heavy leather design did not last much over a year, and died in just that way.

The fitflops not only lasted longer, but now come in a multitude of designs, and colors, including clogs, slippers and boots, and lots of thong sandals. Many of which will not show the dirt mine will naturally accumulate in daily life! You can take the above fitflop link that will you to a page that has direct links to two stores that carry fitflops. Currently, of those 2, the Walkers Warehouse has the best selection.

In recent weeks my fitflops were mauled by the afore mentioned dog of post 9/17/09, but only on their heels, which held up just fine!

For any one interested in part I, see the post of 9/8/09 My Inadvertent Shapeup
. In quick summary that was, adopted a dog, walked it, 2 to 5 times a day, for the first 9 days, found I had lost 1.5 inches from my waist!

I am in now way suggesting adopting a dog for the sole purpose of getting in shape.

But for great company, on or off walks, adopt a dog!

Now that my daughter has returned to school, and I to fuller time work, I find I am walking the dog 2 times a day, has my waist gotten smaller again? Nope. It was about 34.5 to 35 inches when I measured after 9 days of having this great, little, dog, now it is at a no less than 35”.

However, other places seem smaller. Also my lower abdomen is smaller, and perhaps is getting smaller still! Panties that use to roll down, and stay down, on me when I sat stay where they belong. I am wearing them daily again!

I figure part of the down to 34.5 inches in 9 days was a combination of 2 things.

• Because even adopting a dog is a bit pricey,
• & owing to my getting all hung up on other things, and did not have a thought in my head as to what I wanted to eat for weeks, and maybe that is an Aug. heat thing too.

About 1 to 2 means daily, most days for 2 weeks surrounding getting the dog, I ate brown rice with soy sauce as a meal.

I figure this is not unlike that replace 2 meals a day with cold cereal and some fruit or yogurt diet you see on the box of some cereal. Perhaps Product 19?

Except with rice, I am not hungry a half hour later.

Then I went back to actually wanting something in particular to eat, so my rice meals are more like once every other day, and what I wanted was bologna and cheese sandwiches, with some chips. So it is not so bad that my waist has gone to a firm 35”.

As it stands, the dog could take or leave the mid-day walk, and we are walking longer and longer each early AM.

He seems to enjoy it and I feel much better, as in stronger, I stand up straighter and plan out longer AM trips for the next day.

Anyone else out there inadvertently end up loosing weight due to taking up a new, enjoyable aspect of life?

Bare Necessities has an Outlet store, where savings start at 40% off! Currently You will find the Panache balcony underwire bikini top on our large cup size swimwear page for just $39, as well as other Panache, Freya and Fantasie Swimwear styles in their Outlet store too. WordPress might not be allowing the direct links to work from their blog posts, it seems. So you can take the links to Bare Necessities in the above-mentioned large cup size swimwear page’s left column to get there.

Bare Necessities has this Fantasie underwire swimsuit in limited sizes, but at the best price. Yet it is also on sale, with an additional 10% discount availavle, (read below), in many sizes form 34 to 38D to GG, and 40D to E, and 42 & 44D to F at Bigger Bras swimwear clearance sale too!

Also featured on that page’s top right column is the link, with current 10% discount code you will want to save $ with if you order, to Bigger Bras. While the Bare Necessities Outlet, like Bravissimo’s summer swimwear clearance has great prices, but limited sizes, Bigger Bras has a wider selection of quality full-busted swimwear at their swimwear clearance sale!

Until midnight est. 8/28/09 you can get free shipping on your order of $75 or more, within the continental US, at Always for Me. Just use code “LaborDay75” when checking out to get your free shipping.

See our post of 8/25/09 to check out some of their sale swimwear! You can always find a link to their site’s sale section in our right column of our plus size swimwear page.

Always for Me carries swimwear, swim / active wear, swimsuit coverups and lingerie all just for full figure women. Their own swimwear lines are designed based on years of input from full figure women, and research.

You will find plenty of swimwear on sale at 25% to 50% off at Always for Me’s sale section! This Carol Wior 3 piece nautical tankini / skirtini is now on sale at 25% off and still available in sizes 16W to 24W! Their Hera tankini is now 51% off, in red, in sizes 16W to 26W!

Take these links above to our site  to find working links to Always for Me. WordPress is no longer allowing links of this ilk. I just found this out as I posted this today. These picture links below would have taken you directly to these swimwear styles, but this is no longer ok it seems. Sorry about that.

This Hermes scarf print tankini is now on sale at 34% off, still available in sizes 16W to 26W!

Now for the going fast, yet not on sale swimwear mostly active / swimwear styles.

Always for Me only has 17 of these Carol Wior twist front swimdresses left, in sizes 22W and 24W. You can wear them regular strap or cross strap in the back, which should give you extra bust lift and support.


Lots of Always for Me’s Sport swimwear line is running out of stock, and gets great reviews. Swimwear in this line can be worn at the gym or swimming, and of course, when going to water and sprinkler parks too!

Just 7 of these Palm Beach princess seamed, racer back tankini tops are left, in sizes 14W to 24W. These swim tops have 14, almost all, 5 star reviews! This comfy swim / active wear style is made to last, but then all Always for Me’s Sport Swimwear line has both of those qualities!


There are only 13 of these, also princess seamed, racer back Hibiscus swim tops left, in sizes 14W to 24W. This tankini top has 11, (all but 1 and it has a 4 star), 5 star reviews.


These swim / gym shorts, with gusset, are still in pretty good supply. They have 25 left, in this royal blue below, in sizes 14W to 32W. They also get excellent reviews, so who knows how long the supply will actually last. They are gone in their previously available black color.


There are only 26 of the matching royal princess seamed, racer back, swim top in sizes 14W to 24W. Just like the swim shorts above, these swim tops get great reviews, and they have run out of black color already.

Always for Me Sport swim / gym wear is UVA / UVB protective, shape retaining, chlorine and sea water resistant, quick drying and has great stretch. Maybe that is why these swim separates are leaving stock so soon.