I LOST 30 POUNDS! And hated every second of it...

On January 16th, I wrote THIS post. I stated that I wanted to lose 30 lbs, and vaguely outlined my plan of action. Well, here we are six months later, and I did it, y'all!

So let me start from the beginning... With Henry, I gained almost 60 lbs during my pregnancy. In the first two weeks after his birth, I lost 30 lbs of that. I was insanely swollen so a lot of my weight was fluid retention...

See? Told ya. However, after that first two weeks, I did not lose anything else. I had issues with breastfeeding from the get go, and even though I was exclusively nursing for almost 4 months, it did nothing for my weight loss. By January, Henry was 3 months old, and I still had 30 lbs to lose to get back to my pre-pregnancy weight. So, really, if I wanted to, I could say I lost 60 lbs, but I don't think that accurately depicts the situation.

In January, I just felt gross. I have been varying degrees of overweight most of my life, but, honestly, I never really felt bad about myself. In January, I had a lot of moments of self-loathing. That was a new thing for me, so I decided I really had to get shit taken care of. Initially, I didn't set a time constraint on my weight-loss. I've never lost more than 15 lbs at a time in my life, so I didn't even know where to begin with this goal. As time went on, and I had success, I decided to go by the "9 months to put it on, 9 months to take it off" rule. Well... 9 months and TWO DAYS.

To give a little background for anyone reading this blog for the first time, I will briefly depict my weight history... I have always been like 10-20 lbs overweight my entire life, according to medical charts. Weight loss and maintenance has always been an issue for me, and I do believe that my metabolism is on the low end of the spectrum. I have always played sports and worked out, and been decently fit, just never thin. At the time I got pregnant, it was 2 months after my wedding, and I felt pretty good about my body. I was doing crossfit and paleo religiously, and I was in really great health. This 30 lbs I lost does not get me to my ideal weight. My ideal weight is still about 10-15 lbs away.

So what did I do to lose the weight? What a hard question to answer. The bottom line is I exercised more and ate less. The REAL bottom line is that... I cut out all the emotional/mental bullshit out of the equation, and just freaking did what it takes.

Exercise: Henry and I attend Baby Boot Camp 5 times a week. It's a good and effective work out. Working out for an hour five times a week is more than most people. Boot camp definitely has helped my body look so much better, but was it the main factor in my weight loss? No. Although, the constant support and motivation from my mom friends was incredibly helpful and encouraging.

Food: Obviously, my diet and calorie intake has been the main source of success for my weight loss. I didn't go on a "diet." I don't have time to plan out meals or go grocery shopping the way most diets require that you do. Well, actually I have plenty of time, but I hate grocery shopping and I am lazy. Anyway, I really ate all the same foods as before. I just ate a whole hell of a lot less. I do not count calories. Again, too lazy. Basically, I just had to gauge what hunger level I needed to be at to lose weight steadily week to week. My guess is that it was around 1000 calories on a daily basis. I know that 1000 calories a day is not "healthy". But neither is being overweight. I do not recommend eating less than 1200 calories a day, but my metabolism sucks major ass, and 1200 calories even with working out will not allow me to effectively lose weight. Argue with me all you want, but I just lost 30 lbs... so just trust that I know what I am saying. Of course, there are days I probably ate something crazy like 3000 calories. But they were very few and far in between. Like once or twice a month. Not once or twice a week.

More food stuff: 1000 calories a day sucks. I was/am hungry a lot, and it's pretty miserable. I hate to say this because it kind of sounds like the beginning of an eating disorder... but after a while, I embraced that super hungry feeling. I would tell myself "this is what losing weight feels like." I do not have an eating disorder, by the way. I needed to lose 30 lbs, so I did what it took. And it was over 6 months, so obviously I wasn't doing anything too crazy.

Even more food stuff: I would like to point out that I basically do not drink alcohol. Not because "I don't drink." I do. It's just that with a baby, I never go out to bars and we go to dinner at 5:30. I also don't particularly "enjoy" alcohol. I like drinking with my friends and family and getting a buzz going... but I couldn't care less about good wine or cocktails or trying new beers. COULD NOT CARE LESS. All that combined makes not drinking about as easy as not doing crystal meth (translation... very easy). I want to mention this because I know a lot of single 20 something girls will read this. When I was single and going out all the time, I don't think I could have foregone alcohol for six months. And even if you only drink on the weekends... multiply 1000 calories by 20 weeks, and you're not going to get the same results.

Now I want to talk about cutting out the bullshit. I have a bad metabolism. I've been chubby my entire life. I have always had to work harder than other people to lose weight. I have a parent who criticized my weight from a very young age. I was made fun of when I was a kid. I felt left out sometimes as an adult. I freaking love food to the point that it is like textbook addiction. I sometimes compulsively eat without even realizing it. I have narcolepsy which messes with your hunger signals.

The point is... there will always be a million reasons that you can tell yourself why you are overweight or why it's harder for you to lose weight. BUT... So let's say you had a brother who always called you fat growing up, and you feel that a lot of your issues stemmed from that. Well... even if you go to therapy, talk it out, confront your brother, he apologizes, you cry and hug and fix everything... That's not going to make you like food any less. That's not going to make a Double Dave's pizza roll any less tempting. It's not going to give you more energy to go on a run.

You just have to decide if you're going to do it or not. Doing it means sticking to the plan every day. Not three or four days a week. Not three weeks but then going on vacation and gaining 10 lbs. It's an every day thing. Every one of your actions has a consequence. Having a margarita has a consequence. Going for a run has a consequence. You have to constantly be on top of what you are doing and how it's going to feel each week if you do or do not lose weight.

I highly suggest setting a goal date and doing weekly weigh ins. I have had the internet to keep me accountable, but even if it's your mom or your boyfriend, just check in with someone. And take pictures. Seeing yourself look better in a picture is so much more gratifying than just looking in the mirror. That picture is there to remind you "this is what making good decisions looks like."

I know that all sounds like a lot of tough love, but I am just trying to be as straight forward as possible. There was nothing fun about losing 30 lbs other than losing 30 lbs. If I could look awesome without ever working out, trust me, I wouldn't. And I love food and I can eat a ton. Losing 30 lbs has not changed that one bit. I know I am going to continue to struggle with this forever. It's never going to be something I don't have to think about or put effort towards.

One last topic... My body does not look the same since having a baby. I am the same weight, but this body is different. The stretch marks from pregnancy are still there, and my bellybutton looks squishy. And if you've had a child, I don't even need to tell you what's going on with my boobs. I swear it's like you could fit your cell phone and keys in the empty space in my bra.

What does it feel like to lose 30 lbs? It feels just as awesome as you think it would. I recommend it.

Ok. Now come the pictures. First, I will do a series of me in work out clothes, then, I will do me in regular clothes. The regular clothes series doesn't start until around April because I felt too gross to let anyone take a full body shot of me...

 (sorry, I had to include that picture)

And the regulars...

Somewhere in my blog, I talked about that last dress. I bought it when I was pregnant, thinking it would be loose and breezy for after the baby. WRONG. I couldn't even get it over my head. No joke. And now it fits perfect! I bought those ikat/chevron jeans when I was pregnant, too. So glad I did because they are incredibly soft and comfy now. 

While we are talking about clothes, I am still a size 12. I could probably do a 10 in some bottoms, but I am so thick in my waist and ribs that I would have to lose another 10 lbs to go down in dress size. And I'm 5'6 for anyone who has never seen me in person. 

AND WHAT THE HELL... I now weigh 168 lbs.

Love,

Lauren

Introducing... THE STROLLI COOL!

The STROLLI COOL is a stroller cooling pad that works with water absorbing crystals to keep your babies cool and happy on hot days. Henry and I work out at the park every single day in Houston, so I originally made one for him just because I was desperate to fix how miserable and sweaty he was in the stroller. The idea was really well received by other moms, and then people asked to buy them, and then, today, I started selling them on Etsy. 

Some of the goods...

How it works...

I promise that I only decided to make these because they really do work. The first time I used it, Henry slept the entire time during Baby Boot Camp. So for any mom that spends a lot of time outdoors during the summer, you will love this. There is also an infant size that you can use for strollers with a car seat adapter. Just keep in mind that the STROLLI COOL should NEVER be used in a car seat while inside a motor vehicle. Common sense, yall. 

Go check out my store, and let me know what you think! If you are someone that I know personally and see often, message me about free shipping and I will just give it to you in person.

Some things that would make me super happy...

1. Like Turquoise & Gold on Facebook

2. Pin your favorite STROLLI COOL to Pinterest

3. Spread the word to your friends

4. Buy one for yourself or as a gift

5. Hint to your mother-in-law that you'd like her to buy you one

I have a lot of people to thank for helping this to all come together. To all my mom friends for their feedback and encouragement. To my dad for buying me a sewing machine. To my husband for being cool with me ignoring him the last couple of weeks. To my mom for supervising Henry when I am sewing. To my sister-in-law for the idea. To my mother-in-law for helping me make my first one. And to the LA City Bus Driver... for taking a chance... on an unknown kid. (If you appreciate that quote, consider us best friends).

Love,

Lauren

Don't say I didn't warn you...

Yeah. 29 lbs. NOT 30. And to clarify the 30 pounds was not just baby weight. If I include all the weight I have lost since pregnancy the way celebrties do, I would easily have my "I Lost 60 Pounds" People Magazine cover. I lost 30 lbs within the first two weeks since Henry was born, and after that... nada. In January, I still had 30 lbs to go and that is when I started all of this.

I'm ok with the not meeting my deadline thine, but just very annoyed at the moment. I'll post next week when I finally get there with before/after pictures and a reflection back on the entire process. Until then...

Love,

Lauren

Where do I begin?

Life has gotten kind of out of control lately. In a good way, but in a blog-neglecting way as well.

Henry is 9 months old today, and tomorrow is my final weigh in. I honestly think I am going to be ONE pound off. ONE. It really is fine, because I could easily get rid of one pound in an extra week... but to have lost 29 lbs instead of 30 is kind of dumb. I will let you know tomorrow! Here is a picture taken this weekend that I feel reflects some weight loss...

We are adding a big patio onto the back of our house and the workers started today. With a napping baby and two nutty dogs, it's a lot of tension.

We went to my parents' lake house all last week in Marble Falls. It was a really great place to be for the 4th of July. We entered the parade, and Henry got his first swing. I guess the judges couldn't fully appreciate my vision, because we didn't win...

Henry is crawling now which means I literally can't do anything while he is awake. We still haven't baby proofed the house or bought baby gates, so I have to watch him every second...

BUT ALL OF THAT IS SMALL POTATOES! I am in the process of starting a business. I already have an etsy store where I sell invitations and digital art. That part of the store has remained pretty small because I have been booked up doing custom work for friends. Which is so much fun, by the way, and if you are ever interested in a custom invitation, I would be happy to work with you! Also, if you see something somewhere else that you like, I can re-create most stuff as well. 

So what is this business, you ask? Remember the stroller cooling pad I made for Henry a couple weeks ago? Well, it has been a huge hit with other moms, and I quickly realized that I had something special on my hands. I am looking to launch everything on Thursday. It has been a lot of hard work. I got in the water ONCE while being at the lake for a week because I was sewing my life away. Here is a small sneak peek!

I will let you guys know when everything goes live this week! Stay tuned and thanks for checking in!

Love,

Lauren

Weight Wednesday (on Friday)...

On Wednesday, I had 5 lbs to lose. It's Friday and I still have 5 lbs to lose. 5 lbs in 11 days! Ahhhh. Plus all next week I am going to be at the lake house with no bootcamp and lots of tasty snacks. Also, I am seriously downloading the Jimmy John's app on my phone as I type this (girl's gotta eat). 

I really AM determined. Never before in my life have I really hard goals with an actual timeline when it comes to weight loss. But I really do care about the actual end date this time. I promise that if I don't make it that I will be honest with y'all, but man is that going to hurt! 

Going to the astros game on Tuesday did not help my cause...

Love,

Lauren

Weight Wednesday: chipping away and some news-y stuff

Six is such a good number. It sounds like so much less than 7 for some reason. Maybe because 7 can easily go back up to 10. 6 is far enough away from 10, that I'm no longer scared of 10. Does that make sense? 

So when I originally made my weight loss chart, I remember thinking not knowing how long to make it. I've officially run out of room, which gives me some sort of satisfaction. The end IS very near, and even my chart is telling me to get this thing over with. Can I suggest to yall to make one of these? Even if it's just hand written. To see your goal whittle away is kind of awesome. I also really appreciate seeing the dates because I think it paints a VERY realistic picture of the time line of weight loss. 

One goal all along in sharing this has been to produce a very normal, boring picture of weight loss. No one loves The Biggest Loser more than I do, but it doesn't really present a realistic model for people wanting to lose weight. Also, a lot of "weight loss stories" that make it to a public forum usually feature people with closer to 100+ pounds to lose. Losing 100+ lbs is EXTRAORDINARY. Anyone who is able to transform their life so dramatically has to be a really incredible person, and I honestly don't know if I would be able to do it. Understandably, people don't end up on the front of People for losing 30 lbs... and the closest thing on tv to The Biggest Loser: normal people edition was "Celebrity Fat Camp" on VH1. Which was basically the exact same show as Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew with weigh-ins at the end of every episode.

The news-y stuff I mentioned in the post title is regarding this article in which the AMA has now declared obesity a disease. I feel this subject usually gets people kind of riled up, so I thought I would weigh in as reasonably as possible. I'm not a doctor, and I don't even watch Dr. Oz, so what do I know? But here it goes... And please keep in mind any time I use terms like "overweight" and "obese," I am using them as medical terms to describe someone's health, not how they look. 

I agree that when you are obese, that your body is in a state of "disease". When I started my weight loss, I 100% felt that I was unhealthy... plus, I am sure that I would have been considered obese in medical terms. So yeah, when you are overweight, your health is compromised, and you should fix it. The problem I have with calling it a "disease" is that it can somewhat shift the responsibility of getting healthy from the person and onto "medical treatment". Now, I am 100% in support of anyone working with their doctor to lose weight and improve their health. I am even very pro lap band if it helps people to permanently change their lives. It's just like smoking. Obviously, no matter how addicted you are to cigarettes, you could just force yourself to stop smoking. But I would rather someone use the patch or whatever and stop smoking than be forced to "do it the hard way" and never successfully quit. 

If someone looked me in the face and said "look, I'm obsessed with food and I am not strong enough or committed enough to lose weight completely on my own," I would be like dude, I totally get it. But when someone says they have "tried everything, but nothing is working," I want to say go eff yourself. "Trying" a method of weight loss means doing it perfectly, every single day, for at least 30 days. "Trying" is not... eating low carb for four days, but then, you know, it was my birthday, so we went out and had some drinks, and my coworkers bought me cupcakes so I just had one, blah blah blah... 

I don't get why the most pervasive theme in weight loss is "diets don't work." Um, well, actually, they do work. But you HAVE TO DO THEM. And when you're done, you have to use the brain inside your head and not eat like a psycho. I'm sure you can guess the next thing I am going to comment on... the almighty LIFESTYLE CHANGE. "It has to be a lifestyle change." What does that even mean? Like even if you have changed your lifestyle to where you bring your lunch instead of going out or whatever, your brain chemistry is never going to change to the point that ChikFilA doesn't taste amazing. I think the lifestyle change thing irks me because it implies that once you "change your lifestyle" that you won't even have to think about eating healthy, because it will become so ingrained. Well, that's bullshit. Anyone who has ever lost weight can tell you that it never stops being hard. It never stops taking conscious effort... which, in my opinion, IS a diet. I guess the way I can reconcile "you can't go on a diet, it has to be a lifestyle change" is if you define lifestyle change as accepting the fact that you are basically going to be on a diet every day for the rest of your life.

With all that said... 24 lbs ago, if the doctor was like "hey, I see that you are obese, so here is this pill to help you lose weight, and guess what... your insurance will cover it!" I would be at Walgreen's in less than 5 minutes. So I guess my conclusion is that I am hopeful that this new categorization of obesity as a disease will help people get healthy regardless of if they do it the old-fashioned way or not. And maybe the long term effect will be something like obesity will become less common in our population, and therefore people will be less likely to become overweight in the first place? Who knows. Just get (or stay) healthy, people.

Love,

Lauren

Weight Wednesday: Starvation works!

I am really relieved I lost two pounds this past week. I had started to feel a sense of doom that there was no way I can meet my goal... but seriously, I think I can pull it off. In regards to the title of this post... FOR ME, I feel like I have to "starve" myself in order to lose weight. This does not mean that I am not eating anything, it just means that the amount that I can get away with eating leaves me feel like I am starving the whole freaking day. I wish I could be one of those people that has four 300 calorie meals a day and "never feels hungry." First of all, I think those people are lying. Whether it is to themselves or to everyone else, I don't believe for one second that they wouldn't kill for pizza or some french fries at any point in the day. 

For me, the whole thing with this weight loss stuff is that it is very difficult. It is very unsatisfying. It sometimes feels like torture. I do still have "bad" meals every week (cough last night), but what I have to do the next day to make up for it is like eat a can of tuna and call it a day. The thing is, no matter what it takes for YOU to lose weight... sorry, but that's what it takes for YOU to lose weight. If you can cut out soda and lose 10 lbs, great, do that. If you have to eat under 1000 calories per day on top of working out for two hours... Yeah, that sucks. I feel for you. I know how unfair it feels. I know how frustrating it is. But my personal experience is YOU JUST HAVE TO DO IT. You have to move past how much "harder" it is for you than the average person, and just get it done.

I like being open about this because it really bothers me when people or celebrities try to make it seem like weight loss was so easy or even FUN for them. Any celebrity that claims they lost weight from pole dancing or some dumb shit like that is also leaving out that they probably also never eat. When Kirstie Alley loses weight and says she is a size 4, I want to scream. GIRL, YOU ARE NOT A SIZE 4. STOP LYING. Or when Kim Kardashian says she weighs 120 pounds. Shyeah... In your bra! I think the most refreshing thing I have ever heard a celebrity say was when Katy Perry stated that she weighs 135 lbs... See, THAT makes sense. Her body is amazing, she looks great, and she has huge boobs. Drew Barrymore recently gave an interview where she said how trying to have the perfect body or the perfect career right now would compromise how good of a mother she could be to her new baby. Yes. Spending 6 hours a day in the gym like Kate Hudson did as soon as her baby was born probably was not in the best interest of her newborn son. So thanks, Drew Barrymore, for being one of the few moms in Hollywood who seems to understand this. Sarah Jessica Parker was also very graceful about weight loss after the birth of her son. She basically didn't even want to talk about it and said that her looks were so not the point of what was going on in her life with a new baby. 

So on a less angsty note... I hope all of your weight loss endeavors are going well! I know one thing that would help me a lot right now would be to drink more water. I hardly ever experience thirst, so it takes a lot of effort for me to drink enough water through out the day. Any suggestions on how much water I need to be drinking every day? Or how to get on a water drinking schedule? I'd love to hear your experiences on how water intake has affected your weight loss!

Love,

Lauren

Weight Wednesdays: 34 days left!

I have no idea why I went crazy with my 80s themed graphic, but yes, I lost one pound this past week. I need to lose like 2 a week seeing as I only have until July 9th, but I am doing my best! And please keep in mind that I live in Houston, and it is already 95 degrees here. That basically means that I cannot go outside from 11-6pm unless I want to die of skin cancer on the spot. This makes getting extra walks in kind of hard since I have a baby to protect from the sun and heat. 

I have been SUPER busy lately. I decided to open an Etsy shop which I will talk more about later, but I have already had some sales and between that and my child that I am actually supposed to spend time with, blogging has taken a back seat for the time being. I'll get back to it here soon!

A lot of you showed interest in joining a weight loss challenge. Consider this your starting date! Each week, please report on your progress in the comments section. I promise that I really do care, and I really do love hearing about other people's journeys. Trust me, writing about your weight on the internet definitely keeps you motivated, so if you need a little extra motivation, please join in!

Love,

Lauren

Weight Wednesdays are back!

10 lbs to go. I would be more excited but I've had 10 pounds to go for a month now. I don't know why there has been such a halt in my progress. I haven't been perfect the last month, but I also wasn't perfect any of the previous months. Either way, my goal is to lose the last 10 lbs by July 9th aka when Henry turns 9 months old. That gives me about six weeks. 

I am still going to baby boot camp 5 times a week, and still trying to moderate my food. If I had the money, I would do My Fit Foods again, but it's just way too expensive to do on a daily basis. 

One source of motivation has been posting more pictures of myself and my clothes lately. I will get it all out there for y'all: I am a solid size 12 right now. The funny thing is, that when I was 20 lbs lighter than I am now, I was still a size 10 or 12. My particular body shape does not seem to let me get much smaller than a size 10. Sure, the clothes look better, and my limbs are thinner. But I have wide hips and a wide bust line that never seems to break a size 10. Size is really not a huge issue for me, other than when you shop at cheapy stores like F21, the sizes tend to run small and sometimes leave me empty handed. I feel like when I was a younger, I went straight from kids sizes to a women's size 6 so like I said, I don't have any mental hangups over dress size, but I sure would like to wear whatever the hell I want. 

I am not a self-conscious person. Even at a size 12, I am perfectly happy to wear a two-piece bathingsuit. It's not like I've been fooling people all along that I am skinny and that a bikini is going to let the cat out of the bag. With that said, if I had the body for it, I would wear all sorts of crazy shit. I would first of all, FOR SURE, work out in just a sports bra. This is probably one of my life long dreams. I gain most of my weight in my mid section, so I would probably have to be like 12% body fat to make that dream come true. Anyway, like I said... I am open to wearing just about anything so long as I look decent in it. Remember when people were wearing underwear as pants like two years ago? Yeah. I would do that. So currently, my adventurous taste is sort of being wasted on this body. I think Tyra Banks once said that she feels more confident with her body when she is naked than when she is in clothes. That is probably the only thing that Tyra Banks and I have in common, but I totally understand what she meant by that statement. 

Here's where I'm at. I literally took this photo like 5 minutes ago, so it is a completely legit representation of what I currently look like...

Is there anyone else who would like to get in on weekly weigh in action? I can honestly say that it's helped me to stay in line! Having some pals to check in with really motivates me, so if you're interested just let me know!

Love,

Lauren

The worst kept secret ever...

If you have seen me anytime in the last 7 months, was I wearing running shoes? Nike shorts? A vneck tshirt? The answer is probably yes. Makeup? Hair down? Jewelry? The answer is probably no.

So my secret is that I honestly probably wear real clothes for a total of 6 hours max in an entire week. Seriously. A couple hours every time we go out to dinner, and I will go ahead and throw in some bonus occasion like a doctor's appointment or a shopping trip where the service I get will partially be determined by how non-poor I look. Other than that, workout clothes 24/7. 

I wish I could say this is because I'm a mom and I don't have time for all that jazz. It has nothing to do with being a mom, because I don't think I wore jeans to class one time in my five years at college. Once I quit my job to move back to Texas, my kind of awesome work wardrobe became obsolete. So did anything with a non-elastic waistband. 

I am completely exploiting the fact that as a society, we have accepted workout clothes as the new casual uniform. And for some ridiculous reason that I cannot explain, I usually feel cuter in running shorts with no makeup that I do in jeans with my hair down. 

Actually, being a mom has led me to step up my game a bit. A couple months ago I had to have a chat with myself that it just wasn't ok to keep wearing my old ZTA shirts, even just to run around the park. And that my ancient J. Crew tshirt with 4 holes in it really wasn't ok either. After that, I decided to make an investment in workout clothes that at least look slightly put together. Translation: I went out and bought about 6 Old Navy vnecks. Nothing says "I have nailed elegant workout dressing" like a white tshirt from Old Navy. 

Even more recently, I've bought some legit workout shirts and tanks. Before, I refused to buy anything like this because I had about 9 million tshirts rotting in my drawers that I could wear. But now I am slowly building up my arsenal of brightly colored dry fit items. 

Last night, my mom took Henry and I to dinner (where I wore workout clothes), and then treated us to a mini shopping trip at Gap. Henry's purchases were, of course, the cutest. But I headed straight for the GapFit section. About two years ago, I bought some stuff from Gap that I really loved and considered them a great new resource for active wear. But then something happened, and it all went to shit for about two years. 

The GapFit phoenix has now risen from the ashes and is flying high in some pretty awesome fitness gear. So I got (thanks, mom!) these badass pink shorts. I love them because they are perforated which is a design detail that makes me giddy in any fashion category. (note - the shorts run big). I also got a purple tank top because my farmer's tan is getting slightly out of control, and my shoulders need to start working towards their sun damage quota for the year.

shorts // tank // shoes (Nike)

 Check out some of the cuteness they have going on right now. For those of you that are like, "black pants? What's the big deal?" The list of things I expect out of black running pants is longer than the list of things I expect out my husband.

white long sleeve // striped tank // sports bra // running shorts // black pants // vneck

What do you think? It's fun and cute, but not as expensive as schmu-schmu-schmemon. I love that place, but I simply cannot pay $72 for a sportsbra. However, my husband has been instructed than any time he needs help buying me a gift, that he can go and buy me a $72 sportsbra. Speaking of, I still feel like my journey to find the perfect sportsbra is in it's infancy. Please tell me if you have any good advice on sportsbras. I need something supportive, but because I am out in the sun so much, I am on the hunt for something with thinner straps. Any ideas? I will send a gift to anyone that aids me in this quest!

Love,

Lauren