Weighty Matters

Tonight's weigh-in was good --- another 1.8 pounds gone, for a total of 94.2 pounds lighter. Tonight's topic was about who inspires us. I have had lots of people tell me that I am inspiring to them -- and I do appreciate it so much. But it made me wonder who inspired me -- who have I admired and looked up to as I've been on this journey? This week, I'm going to think more about this question. And write on it when I can.

Another 1.6 down, for a total of 92.4 overall in 46 weeks. Holy crapola. I can barely believe it!!!!

(Thanks, David Bowie). I've worn plus sizes since my teens. But over time, I even went beyond those into what is now known as "extended plus" .... you can't find those in regular department stores or most clothing stores. They can be found in specialty stores: Avenue, Catherine's, for a while Lane Bryant, and so forth. For a long time, I got my clothes from a local re-distribution outlet for mall stores/catalog/outlet wear. Most of the clothing was from the previous year's catalog. That never bothered me, because I didn't care if it was a year old or not. It was inexpensive and (more importantly) in my size. But then it got to the point that their selection started to be kind of junky, especially in those larger sizes. Awful knits and ugly stuff. Then it was back to the more expensive specialty shops. It was then that I learned how to shop clearance areas for the best stuff my money could buy. As long as it fit and was marked down at least fairly reasonabl...

Tonight's weigh-in: -1.4 pounds. Total since May 11: -90.8 pounds. Only 9.2 pounds to go until 100....... I never imagined I would get here, and have fun doing it. I still have a long way to go, to be certain. But I've made it this far. I can't -- won't -- stop now.

Regular readers of my main blog (Meanderings and Musings) may remember me speaking last January about the passing of my childhood friend Tee from breast cancer. One of the things that I have vowed I will do this year is walk in the Race for the Cure in September in her memory, and in honor of my aunt (who is a 15+ year survivor of breast cancer). Today would have been Tee's 38th birthday. I am still pissed about that. Breast cancer should not rob a husband of his wife, two children of their mother, two parents of yet another child (one of Tee's brother had passed away a few years earlier). But tonight, we celebrated my father's birthday (from last Tuesday) and my brother's (this coming Monday) with dinner at our town's Greek/Italian restaurant. It's only about 2, maybe 2-1/2 blocks from the house, on the southernish edge of the business district. At dinner, my brother and I spoke of another nearby place which had been a convenience store when we were kids. It...

and just a half-pound from 90 pounds. I never imagined that 10 months ago, I would be 90 pounds lighter. I never imagined that I could enjoy the process as much as I have. I marvel at the way I am changing .... slowly and imperceptibly at times, but then I see it and go "When did THAT happen?" I know that I have a long way to go, but I can't wait to see how it's all going to turn out!

Last week ... well, all this past week ... has been weird. Last Thursday, when I wrote my post, I had had a very bad afternoon at work. I honestly believe part of my gain was due less to a bad day of eating or (in my case) not eating enough -- and more to the emotional weight. Emotions carry weight; I know that can never be proven, but I believe it. Guilt, stress, sadness -- all weighty emotions. Anyway, this week, I'm back on track. I lost 2.8 --- all that I'd gained last week and 2 more pounds, and am now down a total of 88.4 pounds! That's seventeen 5-pound bags of sugar (and then some). Five rather large Thanksgiving turkeys (and a small turkey breast). About 10 gallons of milk. I was discussing this with a coworker today -- she has lost a lot of weight over the years and is one of my cheerleaders. We were talking about it and how much more I have to go. I still have a long way to go, but I am getting there and have come so much further than I ever expected. I am proud...

but I'm not even thinking about it. Just moving forward. It's all I can do.

The Y has a program called Wellness Works, and part of that is that you have periodic fitness assessments. They take your measurements, and you do various physical things and they evaluate where you are. I had my first assessment at the end of September, and was supposed to have another at the end of December. Between my evaluator leaving and the holidays, I wasn't able to reschedule until today. My measurements were very improved. My chest -- 6 inches down. My waist -- 5 inches. My hips -- about 2 inches (which she told me wouldn't go down so fast anyway). I'm thrilled altogether with those results. And they weighed me as part of it -- I'd lost another pound since Thursday night! WAHOO! On the fitness assessments, I had good improvement (or maintained) in all areas. On one of the assessments -- where I have to sit on the edge of a chair and go up and down as often as possible in 30 seconds, I had an over 100% improvement. As things continue to improve, the assessments ...

This week was a good week. Not only did I lose 4.8 pounds (total: 86.4), but I did it eating MORE points. I realized that I needed to get going with the new points system. And it worked! One of the things we were asked to do tonight at our meeting was to list 3 recent accomplishments, 3 recent challenges, and 3 tips to share. So here are mine: Accomplishments -- Successes So Far losing 4.8 pounds this week losing four pants sizes since May sticking to my exercise plans this week (so far) Challenges to Success fitting in exercise on plan getting in my healthy oils the temptation to stress eat Tips for Continuing Success Keep remembering the long haul -- remember this process will have ups and downs, gains and losses. Patience, grasshopper. At the same time, keep your focus on one day, one meal, one moment at a time. Every wise choice made leads to success. Don't obsess. You are human - you will slip and make mistakes. Be gentle with yourself and then get back on the wagon. Hang in ...

According to the scales at this week's weigh-in, I gained back 1.4 pounds. Whatever. I know that I lost inches -- just as important as the poundage some weeks. Last week, I bought some new pants because the ones I bought in October have gotten way too big, even with belting them. I am now down four pants sizes from where I started in May '06. These pants are now -- only 9 days later -- a little too big in the waist. Holy God. I'm thinking my next shopping trip will be at Goodwill..... So what didn't work this week? My schedule -- I was only able to squeeze in two days of exercise, and that was just bad. I admit to a bit of laziness in this regard this week; facing the great outdoors at 6:30 AM and temperatures in the teens or low 20s was not appealing. The nice 70+ warmth to be found in the comforter was a siren call ... and I needed a wake-up call instead. So guess what will happen tomorrow morning? (Speaking of, I need to finish this post and go pack my bag). But tom...

Slow and steady goes the race, as does the pace of the weight loss. Not that I mind, by the way. I lost 2.8 more this week for a total of 83.0 pounds. I weighed in this morning, since Thursday was spent at home (a snow day!). Some weeks it's more, some it's less. This was a strange week. One day, I completely overshot my points. Not only used my activity points earned that day -- something I rarely do -- but ended up using some flex points as well. It didn't matter. I'm wondering if my body said, "Oh, thank you! Thank you! I appreciate the food -- and I will reward you accordingly!" Oddly enough, I got all psyched up afterwards to go walking. So I did -- drove over to the track at the high school (I figured a little local stuff wouldn't hurt), but the stadium was closed. It's hardly ever closed. I haven't tried the new walking track at the city park, but I figured I'd just drive on to the Y. Halfway there, I remembered something about Open Hous...

I lost 0.6 pounds this week -- and it puts me over 80 pounds!!!! I am at 80.2! I am very happy. I had thought I was going to lose a little more, but I'm perfectly happy with losing any at all! YAHOO!!!!!!

AH!!!!! 2.2 more pounds gone, for a total of 79.6 since May 11 (8 months and 1 week). I never ever imagined back in May that I'd be able to do this. As my leader Debbie was saying to some of the folks leaving the 5:30 meeting, "I remember Annette's first week here. Her entire personality has changed...." Well, yes and no. I've always had this personality, but that first night, I was so discouraged. I was literally weighed down. Weighed down by trying and failing. Weighed down by the sense that somehow it would always be this way and my window of opportunity was shrinking (even if I wasn't). Things have blossomed and I have too. I'm really enjoying my life and the process of changing it. Even the little things are important. If you're on this journey -- KEEP GOING!!!!! No stopping now -- you're so much closer!

I lost 3 pounds even this week, for a total of 77.4 pounds. I am very happy about that! Yesterday morning, I was at the gym and had the choice of two empty treadmills, right next to each other. I didn't really have a preference, so I took the one a little further from the wall fan. Not that there's anything wrong with the fan, but I prefer to enjoy it from a distance. As I was finding the right song to get me into gear for my walk, the guy to my right tapped my arm. He asked, "Hey! How much weight have you lost since you started here?" Apparently, people are noticing....... I love that!

Back up 0.8 pounds. I am not sure why -- snack later than usual, water retention, new points system. Who knows? The important thing is that I know what to do to make the pounds go away and the program work. And so I shall! Congrats to my friends Tal & Sera who have joined their local Y -- you're gonna love it! (At least I hope yours is as good as mine). The one thing I've enjoyed about the Y is that it's really a place for everyone. I was part of a gym once that started out great but then became more of a museum for saints and less a hospital for sinners (so to speak). And full of kids (16 and under) .... no thanks! The nice thing about my Y is that there are all shapes and sizes there. We're all striving for one goal: improved health. Sure there are folks over there in the free weights area doing powerlifts -- and there are others like me, over on the Nautilis machines on baby weights. No problem, no pressure. I like that. So to everyone who is going for improvemen...

75.2 pounds gone since May 11!!!! Got my magnet last night to show for it, and I'm so very happy! All my pants are loose. My sweaters are sliding off what used to be my shoulders. I walked 1.28 miles on the treadmill this morning. I increased my weights slightly today (and a couple were TOUGH to take). But I'm so enjoying this change in me. We had new folks joining our meeting last night. And my leader sent them to me for inspiration and advice, along with a couple of other folks. That was such an honor -- considering I'm about 1/3 of the way to my goal, and yet others see me as an inspiration and role model. I can't wait to see what the New Year brings!!!

Last weigh-in, I needed 4.4 pounds to hit 75 even. I got 4.2 pounds. AAARGH! 0.2 pounds away.... oh well. I still have a few days to go to get it. Christmas: I didn't count points. I didn't on Thanksgiving either. Whatever happens, happens. Enjoy the rest of 2006, and here's to a great '07!!!

Yesterday, I got to attend a dance recital for my godchild and her cousin. I never did dance lessons. I had a friend who did. I thought about it in 2nd grade, but someone mentioned that I should have started a couple of years earlier, and that I needed to drop a few pounds. So I put dance lessons out of my mind. I did Girl Scouts instead, and never thought about dance lessons again. I didn't bemoan the fact that yes, I probably should have dropped a few pounds of baby fat back then and didn't. I didn't wonder if I should have told whomever that they needed to stuff it. In the grand scheme of the cosmos, it was not this sad thing -- it just was. End of story. Last night at the recital, there was a young lady in two of the segments. She was larger than everyone else up on stage, but OH MY STARS! She was having a grand time. She radiated pure joy. She gave everything she had to her dancing and from what I could tell, was simply happy to be there and happy to dance. And let me ...

I gained back 0.8 pounds. Not enough to really even worry about. Even my leaders tonight were pooh-poohing it. So that's good to know. I really want to hit 75 pounds by year-end. I have 17 more days to make it happen and lose 4.2 pounds. But if I don't hit it right on the 31st, I'm not going to have a massive meltdown. As Debbie (my leader) often says, "Life happens." But I'm so happy that I'm well on my way to better health. Nowhere to go but down!