I Should Have Started Earlier

It just occurred to me today that I should have started this blog last year. I have lost over 50 pounds over the past eleven months. Right after Christmas last year (which was technically still 2005) I bought two new pairs of jeans, a pair of dress pants, and several tops. All of the pants were size 20, and the shirts were all 18/20 or, XL, or XXL. Yesterday I bought two new pairs of jeans and they are both size 14. That is so awesome. It would have been very cool to be able to track my progress since last February. I regret not doing that. People are always asking me how I did it, and are always praising me for my will power. Actually, it's been the easiest thing I have ever done. Most of the time I don't even feel like I'm doing anything. I feel like the 50+ pounds has just literally faded away all on its own. So here's the story - as much as I can remember of it anyways...

It was, Saturday, February 11, 2006. The temperature was bitter cold and the sun was hidden behind the clouds. Snow and ice were in the forecast. Cousin and I had made plans to see a movie that day, but her husband said we couldn't go. They live on a mountain, and he was afraid that we might not make it back up if the weather system set in before we could get back. The new plan was that I was going to do some cleaning around my place, take a bath, pack a bag, and spend the night at her house. If I was going to be iced in, I wasn't going to be iced in at my house all alone! While I was cleaning, she called me begging for me to get to her house right away. Her husband's friend was on his way to their house to help Husband do something, and she was sure he was planning on staying for the rest of the day. She likes Friend OK, but didn't want to have to hang with him and Hubby all day without reinforcement. That's where I came in. I just went right to her rescue. Through a strange turn of events, Hubby's friend and I began flirting with each other, then crushing on each other, then dating each other. I have known this guy for about ten years, and thought he was a good guy - just not a good guy to date. The fact that I was having feelings for him freaked me out. When I would get still enough to have time to think about it, I would just get beside myself. The only time that I had to get still was when I was eating. Therefore, I would start thinking about it all and I would loose my appetite. This went on for a week. After that, he asked me out, and then I couldn't eat for another week because I had some anxiety about telling a few certain people who I had just agreed to go out with. Silly, I know. Finally, though, we were dating, everyone knew about, everyone was cool with it, and all was right with the world again. Now I could eat again, right?

Wrong. Apparently, after only picking at my food for two straight weeks my stomach shrank and could no longer hold the portions that it once could. Keep in mind that never before in my whole life have I ever lost my appetite over anything. Never. But once I had my appetite back, I couldn't hold as much. That was really cool though. It made going out for meals much cheaper. I could either order off the kid's menu, or I could order off the regular menu, eat half, and put the rest in a box and have it again later. Suddenly, I was able to have two meals for the price of one. That was really awesome. What was even more awesome is that the weight was just falling off. It was happening really fast. Suddenly, I was barely able to wear the jeans that I had just bought a couple of months before. The scrubs that I wear to work were hanging off of me. Some time in March, I braved the scales and realized I had lost between 15-20 pounds. Also, I was down one size in clothes. They say (whoever "they" are) that every twenty pounds equals another size. I think that is about right. The new outfit that I bought at Easter was a size smaller than the outfits I had been buying at Christmas.

From there, I get a little fuzzy on exactly when I did what. Probably around the end of April or first of May, I stopped drinking sodas. I tried to stop drinking sweet tea, but I had horrible headaches, and just didn't want to deal with it right then, so I kept it for a while longer. I'll list my "personal rules" at the end of this, but not depriving myself is one of those rules. By mid-summer, I decided that the headaches I had when trying to come off of the tea was probably a caffeine withdrawal. I decided to try drinking coffee every morning (which I normally did anyways) and then drinking water for the rest of the day. I'm not sure when I started that. But I do know that before I had started that, I had reached a plateau in the weight loss, and when I started that, the weight started falling off again. By the end of the summer, I had lost about 30-35 pounds and was able to squeeze into size 16s. In just a matter of weeks, I was a very comfortable size 16. That's what size I was when I started my Senior year of college. When I realized that I was such a comfortable size 16, I weighed again - right before Christmas - and that was when I realized that I had lost 50 pounds. During Christmas I didn't loose much, in fact, I think I may have gained a couple here and there. However, during recent weeks, I have noticed that I was tugging on my jeans more often. I only own one belt and it's in the very last whole, so it's not a big help in keeping my pants from falling. Yesterday at the grocery store, there were several times that I thought my pants were literally about to hit the floor! So I left and went next door to a department store, cashed in one of my gift cards and got two new pairs of pants. They are size 14. That's the size I was wearing during my mid-college-years. I am so pumped!!! I think that the total amount of weight loss may be about 60 pounds now, but I haven't weighed in a while, so I can't be sure. If it is 60, then I only have 15 more to go. When I hit that, I will tell everyone how much I weighed then and how much I weigh now. But until then, that's my little secret...

The following are my personal do's and dont's for my journey:

1. I always keep it positive.
2. I only drink water and black coffee.
3. I NEVER say that "I'm on a diet." I call it "my thing" or I just say, "Since I've changed the way I'm eating..."
4. I do not deprive myself of anything. If I want a hot fudge cake at the Depot or popcorn at the movies, I order it. Then I eat as much as I want and throw the rest away. I actually don't want soda or tea anymore. When I try to drink it now, all I can taste is the sugar and it makes me gag.
5. I try not to feel guilty about how much food I'm throwing away. Parent's are infamous for saying "... when you clean your plate..." so we grow up feeling like we have to. I have overcome this in a few ways. 1. I put smaller portions on my plate. 2. I ask for a to-go box. 3. I share food with people. 4. I try to order things that I know will keep for a few days. 5. I just throw stuff away and forget about it.
6. When I feel myself getting full, I stop eating. That one may be the hardest. But there is a time at every meal when you finally stop to take a breath. Usually, half of your food is gone at this point, you take a breath, and then dive in to finish the rest. So now when I stop for the breath, I look back at my plate, evaluate how much I have eaten already, and how hungry I still am. Then I decide how much more, if any, I am going to eat.
7. I don't do "seconds." This takes no will power whatsoever. If I don't put it on my plate the first time, chances are I didn't want it that bad anyways. Plus, I just can't hold a second plate anymore.
8. I drink water all the time! I always have a bottle of water within my reach. They say that many times when you think you're hungry, you're really just getting dehydrated and the hunger pain can be taken care of with drinking water. They also say that you're supposed to have 8 -8oz. servings of water a day. That's 64oz of water, or four and half bottles of water a day. I can knock that out with no problem! And, I don't stay hungry that way.
9. I don't eat breakfast. This one you'll just have to use your own discrepancy on. Most doctors and nutritionalists would nail me to the wall for not eating breakfast. But that's kind of what my coffee is. Usually, the morning is the only time I drink coffee. But my appetite doesn't kick in until about Noon.
10. I don't snack. I may have an occasional candy bar or handful of M&M's, but I really don't eat anything between meals. I realize that the last two entries have been what I "don't" do, but I don't feel like I've lost anything by either one of them.
11. I only get on the scales about once a month or so, maybe less often than that. Sometimes the scales don't seem to keep up with progress as fast as we want it to. And since they don't candy-coat anything for us, it's a harsh reality to face. In order to refrain from possible discouragement, I just stay off of them. Also, this way I can focus more on how much I've lost instead of how much I weigh.
12. I keep myself surrounded my people who encourage me. I love hearing the words "You are looking so great!" or "How much weight have you lost?" It's cool, so I keep those people around. hehe.
13. I share my story with people. I try not to be obnoxious about telling others, and I don't talk about it all the time. When I hit a new milestone, like the size 14s, I share, and when people give me compliments or talk to me about how I'm doing it, I share.

So there it is... my weight loss journey. Since I have documented it now, I'll keep you updated from time to time.