One Year Later

A year ago I told you that I was starting a new journey, a journey to try to find the skinny person I used to be. Well, she's still not quite back, but the year long totals are in. In one year I lost between 55 and 56 pounds (depending on whether the scale is being evil or friendly). I went from a size 18 tight to a size 8 comfortable. I went from raiding my son's closet for jeans to raiding my daughter's closet for sweaters (raiding my daughter's closet for jeans will probably never be a possibility, she wears between a 2 and a 4 and she's taller than I am).

I can now mow the lawn for an hour at a stretch (through tall grass) and not have to stop for a 15 minute rest break after the first half hour. I can actually run from my house to my in-law's without stopping to catch my breath. I just bought new sneakers so that I can actually increase the distance I can run (the old ones were worn and didn't provide good stability) A two times around the block walk is now a light workout not a major production. I'm using 12 pound hand weights at Bone Builders and need to buy some 14 lb ones.

Healthy eating appears to have become a habit, although I must admit that eating only one brownie last Sunday was a bit of a challenge. Next step, buying a swimsuit. Somehow that size 14 that looked so good in November is sort of big. Now it's more about turning this into less of a journey and more of a life pattern. I don't really expect to drop more than one more size, now it's about never being the fat lady at the circus (or the sheep show if you prefer) ever again. Some one of these days when the computer genius is home I'll have to try to get before and after pictures scanned into the computer so you can see the difference instead of just hearing about it.

I can't say enough good things about Weight Watchers online (www.weightwatchers.com) It's been a great program with lots of support on the message boards. It's not a program to lose weight fast in order to get into a swimsuit. It's a program to help you lose weight while adopting healthier eating and exercise habits that will keep you from having to panic every swimsuit season.

I may now have what Kris Franklin (www.catholicbabyboomer.blogspot.com) calls a "grandma body," (even though I'm not a grandma) but it's a healthy one, not an obese one (current BMI 24.3, current body fat 27.9% both numbers in the healthy range!). This time I can't wait to go to the high school reunion instead of dreading it.