The Far Side - Hopeful Parents

While cleaning out the closets this weekend, I found this Far Side comic taped to the top of my original Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) from 1987.  I think this very closely sums up my hopes for the distant “future” back when I was ten years old.

I think it’s very ironic that the “future” was nearly six years ago.

I completed my first 5K!

Six months ago, it was a major effort for me to walk around Target for fifteen minutes.  Today is a true testament to how much I have drastically changed my life.

Today was our annual wellness event for work, and I decided to register for the 5K event.  I never dreamed I would be walking in a 5K today.  It never occurred to me that I could walk that far in one day without feeling like I broke my entire body.

Not only did I succeed in walking 5K, but I finished in under an hour.  My official time was 57:39 with an average mile at 17:58.  Believe it or not, I could have kept going!  I didn’t want to push myself too hard though.  I am very proud of my results today.  I feel like I scaled a mountain!

I have lost 43 pounds in 5 months!

I’ve been on WW for exactly five months today.  I have lost 43 pounds, from 250 to 207.  I’ve dropped from a tight size 26 jeans to a comfortable size 20, and a size 3XL shirts to XL.  I have lost a full 8 inches from my hips.

I cannot begin to describe how incredible I feel, inside and out.  This transformation has been amazing, and I’m staying on plan full steam ahead!  My next goal is to reach 199, which I aim to do by April 15th.

For those of you just starting on your journey, it will not be an easy one.  Trust me though – when you succeed, you will be rewarded in so many ways that you may or may not even imagine.  Best wishes to you!

Happy 9th Anniversary, Andrew!  I love you!

Anniversary Rose, 2003

Down 38 lbs!

This is week 18 for me on Weight Watchers, and I’m still doing great on the plan.  I’m currently at 212, down 38 since I started on September 20th.  I lost another 3 lbs this week which I am glad to see because I had reached a plateau for the past month or so and was stuck in the 216-218 range.

I’ve lost 5″ from my waist, 4″ each from my hips, thighs and bust, and 2″ from around my upper arms.  I’ve already had to donate all of the pants I was wearing before, having dropped from a size 26 down to a 22.  My 2x shirts are starting to feel awfully big, too.

I've lost 38 pounds!

My next goal is to reach 199 pounds, which will be my 50-lb milestone. It’s also known as “ONE-derland” in WW terminology – anything below 200 pounds. I last weighed 200 pounds in Hawaii 7 years ago. The time before that, it was on our wedding day 9 years ago. Once I hit 199, it will officially be the lowest I have weighed since before we got married! It will be a big day for me!

I’d like to give a quick shout out to my Aunt Patte and my friend Mat who recently both joined WW to follow in my footsteps. You can do it!

When I was 16, I tried talking my best friend Jennie’s stepfather into giving me a tattoo.  Not surprisingly, I wanted a black rose in quite an unmentionable place for a 16-year old.  He wouldn’t do it because I wasn’t 18 years old and I didn’t have my father’s permission.

Lucky for me, he played by the rules at that time.  I would have regretted getting a tattoo now that I’m older.  However, that hasn’t stopped me from indulging in lots of temporary tattoos over the years.  Airbrush, Henna or water-based – I love ‘em all!

Airbrush Tattoo, Santa's Theme Park, November 2006

Henna Tattoo, March 2002

Airbrush Tattoo, Las Vegas, September 2001

Henna Tattoo, AZ Ren Fest, March 2010

I enjoyed reading The Far Side for many years in the Sunday comics.  This was clipped from The Saginaw News sometime in 1990.  I often wonder what “The Evolution of Medusa’s Hair” would look like if Gary Larson drew it today, including fashion from the 00′s and the 10′s…

The Far Side

Me and my sister with our snowman

I’m guessing it’s cold and snowy in lots of places today, but here in Arizona it’s pretty nice outside.  I remember when I was little, my sister and I would make snowmen out in the front yard.  Rolling big snowballs was pretty easy there, and helped to reveal the dead winter grass in the lawn.

We spent a lot of time outside, even in the winter months, playing in the front and back yards of our home in Bridgeport, Michigan.  In the summer we hooked up a clown sprinkler to the hose in the front yard and would run through it, screaming as the ice cold water doused us when the hat flew up in the air.

As you probably know, I joined Weight Watchers on September 20, 2010.  I have been successfully navigating the Points (and now ProPoints) system for three entire months as of today.  My starting weight of 250 has been reduced to a very commendable 220, a total loss of 30 pounds in 90 days.  I am incredibly proud of what I have accomplished.  I thought it would be neat to capture some of the things that have surprised me a little along the way.

Things I Thought Were Not Possible For Me – Which I Now Can Do

• Completing 25 minutes on the elliptical at resistance level 3
• Actively walking 8 miles in one day
• Ascending four flights of stairs to my office 2x-3x per day
• Successfully making good food choices every day
• Drinking water only and not completely hating it
• Stretching while sitting on my knees on the floor

Things I Didn’t Know Were Difficult Until They Became Easier

• Feeding and playing with the cats
• Weeding the yard
• Moving boxes and bins around the garage
• Shaving my legs
• I can paint my toes now (yay!)
• Finding clothes (I’ve dropped from 24/26 size pants to 20/22)
• Walking 25 miles in Vegas
• Walking down four flights of stairs, to another building and up a flight of stairs to my boss’ office without heaving and pouring sweat on him once I get there

Unexpected Drawbacks of Weight Loss

• Setting aside a budget to buy interim clothes as I shrink
• Having to constantly explain myself at restaurants and social outings when I refuse treats or eat less than expected

Coworkers and friends I haven’t seen in a while are noticing my weight loss with a startled look on their faces.  The first reaction naturally is to step back for a second and exclaim something like, “Wow, are you losing weight? You look great!”  It’s a nice compliment and I know they mean well, but it can be a little unnerving because I see myself every day in the mirror.  I forget how much I’ve lost since I last saw them.

I knew the day would come when I decided that I could no longer sustain my life at the weight I had become.  Three months later, I never would have expected that I could have lost this much weight in a safe and healthy manner under my doctor’s supervision, simply through a change of eating habits and adding some daily physical activity.  I am not on a diet.  I have changed my life.  I recognize and thoroughly understand that this must be the way I proceed through the rest of my life.  I will not go back – I cannot go back.

I feel fantastic, and I can’t wait to see how I feel 30 pounds from now when I reach 190.  I bet it will be amazing!

My First 3 Months of Progress

Happy birthday to my dear sweet husband, Andrew!  Make a wish and blow out the candles, but I beg of you…  Please don’t wish to live somewhere snowy again.  I don’t think I could take another winter like 2000!

Andrew digs out his Mazda in Boston (2000)