100 Pounds and Counting: Maintaining and Feeling Good

So, the first thing that I should tell you is that I have no idea how much I weigh right now. *blushes* I've been out of town for about a week, and I couldn't find a scale in the hotel where I'm staying. Granted, I didn't look very hard, but one thing I can say for sure: it's not in the dining room. Or in the café. Or under the pastry cart.

 

I do know that before I left home, I was maintaining a weight of 262. For anyone who's number obsessed (as I am) that means I've maintained a weight loss of 103 pounds, although I did gain back thirteen pounds from my lowest weight. So that's where I was a week ago. When I get home day after tomorrow, I'll know where I am at that point.

 

Feeling Good

 

There is an evil little part of me that wants to brood over the weight I've gained back; wants to pick it apart and spend hours telling myself how inadequate I am. But you know what? That part of me is a jerk, and it can take a hike. To be honest, I feel pretty fantastic about myself, and here's why:

 

I move more easily.

 

Compared to this time last year, I feel like a bunny rabbit instead of a giant tortoise. I can trot up the stairs (if there aren't too many of them), and gallop down (thanks to my old frienemy, gravity). It is a pleasure to be able to double-time it across an intersection, or race down a hallway to catch an elevator. Increased motion means increased freedom, and I'll take every little bit that I can get.

 

I look good, because I look like Me.

 

Surely it goes without saying that I am not beautiful in the conventional sense of the word. But when I see myself in the mirror, I look like Me. And while that Me may never grace the cover of a fashion magazine (unless someone starts a fashion magazine called Dowdy Dames, which would be all kinds of awesome), here is what that Me can do:

 

• Make a stranger smile, just by smiling at them first. (Never underestimate the power of a smile! It can change someone's whole day.)
• Make a friend laugh, with my proclivity for puns. (Although of course those elicit an equal amounts of groans.)
• Make someone feel good, by telling them that they're fabulous, and meaning it. (While I'm on the subject: YOU, who are reading this, are fabulous. I may not know who you are, or where you come from, or what you've done in your life, but I am 100-percent, right-hand-to-God certain that you are fabulous. And if you don't believe me, then send me an email through my website, and I will convince you. Because your own fabulousness is something that you need to recognize, and I'm serious about that.)

There is more good stuff to come.

 

There are plenty of times that I feel dispirited about getting older, about not being able to fit into a size six (I'm barely out of a size twenty-six, for crying out loud), about all sorts of things too numerous to name. But the beautiful thing about life is that it ain't over until it's over (and after it's over, who knows if it's really over?).


For me, there are adventures to be had (horseback riding lessons is on my list of things to tackle next year, as are travel and writing, writing, writing!), there are new friends to make, and there are old friends to play with. There's work to be done, yes, but it's the right kind of work, and that's always a good thing.

And What About You?

So, I've spent the past few blogs talking about myself, my journey, and all things Me. Now, what about you? How are you doing? What kind of adventures are you looking forward to?