When I started to seriously take on my new lifestyle, losing weight, eating right, leaving the stress out of my life, no one really told me how to do it. Some of it I had to learn on my own, but I did learn some things from my brother and my doctors.
One thing that I did learn from my brother but didn't truly realize so much was how the loss of weight would mean so much. In the first month, I had lost 10 pounds, but joked that it wasn't enough. I wanted more. I wanted the pounds off faster and easier. That was after about 4 weeks.
It's been 9 weeks now, and I've lost 27 pounds so far. At times, it is hard. I have to consider what to eat and when because of my job (hospital calls that run late doesn't give me much opportunity to eat when I get home, church potlucks are hard to measure because I never really know what is in the recipe, or as I found out recently, my "public position" causes me to have to do some things to be "part of the community", which might mean taking part in judging those Pie Baking contests). But I also have found that it is very simple to remember to check my smartphone to see what I have available for calories for the day when I go shopping for supper. It also causes me to check labels more quickly, which I would hardly ever do before (and I also have to check for the sodium as well).
It's also hard to decide what to wear. If I'm in a meeting where I'll be sitting most of the time, I can get by with wearing certain slacks, but if I'm standing a lot, such as going briefings or preaching, I have to wear other pants so that I don't have to "hike up" my slacks as much, or I can wear a shirt that will go over my belt line so people don't see the waistline bunched up in a spot or two.
Even wearing a tie is a different experience. The other day as I put on a tie, I realized that I couldn't snug it as I would a month ago... my neck wasn't as "fat" as it once was, so my shirt fit my differently, and so I had to fit the tie to the neckline of the shirt and not snug it like I once did. Awesome.
And in this heatwave, I haven't been able to get out and walk as I would like. Just standing outside for the Committal Service during the Funeral this last Monday was enough to make me have to drink a few extra bottles of water. And yet, I'm still losing weight. Even after my semi-jokes of not getting off the pounds fast enough in the beginning, I'm now seeing a light at the end of the tunnel that I would once only fantasize about.
And so what will life be like in 3 months as my birthday draws near? Who knows. At this pace, I'm cautious to say. Maybe I'm afraid to say because it's a place that I have hoped to find for so long but once doubted that it was possible, yet now I'm so close, and if I make it, then I will be celebrating so much that I won't have to post it - people will hear me shout it.
But life still goes on. One step at a time, and each step gets me that much closer. And as I get that much closer, I'm a better person, and as a better person, I'm happier in my own way.
Just watch what happens next (insert silly chuckle).
