Over the last year, while I have been making great strides with my exercise routine, the scale has been stubbornly stuck at about 170 pounds. I am running three days a week, Crossfitting three days a week, and taking any opportunity I can to get out there and move. My eating is more or less on the right track as well, although snacking continues to be an area I need to focus on a little more.
Finally, I have had a break though, and I am hitting the lower end of the 160 pound range. Now here is the thing I am learning. Before the scale showed a loss, I knew I was making progress because not only have people been commenting that I look like I have gotten thinner, my clothes have also been fitting better everyday. About 9 months ago, when size 12 clothes started to get loose on me, I purchased a few size 10 pairs of pants. I am now wearing most of those pants on a daily basis, but one, a new pair of jeans, just would not go over my belly no matter how hard I tried. I pushed and pulled, but that zipper would not close, and since, as a teacher, I am not allowed to be an exhibitionist, I placed those jeans on a shelf until I could safely wear them out in public.
Yesterday was the magical day that not only could I pull them up over my belly and zip them closed, but I actually wore them all day shopping at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. Four hours of walking up and down the rows of antique vendors and they felt great. I am not exactly sure why, but this is a huge milestone in my book.
I know I am dating myself, but in middle school I had a prized possession--a pair of Jordache Jeans. Back then, the tighter the better. I actually used to have to lay down on my bed just to get them on. The secret was using the curved part of a wire hanger to pull up the zipper. I don't remember them being at all comfortable, and I recall breathing deeply being an issue, but I do know that I felt like a million bucks wearing them. That may be why, to this day, being able to wear my new pair of jeans is, to me, a huge accomplishment.
Another reason wearing these jeans is huge for me is that when I weighed over 200 pounds, even though they technically make jeans in sizes bigger than 18, they just don't have that same look or feel as those Jordache Jeans. I couldn't wear shirts big enough to cover my ever increasing body, and no pair of jeans were going to make me feel better while I was at this weight. I actually stopped wearing jeans for years, and this new pair of jeans is the first clothes item in a long time that made me feel like I did in middle school wearing those designer jeans.
Now, I still have a ways to go, but it feels good to finally see the scale move in the right direction. I have been working hard, and it feels great to see that hard work pay off. I am happily wearing my size 10 jeans, and I am never going back. They have a saying in Weight Watchers that has always resonated with me: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." Right now I am definitely feeling that nothing tastes as good as wearing these jeans makes me feel.
Finally, I have had a break though, and I am hitting the lower end of the 160 pound range. Now here is the thing I am learning. Before the scale showed a loss, I knew I was making progress because not only have people been commenting that I look like I have gotten thinner, my clothes have also been fitting better everyday. About 9 months ago, when size 12 clothes started to get loose on me, I purchased a few size 10 pairs of pants. I am now wearing most of those pants on a daily basis, but one, a new pair of jeans, just would not go over my belly no matter how hard I tried. I pushed and pulled, but that zipper would not close, and since, as a teacher, I am not allowed to be an exhibitionist, I placed those jeans on a shelf until I could safely wear them out in public.
Yesterday was the magical day that not only could I pull them up over my belly and zip them closed, but I actually wore them all day shopping at the Rose Bowl Swap Meet. Four hours of walking up and down the rows of antique vendors and they felt great. I am not exactly sure why, but this is a huge milestone in my book.
I know I am dating myself, but in middle school I had a prized possession--a pair of Jordache Jeans. Back then, the tighter the better. I actually used to have to lay down on my bed just to get them on. The secret was using the curved part of a wire hanger to pull up the zipper. I don't remember them being at all comfortable, and I recall breathing deeply being an issue, but I do know that I felt like a million bucks wearing them. That may be why, to this day, being able to wear my new pair of jeans is, to me, a huge accomplishment.
Another reason wearing these jeans is huge for me is that when I weighed over 200 pounds, even though they technically make jeans in sizes bigger than 18, they just don't have that same look or feel as those Jordache Jeans. I couldn't wear shirts big enough to cover my ever increasing body, and no pair of jeans were going to make me feel better while I was at this weight. I actually stopped wearing jeans for years, and this new pair of jeans is the first clothes item in a long time that made me feel like I did in middle school wearing those designer jeans.
Now, I still have a ways to go, but it feels good to finally see the scale move in the right direction. I have been working hard, and it feels great to see that hard work pay off. I am happily wearing my size 10 jeans, and I am never going back. They have a saying in Weight Watchers that has always resonated with me: "Nothing tastes as good as thin feels." Right now I am definitely feeling that nothing tastes as good as wearing these jeans makes me feel.
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