30 Pounds

In January, I realized I needed to lose weight. At 5'4" and nearly 170 pounds, I was overweight and bordering on obese. I was at risk for Type II diabetes, and wasn't happy with how I looked or felt. So, things needed to change.

I started eating more carefully--watching my carbohydrate intake, eating more vegetables, and having smaller portions. At first, I hated it. I was hungry, and CRAVED sugars and other carbohydrates. It was hard. I also started walking more, aiming for around 10,000 steps a day (which I sometimes got higher, other times lower, and measured by borrowing my hubby's pedometer).

But, I soon started seeing the numbers on the scale go down. Two pounds one week, nearly five pounds another. Then, one day, I pulled on a pair of size 12 pants and noticed that they were so loose I could pull them off without unbuttoning them! To celebrate (and because I knew I wasn't done yet), I went down to Goodwill and got a pair of size 10 jeans--the first I'd owned in a couple of years! Then, one day, I went in to Goodwill and tried on a pair of size 8s--and they FIT. AMAZING!! I couldn't remember when I last wore size 8 pants--probably in High School or the beginning of college!

In six months, I lost 30 pounds--which is HUGE! I was so thrilled! I have now steadied my calorie intake and such so that I am not losing anymore. I still watch my weight and weigh myself often. I'll sometimes gain a pound or two, then I watch what I eat more carefully and go for more walks.

I look at pictures from when I was in Utah in January, then look at my reflection in the mirror, and there is such a huge difference, in my face as well as the rest of me!

I have a growing pile of clothes that I don't fit in anymore, but haven't gotten rid of yet. I'm thinking I'll see if I can sell them to Plato's Closet or something, then donate the rest to Goodwill or see if somebody in my ward wants them. I should do that soon, as part of the weight-loss mind-change process--I don't need those clothes anymore, because I will never be that big again.

I like to look at myself in the mirror more than I did before--my closet doors are mirrored, and I used to avoid it. Now I'll look and say "Wow! I'm skinny!"

Yesterday, I was at Walmart and saw some khakis, and thought "I wonder..." So I grabbed a size 6 and went into the dressing room. I pulled them on... and they fit! I was thrilled! The last time I remember wearing a size 6 was when I was in middle school! Of course, I had to buy them. And all day long, I kept telling my husband "I'm skinny!"

The one thing I'm having trouble with is remembering that I'm so much smaller. I sometimes look in the mirror and go "Is that what I look like?" because, in a part of my mind, I'm still a size 12. I go places and will think something about my weight--then remember, that's not me anymore. People aren't going to look at me and think I'm fat. People won't even make note of what size I am, really. I do, however, get a little bit of a high when looking at clothes, then pushing past the size 12s and saying to myself "I'm smaller than that. I'm not that size anymore."