Five Things That Have Gotten Much Easier After Losing 50+ Pounds

I've discovered a few things that have gotten a lot easier in the last six months, and I decided the list would make a good blog post. So here they are in no particular order:

1. Painting my toenails. I can reach them sooo much better, they look better, and I don't get all out of breath when I do it. That is so sad that painting my toenails was such a strenuous activity.

2. Stop eating when I feel full. I do occasionally still struggle with this one, but not like before. There used to be times when eating actually felt like a compulsion to me. I'd know I should stop, that I was no longer hungry, but the food was so good! I would finish my dinner and take my plate into the kitchen and find myself standing at the stove shoving more food in my mouth right over the pan. I don't do that anymore. At least not in the scary, I-know-I-should-stop-but-I-can't-stop-give-me-more-right-now kind of way.

3. Shopping. I don't hate it with the red-hot passion that I used to. I actually kind of enjoy it. There are still times when it can be frustrating, like now, because I'm kind of in between sizes. But that is waaaaayyy less frustrating than not being able to find any new clothes because I can't fit in anything in the women's section. I can wear a 1X now!!

4. Sex. 'Nuff said. This ain't that kind of blog.

5. Looking in the mirror. It's no longer just a quick look while fixing my hair, or catching an accidental glance that scares and depresses me. I actually look in the mirror kind of a lot now. Not because I'm vain and I love to look at myself or anything. It's more in disbelief. As I've said before, I'll always be a fat girl on the inside, and it still surprises me when I see my new, thinner face looking back at me.

This Week's Menu

I keep telling myself that I need to take Sunday afternoon and plan the week's menu and then do the shopping so I don't have to go after work. I hate doing that because the store is so busy and then we don't end up eating dinner until 7:30 or later. I only have to plan four meals because we always eat out with Bryan's parents on Thursday nights, and I don't plan the weekends because we never know what we'll be doing. Well today I finally sat down and did it. Here is our menu for the week:

Monday
Taco Salads with black beans and corn for us, and a bean burrito and corn for Nathan. (He's not a big salad eater.)

Tuesday
Orange chicken stir-fry and fried rice. The recipe is for lemon, but I like orange better, so orange it is.

Wednesday
BBQ Chicken Tenders and Green Beans. These are baked rather than fried, and only 67 calories apiece!

Thursday
Dinner out. I'll try to be really good. :)

Friday
Whole Heat Pasta with Chunky Garden Marinara (broccoli added!) and Turkey Italian Sausage.

So, the menu is planned and the groceries are bought. No quick fast food fixes needed. All of these dinners are right around 500 calories as long as I keep my portion sizes on track, and should provide leftovers for lunches. Wish me luck in sticking with it!

Feelin' Groovy

Things are going pretty well these days. The return of the evil voice inside my head was short-lived and after a little bump in the road (a.k.a. the 4th of July and all of it's traditional calorie-laden barbeque festivities) my net loss as of this morning was 55.6 pounds.

I sure do love a barbeque. I think I'd have an easier time not cheating at Christmas dinner than I would at any gathering involving grilled burgers and macaroni salad. I tried really hard to be good on the 4th, though. I ate a veggie burger (who knew those things were so good?) on a multi-grain deli flat rather than a "real" hamburger on a bun, and much to my friend Stephanie's dismay, I tried out a recipe for diet deviled eggs. Even she had to admit that at 34 calories apiece they were pretty dog-gone good. Oh, and I used light beer in the beeritas. :) Hey, even a girl on a diet gets to have some fun on the 4th of July.

Last week was awesome! It was the end of our Biggest Loser Style Weight Loss Challenge at work, and I WON!!!! The first weight loss challenge we had ran from the first of December to the end of January, and then we went right into another that ran through June 30th. When we weighed out on July 1st, I posted over 58 pounds lost since that first weigh-in in December. It worked out to something close to a 19.7% loss of body weight. I've lost almost 1/5 of me! That totally blows my mind.

To celebrate, Teri and I took Friday afternoon off and went to Wichita where I spent my winnings on new bras and some cute new clothes. I actually enjoyed trying on clothes! I don't really remember the last time I could say that. I also learned that what I've heard is true: it's hard to stop thinking fat. I kept pulling out clothes that I would've worn 50 pounds ago and feeling surprised when they didn't fit. It's a really weird sensation to actually hear myself say, "I wonder if they have this in a smaller size?"

Please don't think I'm bragging or getting full of myself. I realize that I have a long way to go and a lot of work to do to get where I want to be. I'm not slacking off just because the weight loss challenge is over. I have pounds and inches to drop and a skinny inner-me that's just waiting to get her chance at the world. And I intend to give it to her.