Shopping In My Own Closet - A Big Win

It was pure fun.  It had been years since I had even thought about trying on those clothes.  You know which ones.  The ones gathering dust in my closet because they have been too small. Too tight to button, zip, pull up, or pull over.  You might have some of those types of clothes also.  I have called them my "hope so" clothes, but a year ago I began to think of them as my "probably not" clothes.  Now they are my "more than likely" clothes.  Some of them are currently my "hip! hip! hooray! They fit!" clothes.

Trying them on was loads of fun. Especially making trip after trip to the room where my husband was sitting to model yet another outfit that once again fits great and is to be moved into my current wardrobe. 

Yea! Another win that I am enjoying because I have lost.

The New Rule Is........

That was one of my ways of letting my children know that something needed to change as they were growing up.  I would say, "The new rule is...." and I immediately had their attention.  Most of the time whatever needed to change got changed once I made that declaration.

So now I continue to use that phrase with myself (not my husband) when a change needs to be made, and most of the time, I have my immediate attention and whatever needs to be changed gets changed.  Well, not always, you understand, but most of the time.

So to myself and my readers, here is the new rule.......whenever you lose weight......don't allow yourself to gain it back. Period. No reason for overeating is good enough to make you once again face the battle you have just fought.

My desire is to fight this battle, to walk this path, to win this war for the last time.  Never again do I want to have to get out my 'fat' clothes and wear them. Never again do I want to wonder if I'm crowding the poor soul sitting next to me on an airplane. Never again do I want to feel self conscious in a group picture because I'm the heaviest one there.  No way. No how, Once I reach my goal (and I have a loooonnnnng way to go) I'm not going back.

Instead I want to look forward to all the things I will have won by losing all this weight.  I think I will write a few posts about some of the things we can look forward to winning when we have lost our extra weight.

The Challenges and Rewards Continue.....

My husband and I went out to eat last night. We don't eat out often, so this was a real treat for us.  We went to an Italian restaurant; a place we had never been.  The food was delicious. I ordered veal toscana, which is veal with vegetables smothered in an unbelievably delicious sauce over angel hair spaghetti. The portion size was quite large.  Our meal also came with yummy, yummy, yummy garlic yeast rolls.  Oh my.  What's a girl to do? So much wonderful food. So little room in my tummy. 

I decided to eat slowly, enjoying every bite. It didn't take long. I began to feel full after having eaten only about a quarter of my meal.  Everything within me wanted to keep eating, and truthfully, I did take four or five bites too much, before I was able to 'wrestle' my desires to eat anyway to the ground and ask for a carry out container.

I had to make myself think about the fact that this succulent meal will taste just a good for lunch today as it did last night.  In fact, it will taste better because I won't be full while I'm eating it.  There is enough food left from me to have about 3 more meals. Yum!!!!

Mental gymnastics.  That's it.  It's all about how I allow things food related to be framed in my mind.  I think this is one of the major components to food control in our lives. Anyway I made it through another challenging moment and have delicious leftovers today as a reward!

Another Win Because I Have Lost

Today I wore a pair of capri  pants that I had not worn in a couple of years.  I put them on and not only did they look good, but they felt good as well.  Now that's another win!

20 Pounds! 20 Pounds! I've Lost 20 Pounds!!!

Yes, a milestone has been reached.  In terms of weight loss, those numbers that end in a 5 or 0 are significant.  It has taken me about 12 weeks to reach this level. I can do the math and figure out how much longer it will take me to reach my overall goal, but right now I just want to enjoy the moment and be reminded that consistently doing good things in small ways, in seemingly insignificant ways eventually leads to large, significant differences in our lives.

Yes. Yes. Thank you for your congratulations.

Now, on to the next 20 pounds. I got this.

The Trill of Victory and the Agony of Defeat

Bet you thought this post was going to be about sports. Well, as a life long struggler with the challenge of being an emotional overeater, I have had thrills and felt agony often. In fact, almost every meal ends with one of those emotions. If I quit eating when I am full, then I have won and I experience the 'thrill of victory'. On the other hand, when I allow the food to control me, then I have lost the battle, and feel the 'agony of defeat'.

Fortunately, this last year has been one of more victories than defeats! Yes, my weight loss has been slow, but I decided that I am comparing myself with no one and I will win this race on my own terms and in my own way. Since using Paul McKenna's Golden Rules, it has been easier to stay on track and for that I am very grateful.