Musings
an Online Journal of Sorts
By Alyce Wilson
February 16, 2005 - Down 70
I've reached another weight loss milestone. I'm now down 70 pounds from when I started in January 2000. While my average annual weight loss has been about 25 pounds, I lost 14 just since Thanksgiving with the help of Weight Watchers.
I have roughly
25 to go, which will put me smack in the middle of the normal BMI range
for my height. I don't know if I'll make that goal by my sister's wedding
in June, but I know I'll at least be closer by then.
Lately, I had an interesting experience going through clothes my mom had given me to sell at the consignment store. These were clothes that are now too big on her, now that she's lost 40 pounds since last summer, also with the help of Weight Watchers.
As I was going through the clothes, separating them out to launder them, I realized that some of them looked familiar, mainly because they'd once been mine. I gave them to Mom a couple years ago when I started to lose weight. These were clothes I wore when I worked for a museum in Philadelphia.
Most startling was the periwinkle jacket which used to be a favorite of mine. Out of curiosity, I tried it on, and it was a tent on me.
It's funny how clothes start to look different when they're no longer yours. This jacket never looked so big to me when I wore it, so it's hard to believe, looking at it now, that it's so large. I suppose that's the phenomenon of perception: anything that fits you sees normal, while anything larger than you seems big and anything smaller than you seems small.
For example, I can now squeeze into a black and white houndstooth skirt I brought back from my old bedroom in Mom's house a year ago. Back then, it looked really small to me. It buttons now, but it's still a bit tight. The tag has written on it, in pen, "8" on one side of the tag and "9" on the other. Whether that's the true size or not, I don't know. But I do know I haven't been able to get anywhere close to wearing this skirt for about 15 years.
The Gryphon has lost 18 pounds since Thanksgiving, also on Weight Watchers. I promised him that I'll buy him a gift to celebrate his success so far. He wants the Gran Turismo game that's coming out soon, so as soon as it comes out, we'll get him that.
His clothes are starting to get loose on him, too. I suggested we get him a new spring wardrobe when it gets just a little warmer out.
Week to week incremental weight loss is always good news, but when you hit the big milestones, that's when you can look back and see how far you've come. I've come a long ways so far, and I'm very nearly there. It feels good.
Previous milestones:
April 18, 2003 - Incredible Shrinking Woman
December 6, 2004 - Sixty Down!
Moral:
Over time, incremental changes add up.
Copyright
2005 by Alyce Wilson
What
do you think? Share your thoughts
at Alyce's message board (left button):
