Boxing Day 2013. planning to get a jump on at least one new year’s resolution, i figured i’d go ahead, get on the scale and start my weight loss efforts a few days early. i was horrified to find that not only did i still have that last 10 pounds of baby weight (4 years later, can you really still call it baby weight?), but the worst year in the history of time had packed on another 10-ish pounds. one more reason to hate 2013 with the white-hot intensity of 1,000 suns. i was depressed. i was disgusted. i knew i had to get serious. and that depressed me even more because asking a Sagittarian to get disciplined is like asking the Pope to stop being Catholic.
that was exactly 6 months ago, today. and i’m proud to say i proved myself wrong. i am 24 pounds lighter and just 2 pounds away from my for-now goal. and it feels fucking amazing. not only did i get back to my pre-pregnancy weight, i am even a few pounds less — a number i haven’t seen in about 7 years.
it is completely crazy to me that there is now a large group of people in my life who never knew me before i had a baby, got fat and stayed fat. they thought i looked normal. and, in general terms, i did. i don’t want to be all dramatic about it like i had blown up to freakshow size or anything, but there’s normal and then there’s normal for me. whether anyone else did or not, i knew how i used to look (and feel) and this was definitely not it. between the physical changes and all the other changes i’d gone through in the past few years between gaining a daughter and losing a job, i literally didn’t recognize myself sometimes. weird stuff.
how i lost
no big revelation here and i won’t get into all the boring details, but basically, i made a plan and stuck with it most of the time (truth be told, i only got really serious in March). i ate 1,200-1,500 calories of mostly low carb food that was gluten-free as often as possible. i started running as much as possible again and hitting the elliptical when the weather sucked. i need to add some weights, but just ugh. and for fun i tried the 30-day Abs Challenge everyone’s doing this month and i completely hate it, but it works. was i perfect? no. but i didn’t beat myself up about it and just tried to stay as consistent as i could without giving up. end of story.
what i gained
like i said earlier, i feel amazing — both physically and mentally.
one of the moms at school literally didn’t recognize me in the elevator the other day. when she did, she said i look like a different person.
until tonight with the arrival of 3 pairs of great ankle pants from Talbots, i didn’t have any pants to wear. literally. i had an outfit planned for a client meeting the other day and the pants i assumed i could now wear comfortably hung on me to the point that i had to wear a dress, instead.
speaking of dresses, i wore a beautiful Ralph Lauren LBD to an event the other night. it was dress i bought 5 or 6 years ago, so on sale i couldn’t pass it up, but never wore then because it would have been better on me a few pounds down. Spy couldn’t stop saying how pretty i looked. (yay!)
aside from the superficial aspect, i have learned that i actually do have some discipline. i found ways and times to work out that i never thought i would. Miss Girl has become a fan of the LA Fitness Kids Club. i’ve figured out that i can leave work at 5:30, go work out and get her by 7:00 and the world doesn’t end. so, now, even when Spy is traveling, i know i got this. with no excuses.
most importantly, i feel like myself again. whoever this new person with a daughter and new job is, i feel like the best version of her. i’m loving feeling cute and smart and in control of at least a few aspects of my life for the first time in a long time.
and then there’s the swag. for my big 6-month reward, i actually did something so simple it’s kind of crazy. a new gym bag. i’m totally in love with this thing that i just ordered from Clava last night. there will be a monogram, of course. and i felt like it was a good symbol of all i’ve done and what’s important to keep moving on. can’t wait to sling this over my shoulder as i embark on the next 6 months of new goals and feeling great!