Wellness, Post Ten. Goodbye, 16!

John Cougar sang, "Hold onto sixteen as long as you can".

Sorry Johnny. They are outta here.

I am officially down one size in my jeans. WOOOOOOT. And my size 14 jeans are roomy. Sad thing is, I thought I had a well-stocked arsenal of jeans in this size. Turns out there's only one pair that I can find. So I find myself stuck...do I go out and buy some more pants that I know I'll only be wearing for a few weeks? Or do I suck it up, wear this one pair ad nauseam and throw in some of my classic black yoga pants to keep things exciting?

Given my perpetual poverty and the fact that I hate shopping, I think I'll go with the latter option. Sorry for any pigpen smell that may be emanating off of my lower half for the next few weeks, people.

I'm almost afraid to talk about the weight loss now, for fear that I'll jinx it. But I'm slowly moving into that fun phase..the part where you pull things out of your closet, things you've kept but haven't been able to squeeze into for so long. You try them on and I swear to God you almost cry when zippers can be zipped, when waistbands can fit over hips, when sleeves don't look like sausage casings.

I forgot that I lose weight the way an ice cream cone melts: from the top down. My face gets thinner, my neck gets skinny, my already freakishly small shoulders get smaller. Then of course the boobs go, they start getting smaller immediately but around the 25 lb. mark they really shrink. I was in a 38 DD in January. Right now I'm in 36 D and I'd bet my next paycheck that by May I'll be in the 34 C range again. It's kind of fun having big ones, but not when they rest upon a flabby shelf of belly. So I'm not shedding any tears as the twins dwindle.

The last to go is always, always the middle. That epicenter of corpulence...my waist, the belly, the muffin top. I have to keep a very positive frame of mind when it comes to that part of my body. It's so easy to glare at it in the mirror and feel the shame and the anger and want to just say "Screw it". So I try to keep my eyes averted, for now.

Oooh I almost forgot: an eBay friend of mine and my friend Gillian both told me about a fabulous website/phone app that I've been using for almost a week now. It's called My Fitness Pal and it's a FREE online site that helps you keep track of everything you eat and your exercise. I was looking for something similar to the Weight Watchers app and this one is the closest I could find. It's amazing how fast calories can add up...I had a coupon for a free entree at Noodles and Company, so today I treated myself to the Pad Thai with Shrimp. Holy crap...790 calories! Needless to say, the second I'm off of the computer I'm taking Walter for a very brisk walk, and dinner will be something very light. They have a fantastic data base of nutritional information for just about everything you could possibly eat. My one and only complaint is that the app isn't as easy to use as the website. That may be my piece of dung iPhone though, so take that caveat with a grain of salt.

But I do recommend My Fitness Pal. If you're on there already, or end up on there, look me up. I was really creative with my user name..Happy_Hausfrau (remember the underscore).

Before I close and head out on this dreary drizzly day, I have to give a huge shout out to Faith, my Wellness Coach. I wouldn't have accomplished this much without her support. When she contacted me back in December, and suggested we do this partnering, I was somewhat skeptical. Not about her or the service she offers, but of myself. If I had a dollar for every attempt I've made to get healthy, I'd be able to buy a pretty sweet Coach or a cute couch from the scratch'n'dent section of Ikea. My confidence level was low. Having Faith checking in on me, having her keeping an eye on me has made all the difference in the world.

Thank you, Faith. Couldn't have done this without you.

Now off for a walk. Must burn off this pad thai before it becomes flabby thigh.

Happy Spring, friends ♥