Cha-cha-changes: Before, During and Not Quite After

************************************Circa 2004? Me at 275 pounds with Crater Lake in the background********************************** I think we were just beginning our diet then. I wasn't too impressed with Atkins at that time. Tudeskii was losing weight rapidly and I was just watching in envy. I remember wanting to hike through the park and down to the water but there's no way (weigh?) that my body could handle it. It was summer and I was always so hot. I would show at little skin as possible. I had a serious farmer tan. That Coke shirt was a 26/28- the highest size I'd reached at that point. It was a big reason why I knew I had to lose weight.


*********************************Circa April and June 2004. Me at 255-60 pounds and then 245 pounds. *****************************
























This was the summer when things began to take off. I believe I got down to 225 or 230 by September. I was (literally) walking my ass off. I walked all over the neighborhood and ended up wearing out my sneakers by fall. I remember thinking in that second picture that I was doing pretty well after having lost 30 pounds. There was a hint of a curve in the outline of my waist. And oh my, how I hated those black polyester pants. I had 3 pair that I wore to work constantly because we had a business attire environment. But I had no sense of style and a figure that didn't look good in anything.




****************************************Circa February 2007. 183 pounds and counting.**************************************************

"Be an After. Stay an After." The slogan of the latest Weight Watchers campaign really struck a chord with me. It dawned on me that I’m closer to being that “after” than I ever have before. And it shows. I’ve done so many things in the last few years that I would have never attempted at my “before” weight. Some of the more frightening, exciting, and interesting things include: dancing in public at a bar with friends, dancing with a complete stranger, running almost 2 miles at one time, signing up for my first sports league ever, keeping my head high when walking around in public, discovering that there is much more to my femininity than just my hair (hello hips and lips!), finding that even chocolate can’t beat the taste of fresh berries, learning to say thank you to a compliment (and fully accepting it as truth), only buying clothes that completely flatter my figure, walking 10 miles at a time, joining a walking marathon twice, returning the gaze of those who give me a double take (well, learning to do it anyway), mentioning my weight in public, being happy to mention my weight in public even though it’s no where near a “normal” or “healthy weight” according to the so-called experts, figuring out that I’m chiseling out some serious curves and I want to keep my curves because they make me unique… especially next to the college girls I always run into, discovering what energy level my body can achieve when it’s at its best, letting my body dictate my food choices instead of my mind or the commercials on TV, discovering that I have a normal metabolism after all, accepting that I can be a feminist while still wearing panty hose and enjoying makeup (it is my choice after all), building a wardrobe of skirts and dresses, enjoying life in a skirt or dress, running and walking the Relay For Life events the past 3 summers, discovering the power of attractiveness and finding the ability to flirt, doing pushups and sit-ups for the first time in my life (more than 2 at a time!), figuring out that fast food is indeed quite disgusting, and just this past weekend- biking 18 miles in 2 hours.