Hitting the Century....

Things are going pretty well on my journey to weight loss right now. Last night I had my first weigh in for three weeks.. My consultant had gone away on a trip to Mauritius - a 50th birthday treat from her children - and so I was left to my own devices for 21 days. Now, as I mentioned in my last blog, it was highly tempting to see my consultant's holiday as a "holiday" of my own....but I held fast...
And I have reaped the rewards. As I stepped on the scales, I was told that, over the past three weeks I had lost twelve pounds. A very good result indeed. This was a triple celebration as not only had there been a substantial loss, I had also passed two more weight loss landmarks. Firstly I had lost over seven stone, and attained the coveted Purple Rosette (my favourite colour!!); secondly - I have bypassed the "100 pounds lost" mark. Both very gratifying achievements.
I am currently edging towards "unmarked territory", although, arguably, I am already there. Although I have weighed less than I currently do now, I have never lost this amount of weight in one single attempt before. In previous efforts, the sticking point seems to be around the five to five and half stone mark, but, so far, I appear to be breezing through that. I have also completed 163 days of being 100% on plan - no deviations, no cheats, no 'just a slice'...and, when I look back I amaze myself. I had no idea that I possessed the willpower and motivation to keep going like this.
Oh, and another thing - the amount of weight I have lost is now more than my daughter weighs! Finally - I can officially announce that I have lost all of my "Baby Weight"!! And it only took me 14 years to do it!!
I now have my next goal firmly in my sights. There are six weeks until Christmas. If I can lose another eight pounds by then, I will have shed exactly eight stones, and can formally declare myself to be exactly two thirds of the woman that I used to be...
People are really starting to notice the weight loss on me, hardly a day goes by when I am not approached by someone offering a compliment or remark. The inevitable question always follows: "How have you been doing it?"
As wonderful as it is to have people notice that you've lost weight, sometimes I find that I can suffer from "Compliment Fatigue". I know that this sounds incredibly ungrateful and ungracious, but bear with me....
It's not so much the question I mind, but when folks are clearly disappointed that I'm not about to impart the 'holy grail' of pain-free, easy slimming, I can sense bitter disappointment, and that can bring me down. Some folks don't want to hear that it's been a struggle of both body and mind (and, frankly, they don't accept that suggestion anyway), they are desperately asking for the secret formula of the "wonder pill" that you have clearly been taking. They (as did I) are craving the "quick fix" to undo years of bad and unhealthy habits. It's an unfortunate symptom of our times.
So I've come up with a new strategy. 

I like messing with people's heads anyway, it's defintiely one of my favourite hobbies. 

Now, each time I am asked for the secret of my weight loss, I come up with a more bizarre and conversation-halting reason. 

So far this week I've attributed my slimmer look to Ebola, a Tapeworm and a case of Galloping Dysentery..... It's such entertainment watching the faces of the inquisitors as they try to work out if I'm being serious or not. The more deadpan the expression, the more effective it is! Try it sometime!!

Clothes shopping is becoming more of a pleasure these days. Every Plus-Size person understands the pain of searching the mainstream shop floors for the clothes that will fit you - size and fit are a priority over style. Recently I bought myself a new pair of knee-high boots and, saints alive(!) got myself into a pair of skinny jeans. There was much prancing around the house on that day, I can tell you. My husband, a self appointed aficionado of womens' footwear fashion (in his dreams! was less keen on my boots - judging my chunky biker boots to be "too mannish" (not that I care - he doesn't get to wear them!).What he is fonder of, however, are the tartan pyjamas I bought in Primark recently...I'm not sure if it's fact that he's Scottish, but the sight of me in plaid p-js seems to get his Caledonian blood racing. No complaints there. 

To have purchased something for myself from Primark is something of a milestone for me. I was always too big for their items and had to resign myself to the larger clothes retailers which, having sensed a gap in the market, had succeeded in marking up their items more expensively. Very unfair, I think - but don't get me started on that..... I did used to enter the doors of the hallowed shop, but only to purchase gifts or necessities for my size 6 daughter. As I wandered the shop floor I did used to wonder if onlookers were glancing at me and wondering "who's she trying to kid?". That was probably firmly in my head, but nevertheless a telling sign of my discomfort and insecurity about my size.  Anyway, so I am now a proud Primark customer, my daughter has a new shopping buddy.... and my husband lives in fear of the bank balance......

Along with the weight loss, I am continuing my exercise schedule. As much as my hectic lifestyle as "full-time worker and mother with a husband who does shifts" status allows me, I try to do a daily 30 minutes on the exercise bike, followed by fifteen minutes using the hand weights to "bust those bingo wings".
It is starting to occur to me that, with the amounts of weight I am losing, that, one day, I may have to contend with excess, saggy skin. That, on the whole, doesn't worry me too much, as my focus has been, and continues to be on my health and not how I look, but it is a slight disconcerting thought. Some individuals have already asked me if I would contemplate surgery if it came to that when I reached my target but, right now, that is not an option I am entertaining. I am a 45 year old woman, and a mother of two, not a nubile 20-something with no dependents and a body that will recover quickly from going under the knife. I am not sure that I would like to risk the complications of unnecessary surgery. So, I am telling myself right now, that, if this weight loss journey leaves me with a little excess skin, then I will just disguise it with creative dressing. After all, that is what Spanx were invented for! Maybe, the 'flappy bits' will remain as a stark reminder of how far I've come, and where I started, and these will motivate me to stay on the healthy track for life.
With regards to "staying on the track" I am also starting to wonder how I will maintain my weight loss once I have (hopefully) reached my goal. It is no secret that the weight loss is the less challenging part of the journey and that integrating 'normal' foods back into one's lifestyle brings with it a minefield of risks. So, I am making plans to increase my exercise efforts, and have taken the decision to take up running in the spring. Now when I say "in the spring" this is no cop-out. I have my reasons - the nights are too dark and wet right now, I'm still not fit enough and also too heavy that pounding the streets would take an unfavourable toll on my joints. But, the seed of the idea is starting to germinate in my head and I am finding increasingly attractive the prospect of attempting a "Couch to 5K" and maybe even participating in Fun Runs. My daughter is desperate to do the Race For Life and last year I was very secretly grateful that the date for the local event clashed with other plans. I will not have the same excuse next year, and I want to join in with my girl, not just cheer on from the sidelines. So, I am making this commitment - to myself and to all readers of this blog - that I shall be running next year. No backing out now.
So that's Part A of the Maintenance Plan. part B is an ongoing project - working on my head! Weight loss is, without doubt a combination of Mind/Body/Spirit - all three stars must align for you to be successful - you cannot tackle such a big change without signing all three aspects to the deal. Every day, I find myself challenging my own thinking, and, I do believe that the message is starting to seep through to my subconscious. Just the other day I was at Costa Coffee (please note that this blog is not sponsored by Costa, Primark or Spanx and other coffee houses, clothing retailers and control underwear brands are available..) and as I was queueing for my skinny decaff and my childrens' Belgian Chocolate Teeth-Rotting Sugar-Fest (as a treat, mind you) I was stood by the cakes cabinet... There were all kinds of delicacies there...flapjacks..brownies...muffins....chocolate-laden slabs of naughtiness.... Now, normally, I would find myself salivating at that point, and probably risking banishment by the staff for leaving unhygienic nose and tongue marks on the display glass..but this time...I didn't. I hardly felt a pang, not a flicker of a craving.
It was confounding, and my subconscious brain didn't quite know what to do with itself. But I felt great! The feeling of being in self control was almost overwhelming. Now I have to just remember that feeling, and anchor it in my head, just in case temptation strikes again.
Wish me luck....