Move on Down, Move on Down the Road

Be honest, did any of you just invision Diana Ross and Michael Jackson?  The Wiz?  Anyway, I have been moving more, and eating considerably less and am seeing great success.  The scale is moving down and my energy levels are higher than they've been in years.  How awesome is that?

Here's the photo for the month.  Not my favorite because it seems like I'm all boobs and I think I looked better last month, but oh well.

I will tell you that the pants and shirt are both a 1X which is down from the 3X I was wearing at Christmas.  I have bought new clothes and am looking forward to shopping at places like Target and Costco..... there you have it, the dream of a fat girl.

I have lost 32 pounds since my surgery and 47 since the beginning of the year.  From this point forward, I will be referring to weight lost as the number from the beginning of the year because that is when I started this whole process.  I am happy to report that I have lost 5 inches off my thighs, 3 1/2 inches off my waist, and an inch off my arms and neck.  See, writing this down makes me feel awful about myself, but this is documenting the journey, right?

Well, so now you have the numbers, I'm going to talk about some the NSV (non-scale victories) I have experienced in the last couple of months.

• Wearing a belt.... something I always found laughable when I'd go to Lane Bryant to buy pants and they'd ask if I needed a belt and I wanted to say, "no, this pooch of tummy fat will hold the pants up for me."
• Better sleep.... for myself and my husband.  My sleep numbers were awful... like averaging 65% sleep efficiency nightly.  Now I'm regularly up in the 80's and even 90's and I'm not snoring like a freight train anymore.
• Being able to cross my legs and not having my feet go numb, or looking like a man in a dress.  I think you know what I mean.
• Having my sweet neighbors tell me how good I'm looking; like stopping as they're driving down the street to share their opinions.  I have a hard time hearing it, but it's nice.
• Not sweating like a gut-shot hog every time I move.  I swear that I have pig sweat glands.  It comes from my Homer side.  Any amount of movement, stress, or effort would cause me to sweat.  Not that the actions themselves were difficult, but there was something in my body that liked to sweat, A LOT.  Especially as I was getting ready for church.  It's hard to explain if you haven't had the experience, but I often would arrive at church looking like I sprinted there.  Not so much out of breath, but dying for a headband, and hand towel and looking like I needed a Gatorade.
• Riding bikes and walking for miles without feeling like I need a nap afterwards.  That has always been my hang up with exercise.  What good does it do me to kill myself to get in shape if I have no energy for the other stuff in life that I have to do?
• Going shopping, buying clothes a size smaller than I wear and then getting them home and discovering that they're TOO BIG!  That was pretty much awesome.
• Being satisfied with less.  Half a chicken breast is just enough.  An M&M gives me my sweet fix and water is my new drink of choice.  Okay, so not completely satisfied; still miss the burn of my morning Diet Coke, but I'll get over it eventually.
• Getting through an Easter season for the first time in 25 years without those DAMN Cadbury Mini-Eggs.  They are like crack!  I love them and I didn't have ONE this year.
• Not having feet or knees that ache the way they used to.
• Being able to swing on our new swing set with my kids.
• Working in the yard for Spring Break with my family.  Feeling like I'm contributing to the great things happening in our family instead of watching them happen.
• Having a dear widowed friend ask me at Relief Society if Matt is chasing me around the bedroom.  Made.My.Day!
• Setting a better example for my children and those around me and knowing that it's only going to get better.

That's just the few that I can think of right now.  I really do need to write them down, but they come often.  I am so glad that I made the choice to have this surgery.  It has not been the easiest thing I have ever done, but it makes the hard things I'm doing really count.  I'm still waiting to see if I'll lose some of my hair, but I'm hopeful that I won't because my nutrition and vitamins are better now that they've ever been.

Life is full of possibilities, it seems to me.  I realize that I can't start over, but I can start now and make a new ending.  I am really feeling alive for the first time in a long time and I am so grateful for this experience.  Looking forward to the future.

Okay, if that made you throw-up in your mouth a little bit, you're not alone.  Sorry.  Thanks for caring enough to read my blog.  Peace out!