I've been feeling a little down the last couple of weeks because even though
I've lost over 30 pounds (and a lot of inches), I haven't really felt it.
I've been wearing the same size, and I haven't seen what I thought 30 pounds
less would look like on my body. The last few days has presented three
eye-opening experiences to change my mind - and I really feel like it's
working!
First, we met a group of Chris' rugby friends for drinks. We locked up our
bikes and went inside the pub, where there was already a group of 10 people
or so. I recognized one gal who was there with her BF, so I smiled and said
hi. She looked at me with her eyebrows low, and didn't smile back. It made
me think she was mad at me! A few seconds later her eyebrows went up and
she said, "Oh, Staci! I didn't recognize you in those new glasses!" I was
wearing different glasses, but since I'm always switching glasses, most
folks don't notice. After we left the pub I was laughing with Chris about
how she didn't recognize me in different glasses, and he said, "Well, your
face is a lot thinner. You look pretty different to someone who hasn't seen
you in a while." Bang! I was surprised.
Next, I finally went shopping for pants. And yes, I am actually a smaller
size. That surprised me. When I got home and tried on some of my new
cigarette-legged pants with some of my tops, even my smallest tops look like
tents with these new pants. Bang! Happily surprised again. Gotta go get
some new tops now, too.
Then, yesterday I had the third experience. I'm working through some Dutch
government paperwork right now to update my residency permit. (Since we're
Americans and I'm not working, my residency hinges on my husband's
employment here. The Dutch government wants to be sure that I'm financially
supported and that I'm not going to apply for welfare. They have to check
every year, but it's a total hassle.) Part of this paperwork is submitting
new passport photos, which I had taken yesterday. When I got home, I
compared these new photos with my passport photo, taken last year. Double
bang! Pictures don't lie. My cheeks are thinner, my jawline is defined, my
neck is leaner, and there is no hint of a double chin. I've gone back to
look at those photos about 20 times now, trying to believe what I'm seeing.
Such great motivation for me to keep on truckin'. I've had little ups and
downs along the way, but these three experiences add up to a positive
mindset for me, and I know I'm headed in the right direction. I've felt
really healthy on LC, now I know I'm also looking better, too.
I can't stop smiling.
S t a c i
5"11"
213/179/165
Atkins for 5 months