Monday, August 13, 2012

Week 10, 236 lbs.

50 lb. Sack of Potatoes


Well, I just blew past the 50 lb. mark and am now down 52 lbs!!  Can I get an "Amen"?

That's the size equivalent of a large feed sack or  average 7 year-old child.  I have two nieces and a nephew who weigh less than what I've shed off my body so far.  When I look at something that weighs the same amount of the weight I've dropped, it blows me away.

This has been an amazing week, with both ups and downs.... thankfully lots more ups than downs.

Saturday was the day of a big artist reception at work.  "Everyone" was there, including a few folks I hadn't seen in a few months.  I wasn't wearing anything fancy, just a pair of tan slacks, a black tanktop and a gauzy overshirt that I found hiding in the back of my closet with the other clothes that had previously been too small.  Even though I wasn't wearing anything special or different from what I normally wear, people kept complimenting me on my outfit.  I also got a lot of "you look really pretty today" remarks. 

To top off the event, I saw a member artist enter the gallery and waved to her from across the room.  She gave me a weird look and then waved back.  Later, she approached me and apologized for not recognizing me earlier.  "It must be that amazing outfit you're wearing."

"Something like that," I smiled back at her.


After work, I met my brother, sister-in-law and a couple of friends for dinner at a local wine bar.  My brother and his wife (two of my most favorite people on the planet) live out of town and neither had seen me since I started with Ideal Protein and I think they were both amazed at the transformation.  I have to admit feeling all glowy and proud of myself from their praise.

Dinner at the wine bar was a bit of a challenge. Luckily, before meeting them for dinner I had studied the bar's menu online and found a smoked salmon salad that would fit with my diet if I asked them to hold the egg and bacon. Arriving prepared allowed me to visit with the other folks at the table instead of agonizing over the menu.

The hardest part of the meal was when everyone was ordering their beer and wine.  When the waiter got into describing some of the red wine selections my mouth started watering and I nearly ordered a glass...  Then I reminded myself that I was right on the verge of reaching the 50 lb. milestone and wanted to reach that so much more than I wanted one glass of wine.  There will be fabulous wines to taste (in moderation) when I reach my goal - the world won't run out of wine between now and then.

Afterwards we went to a martini bar downtown and had a good time visiting.  I wasn't tempted by the mixed drinks nearly as much as I was by that glass of wine, instead I focused on enjoying spending time with loved ones and catching up.

On Sunday my mom and I took advantage of a big sale at a local department store and I was bowled over to discover how many sizes smaller I am.  I was a tight 24W when I started and am now somewhere between a 20W and 18W.  While my pants size is still found in the women's department. I was actually able to try on tops in the regular size department.  Not only that, one of the items I purchased had no "Xs" in its size!!!  I love being a "L" instead of an "XL" ... and it's a huge improvement over a "3X!"

It will be a big day in the life of Lanza when I can say goodbye forever to the department of synthetic clothes with huge floral prints.  Why does every designer of women's sizes think big women have no sense of style and want to wear something that looks like the curtains from grandma's house?

While shopping we ran into a friend of my mother's who has lost more than 70 lbs. since starting Ideal Protein in April.  We exchanged stories and encouragement, bonding at the cash register.  Her daughter, who started the program at the same time I did, is also down 50 lbs.  Those of you out there who are still wanting to throw barbs at the program or think I am an exceptional case, let me tell you, there are a bunch of us in little old Kerrville, Texas who are slimming down and getting healthy, thanks to this amazing diet.

I only have three more lbs. to make it to the 55 lb. mark.  I'm hoping to blow past that one and bump close to the big 6-0 mark ...  I am the incredible shrinking woman!!


2 comments:

  1. Amen sista!! 7 lbs in a week! So much more satisfying than a glass of wine! Way to go. So great to see your progress in person. Very proud of your determination at dinner. And it is about the time with family and friends and not about the food and drinks.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Well said, sistah! It was definitely about the company.

    ReplyDelete