SCALE VICTORIES

Here are some milestones along my weight loss journey:

APRIL 2005
• Joined Weight Watchers (start weight 307.8; highest weight 320)
• Broke 300 lbs. four weeks into program

MAY 2005
• Achieved first 25 pounds lost from highest weight (Reward: Donna Summer concert)

AUGUST 2005
• Earned 25-lb. star from WW

SEPTEMBER 2005
• Received 10% keychain from WW (30 lbs.)

JANUARY 2006
• Achieved 50 lbs. lost from highest weight (Reward: Sex & the City Season 6 DVDs)

MARCH 2006
• Received 50-lb. star from WW

APRIL 2006
• Broke 250 lbs. for the first time since the mid-1990s

MAY 2006
• Achieved 75 lbs. lost from highest weight (Reward: Halter Dress)

JULY 2006
• Broke 240 lbs.
• Received 75-lb. star from WW

AUGUST 2006
• Broke 230 lbs.

SEPTEMBER 2006
• Broke 220 and achieved 100 lbs. lost from highest weight (Reward: Glamour makeover and photo shoot)

NOVEMBER 2006
• Broke 210 lbs.
• Received 100-lb. star from WW

DECEMBER 2006
• Entered Onederland on Christmas Eve with weigh-in of 198 lbs.

JANUARY 2007
• Achieved 125 lbs. lost from highest weight (Reward: Diamond earrings and pendant)

FEBRUARY 2007
• Broke 190 lbs.

MARCH 2007
• Reached eighth grade weight of 185 lbs.

APRIL 2007
• Recognized with 125-lb. loss by WW
• Broke 180 lbs.

MAY 2007
• Weighed in below seventh grade weight of 175 lbs.

JULY 2007
• Achieved 150 lbs. lost from highest weight and broke 170 lbs. (Reward: Outing to be determined)

AUGUST 2007
• Reached sixth grade weight of 165 lbs.

OCTOBER 2007
• On Oct. 21, I weighed in at 158 lbs., breaking the 160s barrier. It has been over 23 years since the last time I was at this weight. As of today, I have now lost more weight (162 lbs. total) than I currently weigh. I have officially lost "half my size!" I officially committed with Weight Watchers to a goal weight of 150 lbs., the maximum for my height.

NOVEMBER 2007
• As of Oct. 21, I was at 149.8 lbs. lost with WW. The following week I maintained (but could still wear a size 4 skirt). The week after I gained 3.8 lbs. (gotta love TOM)! A couple days after weighing in we left for vacation. I wasn't perfect while we were there, but I planned for a couple glasses of wine, walked the treadmill for an hour every day, scaled the rocks at Dunns River Falls, and the last day it was raining too hard to walk to the gym at our resort, so we walked the stairs (four stories) for an hour instead. When we got home I had lost 0.6. So after WI on Tuesday I knew I had a few days to go down 3.4 lbs. While in Jamaica I got frustrated with counting Daily Points, especially being down to 21, so I switched to WW's Core Plan. On Nov. 18, my next regular WI, I was down 4.2 and have lost 150.8 lbs. since starting the Program (a total of 163 lbs.).

JANUARY 2008
• On Jan. 13 I lost another 1.6 lbs., bringing me to 154.8. It was my goal to finish 2007 at 155 or less, and I am happy that I made it only two weeks into the New Year – I have also fallen below my self-appointed “redline number” of 156 lbs. While this is not the major drop of 3+ lbs I have grown accustomed to after every cycle on this journey, I am still very excited. I lost 2.2 last week (Jan. 6), which pretty much rubbed out the 2.4 gain (water gain in preparation for T-of-M) that I had after Christmas. I am less than FIVE POUNDS from goal! I cannot believe it! After starting my journey in the summer of 2004, and starting WW in the spring of 2005, I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel! Forget the thermostat – February is going to be one hot month!

MARCH 2008
• I surpassed my goal weight of 150, weighing in at 148.8 pounds -- a loss of 159 pounds with Weight Watchers and an overall loss of 171.2 pounds. This is the first time in 25 years I have weighed 150 lbs. or less -- not a bad birthday present!

APRIL 2008
• After six very difficult weeks (encompassing Easter, a sorority function and other events) I became a Lifetime Member weighing in at 151 pounds. I have realized that hitting that number on the scale is not an excuse to abandon the plan -- the struggle is only beginning.

NON-SCALE VICTORIES

The scale has not been the only measure of my progress. There were many other indicators along the way to let me know I was doing something right.

• I have always loved Girl Scouts Thin Mints Cookies. When I started WW, I was still holding on to a full box (while still trying to find more). A few weeks later, I heard of an ill child who was also looking for them and I gave them up without hesitation.
• In 2001, I received a lovely watch as a Christmas gift. However, it would not close around my wrist. In fact, most women’s watches wouldn’t, so I didn’t wear a watch at all for years. In July 2005, after 13 weeks on WW, I was able to get the watch on. Now it slides up and down my arm – it doesn’t have removable links like many styles do today – and I know that if it ever gets close to fitting the way it did before that I have to tighten things up. I have other watches that I’ve since had to remove links from.
• I had a major function at my job which was highly attended and I was shadowing a member of the press. We got tired of waiting for the elevator and spent a great deal of time hoofing up and down the stairs of a five-story building. I didn’t realize that I never got winded until the event was over.
• I received a gift of clothing one Christmas (pajamas in size 2X) and I was amazed when they fit!
• For a special work event in 2006, I wore a size 24 dress that I had not been able to wear since 1997.
• In the spring of 2006, I bought my first pair of women’s athletic shoes in many years. My shoe size, combined with being a wide width, made buying women’s sneakers next to impossible.
• I was able to walk to my local beauty parlor – it is about 6-7 blocks away and I had always driven up to the main street to get there. (May 2006)
• My ring finger has shrunk from a size 12 to a 9.5 (May 2006) and again to an 8 (May 2007).
• I was able to buy sizes 18-20 after starting the program wearing 30/32. (July 2006)
• In 2000, I bought a pair of knee-high leather boots. Before starting the program I had never worn them because the zipper would not go past my calves, and I was too ashamed to send them back. I was finally able to zip them up. (August 2006)
• I can now wear all of my prom dresses from the late 80s and early 90s. (Christmas Eve 2006, the day I made Onederland)
• I went shopping one weekend determined not to visit any plus-size shops. It turned out I didn’t have to. I am officially out of women's sizes! (February 2007)
• While waiting for my credit union to open one Saturday, I shot over to Wal-Mart looking for some replacement workout gear. I saw a pair of 8/10 exercise pants for $3. I figured, “I’ll have them when I need them and they’ll fit eventually.” I decided to try them on and they fit. I ended up getting four pieces for $13. The same weekend, I went into Old Navy to look at the sale items. I tried on two pairs of size 10 jeans – they fit OK but one was long and the other short, and that's how they fit. I decided to try on a pair of size 8 as a joke, and they fit too! (May 2007)
• I was on vacation one week and did a lot of shopping. One of the items on my shopping list was a pair of black sandals. I never found one, and I realized why a few days later: It turns out I already had a pair that I had long stopped wearing because my feet got too wide. Even with the strap all the way out to the last hole, they were just too tight. Toward the end of my vacation I consciously saw them, apparently for the first time in years ... I adjusted the strap all the way in and they fit like new! I am now buying regular width shoes for the first time in my life. (June 2007)
• I started the program wearing size 30W jeans, and now I wear a size 8! (June 2007)
• I was at ShopRite one day, and the 1 lb. bags of M&Ms (dark chocolate is my favorite!) were on sale for $1.99. After a few minutes of hemming and hawing, I found single-serving packages (59 cents each) and bought two of those instead.
• I was attending a catered buffet at work. The selection of food was just overwhelming, and everything smelled so good! But after maintaining at weigh-in the previous day, I decided to have only four jumbo shrimp with cocktail sauce and one stuffed seafood item and skedaddled back to the office to eat the lunch I had already prepared for the day! It turned out I had just enough points for them without dipping into WPAs!
• I went to Wal-Mart after WI (August) one Sunday looking for a skirt I saw on their web site. They didn’t have it, but I saw another in the store. There were no 8’s on the rack, so I took a size 6 in the dressing room and to my utter surprise, it fit (probably the elastic waist, LOL)! I was stoked, but I decided I didn’t like the style after all, so I didn’t buy it. When I got home, the skirt on the Wal-Mart site was only available in XL, but that gave me the courage to order another skirt from Target in the color I wanted in a small! It arrived on Sept. 10 and fit great.
• During the Labor Day weekend, I attended a family reunion out of town. I remained on program the entire weekend. Yes, I had Wendy’s on the way down, and yes, I had a nice plate at the reunion, but I made sure to track everything. I even brought my portable DVD player and had a Turbo Jam workout before getting dressed for the reunion. (September 2007)
• After coming home from the reunion, I dragged all my oversize clothes into my living room and sorted them by size. I then bagged them and made postings on my local Freecycle. They were all gone within 48 hours. It was at that time I realized I had made the commitment that this is how it’s going to be. If I start gaining weight back, I have no big clothes to fall back on and will have to replace everything again.
• At the Liberty Jazz Festival, I saw a vendor selling Greek paraphernalia. I asked if she had any shirts for my sorority, and she said she only had the royal blue shirts in Large and the white shirts in Small. No Mediums … hmmm. I took a leap of faith and bought the Small. It was snug but presentable. (September 2007)
• I went to Old Navy one weekend and combed the clearance racks. I found a wool skirt (long) and a pair of jeans in size 6. They both fit! The best part? When I checked out I spent $11! A few months ago I was in Goodwill and found a pair of J. Crew jeans in a size 6. I knew then that they would not fit and I was at peace with that ... I tried them on Oct. 15 and was able to button and zip them! I cannot believe it ... as a youth I was never smaller than a size 12! (October 2007)
• When I first joined Curves, I was a proverbial apple shape (i.e., my waist (55.5") was bigger than my hips (51.25")). As of November 2006 I reversed those proportions (46.75" and 45.5"). As of October 2007, I am a pear -- my hips (40") are now larger than my waist (35.5") or bust (38"). I guess this explains why I was able to go into Wal-Mart and buy a skirt in a size 4!
• DH's best man moved a few years back and they recently reconnected. When I emailed him one of my vacation photos, he said I was "hot!" (January 2008)
• My ring finger is now a size 7 -- I tried on rings in two different venues and the results were consistent each time. Also, many of the regular width shoes I invested in over the past year are too big, meaning I will need to start shopping the next size down! I have worn the same size shoe since 1985, so this is major for me! (April 2008)