Weight. I hate the word. It stresses me out.
I have always brawled with bulge, sometimes winning, sometimes losing. My main problem is that I deal with stress by filling my mouth. So, during particularly stressful/unhappy periods of my life, I add lots of pesky pounds to my 5’1’’ frame. I’m not talking a 5 or 10 pounds, either. At one point, after my father died, I ballooned to the size of the Michelin Man.
The bad news is that I’ve had lots of stressful (i.e. FAT) periods of my life. The good news is that I have become rather adept at losing weight.
When I met Mr. L back in 2008, I was in great shape. I was working out almost everyday, watching what I ate, and feeling pretty good about the reflection in the mirror. After months of weekends travelling to see one another, all of my good habits began to fall to the wayside. I started making the excuse that I couldn’t work out on Monday because I was too tired from the weekend, and I couldn’t possibly work out on Friday mornings because I had to pack. And what was the point of working out once a week? Combine that with abundant calorie-laden restaurant meals (and a disgusting Taco Bell habit), and you see a few of the why I packed on the pounds. The stress of my life during that time was the cherry on the top of my ever-widening waistline.
The straw that broke the camel’s back was that I was facing a great deal of stress during this long distance romance, so as I put weight on, I just couldn't get motivated to get it off. It was only after moving to Birmingham and packing for a beach trip on Labor Day (and trying to find a pair of Spanx that would fit under shorts--I'm not joking) that I realized that I had to get it together.
Mr. L's sister told me about a medically supervised diet that really worked, so I decided to check it out. Though you eat kind of like a rabbit, it really worked. Along the way, I had my rough patches, but all in all, very well worth it. After the first month, my brain & stomach were retrained to be satisfied with much smaller portions. I also realized that to be slightly hungry is not all that bad.
I am now a much slimmer capable girl, having lost 34 lbs. See ya Spanx!
Fitting into my old clothes that had been sadly staring at me from my closet was one of the most amazing feelings ever. I even slipped that pair of shorts on that I concealed my Spanx under and they fell to the ground. Nirvana. Seriously.
I will say that losing weight pre-engagement made the whole engagement experience so much better. And now that I am not confused with the Goodyear blimp, I actually enjoyed wedding dress shopping.
Who knows where I will be weight-wise after the nuptials, but I will tell you I hope it's not writing a blog post entitled, "How To Conceal Spanx Under Shorts" Crossing my fingers, ya'll.
p.s. I lost 34 lbs.
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