This isn't my first blog post on weight (read the other one here). Who knows, maybe it'll end up being my last. That'd sure be great. Weight is something I've struggled with since high school. My weight would go up and down (usually based on how much soccer I was playing at the time).
To recap, I lost a ton of weight in college, and managed to keep it off throughout grad school. But, then I hit 26 and my metabolism decided to lay down and die. And I started dating a guy, and we ate out a lot, I suppose. But, I'd kind of always done that. I was essentially addicted to fast food for a very long time-- starting in probably middle school.
It was pretty much all I ate--even through grad school. Even when I moved to LA and lived on my own-- it is so easy (no cooking, no dishes), and honestly it's pretty delicious. But, study after study has shown that it's terrible for you. It seemed I didn't care. And then...I got engaged.
And I set about the business of losing weight. Which certainly wasn't easy. In fact, it was pretty hard. It wasn't until January that I really started getting serious about my weight loss. I joined weight watchers (which made me feel like an old woman), and that really helped! I lost like 15 pounds, and then hit a plateua for like a month where I wasn't losing anything. So, I switched to low carb-- and I ended up losing a grand total of 23lbs. I was 2lbs shy of my goal, but I would take it!
It was funny how easy small things were-- even walking around Disneyland in the heat minus 10lbs made things easier, which I found kind of fascinating. Seeing myself every day, I didn't really think I had lost that much weight/it made that much of a difference. But, then I showed an old picture of myself to a coworker (that was taken about a year ago, actually), and she was shocked at how much weight I'd lost. Then, Tom found a picture of us going through the venue, and it became extremely clear how much weight I had actually lost. It was pretty apparent! It's absolutely not necessary for women to lose weight for their wedding days, and I don't want it to seem like that's what I'm suggesting. But it was imperative for ME to lose weight for my wedding day--and I'm so glad that I did. It enabled me to be confident in my gown on the wedding day, and I didn't even really spend that much time thinking about my arms. If you read one of my posts last month, you know how unusual that actually is.
Then the wedding came and went, and I munched down on burgers and fries that day, along with a few bites of some pretty delicious cupcakes. It tasted fantastic! After months of depriving myself, I was so happy to bite into that burger. Then, on my honeymoon, I ate whatever I wanted as well-- in fact, one day all we ate were buffets! We were treated to a buffet breakfast at our hotel each morning (thanks Costco Travel!), and we took full advantage of that.
Long story short: I've been eating pretty much whatever I want for about 3 weeks now, and I am absolutely shocked to learn something...
I am absolutely ready to go back to eating healthy stuff. I never thought I'd be in that place! I never thought I would crave NOT FAST FOOD. And yet, here I am. Planning a trip to the store to make sure I STOP eating fast food because... well, I just don't want it every day. Fast food, I think, is fine in moderation--it's okay to eat the occasional McDonald's or Taco Bell. But I have finally outgrown the desire/craving to have it every single day. It's actually funny how, when you stop eating it and start eating healthy, you essentially stop craving it. I'm sure I'll always treat myself now and again (hello, weekends!), but I don't want to go back to the life of eating it every single day--even if I could still do it and remain skinny/fit. It's time to look to the future for other things, and prepare myself. I can't eat like a teenager anymore--and I spent way more time eating like that than I should have to begin with.
That being said, I haven't stepped on the scale since the day of the wedding--and I'm not going to. Not for a few weeks, anyway. It's not about the scale, and I know if I step on that little device it will become about the scale. I don't want that. At the end of the day (and at the end of a life), it's simply not the number on that scale that matters. I'm glad I lost the weight for my wedding, but I'm also tired of stepping on it with dread, and giving it the power to ruin my day, weekend, week, or month. Nothing (and no one) should have that power over you.
My weight loss journey was rough--it took a long time to lose those 23lbs, and I don't want them back on. But, my weight loss journey ends here. It's time to start a new journey, instead. It's no longer a journey about weight--it's now a health/happiness journey. Which, I think, is better. And more sustainable.
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