October 1, 2007: 258 pounds

Yes!! I waited to surprise you, but 2 days ago I got a wonderful gift to myself: I weighed in at 259 pounds! And yesterday, it was down to 258! So I am starting this month in a new decade. I am down 20 pounds. I feel better than I have felt in ages. I put on some jeans and a shirt this morning that I have not worn since spring, and I look MUCH better in it than I did before! I am really happy that my hard work is paying off.

Let me take a minute to give my required short lecture about never giving up. I want to emphasize that it took me TWO FULL WEEKS to lose ONE pound. I weighed 260 (or more, when I was sick) for 2 whole weeks. But then that stubborn pound finally left like an unwelcome overstayed houseguest, and the next day another pound. Perseverance. Never quit.

It is getting colder here, and I am reminded of all the hazards of being fat in the winter. Have you ever noticed an obese person walking down the street in a blizzard with their coat gaping open? Did you wonder why they are torturing themselves by freezing their breasts or chest hairs off instead of bundling up? Well let me tell you. It might be because they could not get their coat buttoned! I have suffered through several winters with expensive coats that I have had for years but I have outgrown. And who wants to buy a new 4X coat??? Not me. So I squished into the 1X or 2X coat and froze. And why was I not wearing those lovely cashmere and leather gloves that my husband bought me back when we were dating? They are the nicest gloves I have ever owned: chocolate brown, slimming, smooth leather on the outside and real, warm, soft cashmere inside. But they sit in my drawer. Even HE wonders why. I bet he thinks I don't like them. I LOVE them, but I can't get my fat fingers into them without restricting my circulation so much that my hands go numb in 5 minutes. When I squish into them, I wonder if the seams are going to pop. It feels like someone wrapped my fingers in duct tape as tightly as they possibly could, and then put my hand in a vice grip. I can't even bend my fingers to wrap them around the steering wheel. Since I think it is a driving hazard to steer with your hands stiff as boards, resting on the steering wheel like sea lion flippers and so numb you cannot feel the turn signal when you try and whack at it with your flipper so you can turn, I just go without the gloves. I think it will be wonderful when I can wear those again. I will have to try them on in about 10 more pounds.

And clothing is not the only winter issue we chubby ladies face. How many of you have fallen on your arse in an icy parking lot, or worse yet, on the sidewalk right in front of a store entrance? Agility and balance are not my strong points at 258 pounds, so when it is icy, I have to sort of shuffle along in 1-inch increments to get where I am going outside. It takes forever, looks silly, and I still manage to fall (usually in front of several people who then, trying to be kind, attempt to help me up, which is like a ferret trying to pull an elephant out of an oil slick. Not happening). So I just stay home a lot.

But soon, very soon, all these issues will be in the past. Next winter I bet I will be able to wrap my coats all the way around me. I will have warm hands in my cashmere gloves. And I might even be able to fit my cankles into a pair of winter boots! (Anyone who has calves the size of most people's waists knows what I am talking about here). I will be much less likely to skid and fall on the ice if I can wear winter boots with some tread on them. So onward I go... and downward. This will be my last fat winter.