TAKING INVENTORY
21 August 2002
Another 2 lbs gone. Good feeling. I made up for the 0.8 lbs I gained
last week and added another 1.2.
The terrific thing is that I now weigh about 10 lbs less
than it says on my driver's license (it's been decades since I could say that!).
I'm also more than half way to my goal weight, which is also a nice feeling.
Of course nothing is without a down side, and if there is a downside
here it's that 60 year old flesh does not spring back as quickly as, say, 20 year old
flesh does. So I'm starting to have flapping underarms and a turkey neck. As much as I
hate both, I like them better than having them filled out with fat deposits.
I also noticed this morning that the firm little round pot belly
that I've been pleased to feel getting smaller for several weeks (because it's a little
round firm pot belly) seems to be disappearing as well. I may still be pear shaped,
I may still hang over a bike seat, I may still be wider than I want, but I'm flatter than
I've been in years. And those piano-legs are starting to have firm muscles in them.
Never in my life have I taken time to analyze my various body parts.
I've decided, though, that I'm probably never going to become a
"walker." We went to the theatre last night and instead of parking at the nearby
garage (where you can wait a very long time waiting to get out after a show), we now park
about 4 blocks away and walk to the theatre, a walk I enjoy. But despite my time on the
treadmill each day (which has a nice springy padded surface to walk on), when I get on
concrete, my feet still hurt. My knees are doing much better as the weight comes off. They
don't hurt nearly as much as they have hurt for years.
But the problem with the feet is twofold: first, I
have never ever been able to find comfortable walking shoes. Well, I did, for about 10
years, wear comfortable Easy Spirit walking shoes that changed my life. But they stopped
making them in my size, and the SAS shoes that were the next best thing have never fit
quite as well as the Easy Spirits. These shoes are too expensive to "test out"
several brands to find the best fit (and all of my life it has taken me a couple of months
to "bond" with shoes, so it's not simply a matter of walking around in them for
a few hours and deciding if they're going to fit or not. By the time I realize they don't
fit, it's way too late.)
The second problem is an undiagnosed one, but which has been so
consistent that I can only assume that I have developed arthritis in the big toe on both
feet. It's not so painful that I can't walk, or that I hobble or anything like that, but
it's painful enough that the thought of doing any long distance walking, or quick walking
is out. It is a good thing that I have discovered bike riding. A no-excuse form of
exercise. A painless, fun way to cover the ground I might have otherwise covered on
foot.
Another strange thing for me is that the new watch I bought recently
is now too loose on my wrist. For so many years I had to buy some extender pieces for any
watchband that I purchased. So just being able to buy a watch "off the rack," as
it were, was a thrill. Now to have that watch kind of slide around on my wrist is very
strange indeed.
I still can't quite get my fingers around my wrist and have the
thumb and forefinger meet, but it's pretty darn close.
I've started loving to wear t-shirts. I am still wearing "extra
large," but no longer "extra, extra large." I bought one of those recently
and it just swam on me. So I'm down to XL or 1X (depending on brand). The nice thing is
that the shirts fit like...well...like t-shirts. They aren't form-fitting, skin
tight, as they have been for so long. This opens up a whole collection of old Lawsuit
shirts that I have been too embarrassed to wear.
I've also added to my t-shirt collection with things like a Judy
Garland shirt from the exhibit at the Hollywood Entertainment museum last weekend, a new Steve Schalchlin
shirt, and one with a painting
done by my friend Alec Clayton, as well as a shirt designed by his wife as a memorial to their late son, and to her work for Safe Schools. And, of course, I
love my Funny the World
t-shirt and my I'm a Boob
t-shirt! (I am definitely a walking billboard these days).
Now if only I could find some cheap pants to wear for the next
couple of months until I get closer to my goal weight and can justify spending more money
on clothes that I will get wear out of and not discard after a few weeks as I get smaller.
I love taking time out to take stock of the changes that are
happening within and without. It helps keep me on track on the difficult days.
Today, Dr. C came in the office. She's been away for several weeks
and is just back briefly. She was holding a carton of fat free cottage cheese and a big
bag of celery sticks and said she was dieting. I remembered when I used to do that--stuff
myself with things I didn't really like and feel like I was sacrificing because I was
dieting to lose weight. Inevitably I gave up very quickly and gained back whatever
weight I'd lost, and then some. With very few exceptions, I have never felt deprived
on this "new lifestyle" and I've dropped 0.8 lbs short of 75 lbs in 7 months.
Sure beats fat free cottage cheese and celery sticks all to heck!!!
Thank you for nominating my entry, Moving On for a DiaristNet award! |
