Trashing the Scale... And Building a Better Me

Time and time again I have jumped on the latest and greatest weight loss bandwagon. I did Atkins for about two weeks, Weight Watchers for 2 months, and yes I tried the lemonade and cayenne pepper diet (ugh). I've had gym membership after gym membership and never really commited to actually going. As I have aged, I have grown to love my curves and to not feed into the hype of being a size two. Since I have never been "small," I was raised to dress appropriately at any size. One of my BIGGEST pet peeves is seeing a plus size woman dress like... well, dress like they can't find clothes in their size. It's that moo-moo, elastic waist paints, and ugly print tops that makes me roll my eyes and shake my head. I really want to shake them, but the reality is that everyone was not raised by my parents and everyone does not have confidence.

I digress...
My current diet is not a diet at all... it's a change in the way I view food, exercise, and my goals. At the end of the day, I want to look and feel good. So I did something extreme: I stopped the scale runs. Scale runs are the weekly, if not the daily, runs to hop on the scale to see if you have lost that .2lbs you gained after you ate lunch, which consisted of lettuce, carrots, and cucumbers. Weight Watchers has weekly weigh ins and honestly I felt defeated many weeks because I was not dropping the pounds like the previous week. It's a mental thing.

So how do you know if you what you are doing is working, Kevina?
Simple, bi-annual doctors visits to monitor blood pressure, cholesterol, diabetes, etc. and of course my clothes don't lie. I worked hard to get my daily diet down to a science and I combined what I have learned from my previous diets to real life. So yes, I still do most of my shopping in the outer parameter of the grocery store (fresh fruits, veggies, meats, and dairy), I still sit down and plan what I am eating for the week on Sunday nights, I still cook 90% of the food I ingest, and I still will have to visit the gym regularly (my hardest task thus far). Only difference is that I refuse to be a slave to the scale. And what's crazy is that it's working for me. Pounds are not melting away over night, but I didn't gain them over night either.

I do want to take a moment out to shout out the hardest working otolaryngology nurse practitioner in the world, Schenkel. She is hard on me, but I know she has my best interest at heart. A feminist, a dedicated runner, a butt-kicker, she's all that and more. As much hell as I give her, I appreciate her for her motivation and her laughter.

Below is a side by side shoot (sorry I suck at making straight faces) of my progress. The picture on the left is from June 30th. The picture on the right is from mid-October (was headed to see my alum college, THE University of Louisiana at Lafayette play UNT in Denton... Cajun Pride). Not a drastic change, but a little is better than none...

Have a good week fam and be blessed!!!
KP