My Progress!

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Little Victories


I've dieted enough to know that as you lose weight, you start to notice things about yourself and your body as it begins to shed those unwanted pounds. Maybe its an elbow you haven't seen in quite a while. Perhaps its the fact that you can now bend down and tie your own shoes. Maybe you are just jazzed about seeing your feet when you look down. Men tend to get very excited when this happens (go ahead and check it out, I'll wait; his blog is hilarious)

In my 20's when I lost most of my weight, I remember rejoicing silently when I discovered that I could go up and down a flight of stairs without getting out of breath. I had not only lost weight, but had been working out a lot so my muscles were in prime condition. I had never considered myself athletic, so this was no small feat in my mind considering I used to avoid stairs like the plague. After that, I started tackling stairs at every opportunity; running up them most of the time until E noticed and made fun of me. I was a little embarrassed to admit the reason I was running up the stairs so I made up some stupid excuse. The real and very simple reason I ran up those stairs each time was because I COULD!

I expect that I will begin to rediscover myself as I shed more weight. I'm literally starting from scratch so I expect many "a-ha" moments in my future and I'm looking forward to them. My first moment came last night while brushing my teeth. You all know that I've lost 10 lbs and I think most people wouldn't expect 10 lbs to mean much on a 450 lb body; however, I'm here to tell you that it apparently does.

Last night I went through my nightly ritual before bed. It starts off with me dosing myself on the five or six medications I have to take each night. It's literally a handful of pills I have to take...good thing I don't have much of a gag reflex! Once I take my meds, I use the restroom, wash my hands and then brush my teeth. I have a chair in my bathroom. Initially I brought it in so that I could sit down while I did my hair. When I injured my knee, I had to start using it more often since it was harder for me to stand comfortably for long at all. Last night I was mentally going over my schedule for the next day; making sure I hadn't forgotten anything. I used the bathroom, washed my hands and then grabbed my toothbrush. I was still mulling over some things in my mind as I brushed my teeth. When I was done, I spit in the sink and as my hand reached for the holder to put my toothbrush away I realized that I was STILL STANDING! I felt this immediate WOW which was followed by a laugh as I considered how ridiculous it was to feel so excited about something so small. Part of my own mind was echoing E's laughter every time I ran up a flight of stairs. To him, it wasn't a big deal, but to me it was a milestone. I turned a deaf ear to the negative voice in my head, took one last look in the mirror and smiled. Some victories are going to be big and some are going to be small. To me, a victory is a victory and I'll take them any way they come!

SUPERSTAR!


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9 Comments:

Katie said...

Yay! I'm happy for you!

DBFiveGirl said...

I've just read your entire blog and just wanted to say hi. I recognised a lot about me in your story, the being made to diet very early in life by concerned parents, the bulimia, the feeling of being utterly and completely unloveable. You need to know that you can do this. It is absolutely possible. And it is wonderful that you are noticing improvments in your body already. There will be so many many more to come. And I look forward to reading about them:)

Mrs. O said...

Way to go!!! You've got the mindset you need to get through this journey and that's very important. Keep looking at everything you accomplish, no matter how small, as a big victory because they are!!

My Big Fat Super Super Obese Blog said...

You guys are so great! Thank you so much for the kind words, I can't tell you how much they mean to me. You guys inspire me too!

Unknown said...

It may be small, but I am proud of you too.

Both of your pics cracked me up btw...

My Big Fat Super Super Obese Blog said...

hehe, thanks. Mary Catherine Gallagher is my hero ;)

Anonymous said...

That is fantastic. You are a total superstar.

You know it is those daily things, just getting around and living our life, that make the biggest differences in our quality of life. I think it's super neat that I can lift heavy things, but not having to worry about finding close parking is a lot more meaningful.

Carlos said...

hot damn great nsv! and thanks for the shout out

Ria said...

Congratulations - I totally agree that it is those daily things that make a big difference in our quality of life, but it is easy to miss them. Keep recognizing and celebrating them - it's great motivation!