Making Progress When the Scale Isn't - An NSV

I did a little exercise the other night - and not the aerobic kind. I wanted to take a look at where my weigh ins over the last 7 months have left me. It's no secret that I've struggled with the number on the scale during this time so I took a look at my first weigh in every month and graphed it - nerd style.

Proof my "roller coaster ride" hasn't just felt like one. It has been!

Luckily, I may have not kept up with what I've been eating over those 7 months; HOWEVER, I have trained for 2 half marathons during that same time (Correlation? Maybe another post for another day) and all that work hasn't been for naught.

In recent weeks, I've had my most exciting NSV to date other than maybe the day I truly buckled my seatbelt on plane for the first time without an extension or riding a bike as an adult for the first time last summer.

I tried on these size 16 pants...


And they fit! They completely and utterly fit! (No, I didn't buy them because frankly they were ugly on me.) But the important part is THEY FIT!

Then something mind blowingly awesome happened...my roommate who is 5'4" and by all terms in my eyes "thin" said she may have a dress I could fit into from when she was heavier.

So I tried it (also a size 16) on...


What, the Whaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaat?! Are you kidding me? It fits PERFECTLY!

Like I said, Mind. Blown. I always thought of Karen as my little "skinny" friend. The fact that I am now able to fit into some of her old clothes - even if they are her "bigger" clothes - is amazing to me. I also inherited a shirt and some pj pants.

Not to mention a 16 is only 2 sizes away from the size I've always had in my mind that I would feel "normal" at - a 12. I don't know why this number is in my head, but as mental as it sounds it just is.

Aka it is the size I've always thought of as I-will-never-in-my-life-get-there. So, maybe that 12 is attainable after all.

My favorite dress is no more

A couple weeks ago I traveled to my hometown of St. Louis, Missouri to see my dear friend get married to her soul mate. I was serving as the guestbook attendant and music master, so I was invited to the rehearsal dinner.

I brought this dress to wear to the rehearsal. I hadn't worn it since the spring/summer the year before so I brought a "back-up" dress that was more casual "just in case." Well thank God I did!

After slipping the freshly dry cleaned dress hurriedly over my head, I realized this. was. not. going. to. work. The arm holes hung so low you could see my WHOLE bra strap and there were about 4 inches in between my body and the fabric on both sides. When I walked out of the room I was dressing in, my mom says, "just hold your arms down." Uh, thanks mom....

I'm not sure on what earth I thought I could still wear this size 28 dress when I had brought a brand new size 18 dress to wear at the wedding the next day. Really, I thought I could wear two different dresses in 5 sizes apart? I read people say all the time that their brain does not stay "caught up" with their body as they lose a significant amount of weight. I guess this was my brain's way of playing it a little slow.

I'm really sad to lose this piece of clothing. I bought it on a vacation in Pensacola. I wore it to my friend Annie's wedding and to my sister's rehearsal dinner, among so many other "special occasions." It's sleeveless, but I never felt self conscience wearing it without covering up my arms. It really is the perfect dress.

My loss is your gain, however, and I have posted it on Great Clothing Exchange. I've had it for a couple years, but it's honestly been worn less than 10 times so I wanted it to go to a good home. And it can be yours for the cost of shipping. Just head over there and leave a comment. The winner will be chosen at random on Monday.