Before and Nearly After

I'm a big fan of "before and after."  I love the idea of starting with something, and seeing change over time, no matter what it is or how much time has passed.  I LOVED the show "Trading Spaces" and watched it religiously, not because I was decorating anything, but because I loved seeing how people re-made their lives.  The designers were fine, the paint colors pretty - but it was the big reveal - and how the homeowners responded that sucked me in.


That led to "Extreme Makeover:  Home Edition," which I still cannot watch because I can't take the crying - and by that, I mean my own.  Ty Pennington, who began with Trading Spaces, launched this show and has probably changed more people's lives than he can imagine- and that's pretty cool.


Then came the darker side of before and after - "Hoarders."  That show makes my skin crawl, and not in the interesting, celebrity-laced, "Grey Gardens" sort of way.  The "before" of Hoarders, because it is chock full of sadness and real human turmoil, is more than I can take.  Enter next the endless parade of rehab and intervention shows, often in a marathon on A&E, and soon you'll find me on the floor in the fetal position, drooling on myself out of sheer sadness for these people.

Some before and after stories are not intended.  Think about President Clinton - before he was in the Oval Office, he was young and vibrant.  After his years in the White House, like most presidents, he is aged and gray beyond what most may think is appropriate for only 8 years, but in some ways more distinguished (and to my mind, much more handsome).

Some are inspiring.  Songbird Susan Boyle's makeover transformation is just amazing - she looks younger and prettier.  The same can be said of my perennial favorite, Madonna - gone is the Material Girl look, only to be supplanted dozens of times by her many faces, each one more beautiful as she gets older.

What the hell was I thinking?

My life is now going through a big before and after.  In fact, it's practically unrecognizable to anyone who knew me 5 years ago... back then, I was married to a different man, living in Florida, working at a completely different place.  Add to this my past 12 weeks on this diet, and you see a whole different girl - new name, new hairdo, new body, new family - new life.  If you go back even further, like high school, it's an even more dramatic change.  In my defense, I say that first of all, it was 1990.  Oh, the hair and makeup - I know.  The tragedy of it all.  But hark - is that a jawline?  All I remember is thinking I was fat back then - but I see no evidence of it now.


This week, I weighed in, and here are the stats:

Weight 227.

2 lbs. lost this week.

41 lbs. lost total.

These photos document the start of Week 13.  

The fact that I've lost over 40 lbs, and I'm feeling really excited about that, makes me think about the "after" quite a lot.  What will that look like?  Will I be grayer around the temples, but more attractive like President Clinton?  Will I change my hair to blonde like the Material Girl? Will I actually find my way through the next 3-5 months of this diet and emerge a svelte 160-pound woman?  And what the heck is that woman going to wear?  

I don't know.  I just know that I've had enough "before."  I'm ready for my "after."