Weekly weigh in #1: Hail to the Queen!

After one week of dieting, I went to the doctor's office this morning to weigh in.  I completed my form, and sat patiently for the door to open at 8am, and handed them  my papers.  My name was called and I went back.  I stepped on the scale.  Moment of truth time.  I exhaled deeply - almost as if it may have mattered - and looked down at the numbers.


258.6.


I lost 10 lbs. in my first week.


Inside, I was screaming, with much more profanity than I'm willing to document here, something like "Holy cow!  I don't believe it!  Woo-hoo!"  Inside, I was exploding bigger and brighter than any fireworks we could have possibly seen last night.


But outside, I was a picture of composure.  I warmly smiled at the woman who recorded my progress; a woman who was tired and not very happy to be back at work after a three day weekend but doing her job anyway.  She was non-plussed - I was freaking elated.  She then took my blood pressure, said I was in good shape, and "ready to go," and sent me to pick up my next three boxes of product.  With $78.00 for my food paid, I was out the door with a week's worth of meals in less than 15 minutes.


My life had just changed in 15 minutes.


I drove to work on cloud nine.  I strolled into our beautiful museum-in-progress, thinking about how my clothes fit more comfortably and how cute my shoes were - the sweet little black flats that had been on my shelf for awhile were now on my feet, rather than the ugly shoes I often wear for comfort.  The sun was on my face, and in my tote was my breakfast shake and my water bottle, and another packet to eat later for lunch.  As I passed friends and co-workers, I smiled - that same smile you get when you meet a new lover or deposit a big tax refund - and when asked, I shared my happy news.  I probably could have been fired today (from a job I truly love) and still come home smiling about this rare and wonderful thing - I have lost 10 lbs.

Around 10am, I began wondering... what does 10 lbs. look like?  


My first mental image was a 5 lb. bag of sugar - I lost two of those - and, judging from the headaches I had last week, lots of sugar indeed left my system.  


All day long I found myself mentally weighing things as I picked them up.  


My Macbook Pro, which I write this very blog on, weighs 5.6 lbs.  I've lost nearly two of those.  I've carried this computer through airports and on journeys in my bag - and felt how heavy it was after running from gate to gate.  And now I've lost two of them.


One of my favorite books ever, Charley Harper:  An Illustrated Life - a gargantuan volume of his incredible work - weighs 5.3 lbs.  I love this book - I have read it dozens of times.  And now, I've lost two Charley Harpers.


All day I kept going with the comparisons.  Six pairs of shoes - and those would be the leather, wedge heeled sandals - no flimsy ballet flats or espadrilles.  18 throw pillows.  Three baskets of laundry.  I lost 10 lbs.


I'm remembering what it feels like to carry that 10 lbs. of unnecessary weight around and the difference just losing that bit has made.  My legs don't feel fatigued.  My back feels better.  I can breathe easier.  I can move with more ease in general.  My clothes aren't snug - they hang more naturally on my frame - or sag.  When hugging me last night, my sweet husband smiled, and said, "you're getting smaller, baby."  I smiled, too.  Not because he loves me more (he doesn't - same as always, which is a TON), but because it's real.  It's really happening.


So tonight, when I came home to the smells of fantastic ground beef being cooked by aforementioned sweet husband, and I watched him make plates of spaghetti and ground beef, salad, and veggies for him and his son, I wasn't fazed.  I dutifully took a deep breath, enjoyed the smell, and began making my third shake of the day.  It was a new flavor - strawberry - and truly disgusting to taste (I won't be having THAT again...), but I am unfettered.  I am focused.  And I feel like royalty.