I didn't start out with this goal weight. It evolved over time. At first, my goal was to lose the 10 pounds that I gained while baking during the spring 2020 covid lockdown. I did manage to achieve that within a few months.
I have had a lifetime of being overweight, starting probably when I was five or six. I'm not sure that in 2020, after losing those first 10 pounds , that I expected much more than that initial loss. But I discovered along the way, when Covid persisted, that it was a huge advantage not to "have to" go to any social events that required eating, nor was going to restaurants much of a possibility for quite a while.
So I too persisted in changing my eating to more healthy options while I continued to try to drop some more pounds. It is an extremely slow process, being well over 70. Then my goal became simply: Before I leave this earth, I want to feel comfortable in my body!!
That goal has been accomplished! I wear the size clothes I never expected to wear again. I can cross my legs with ease. I am in no way skinny or thin, but I no longer hate how I look when I see my reflection in a mirror. So there have already been some major changes that are quite wonderful to experience!
Since I changed to eating primarily fruits and vegetables, and since I watched a yucky documentary on the meat industry, I thought it would not be a big leap for me to go vegetarian. Not vegan, just vegetarian. That was six months ago. I do provide moderate sized meat servings for my husband, but I stick with my vegetables, and love the challenges that brings. I have to constantly add to my vegetable recipe repertoire so that I am not bored. I am very fortunate that grocery shopping and cooking are among my favorite activities. It also helps that I am retired!
I did eventually set a goal weight, which would amount to a loss of forty pounds over almost two years. I am four pounds away from that goal (and four months shy of two years). I do hope, and am confident that I will achieve it eventually, although it is quite likely to take another six to eight months. I have discovered that the more one cuts back on their food intake for weight loss, the more one has to keep cutting back in order to maintain it!
But even if I never do lose those last four pounds, I have already changed my health dramatically, changed my size considerably, renewed my wardrobe, changed my attitude toward my body, found comfort in and appreciation for the body I do have. All of those are changes that are just as valuable as any specific number on the scale.
Besides, a number on a scale is a very fluid thing, always subject to change!
Having more confidence, liking myself more, being very healthy, feeling comfortable-- those are things that have already made my life so much better!
I guess you could say this is a positive side-effect of the otherwise terrible miseries of a Pandemic!
