Friend of Julie: Measuring Success

I'm on program, in the river (eating the right foods), and exercising, although not as much as I'd like (I'm still doing PT for my arm/neck issue). But that's not everything I should be doing. I dropped the ball on a really big one: measuring my success.

I'm really kicking myself for not following Julie's suggestion to measure ourselves along the way. If you haven't measured yourself, go do it now. Don't wait!

I wrote down some crazy encrypted notes about my measurements when I first started, but I can't figure out my own code. I live alone, so how nuts is this that I didn't want anyone to know my measurements, so I wrote them in such I way that I can't decipher them. What do 5 numbers mean? Why is the first number smaller than the second number? Even if I take away the first number, there is no way those measurements can be right. I know I've lost more than 5 inches off my waist!

That's the old me. Today, I'm taking control of my measurements. I've written them down and I'm going to write them down once a month until I reach my goal size, so I can see my progress.

So, what's a girl to do when she's feeling like the same size? Go buy some new blue jeans! Yup, that's what I did yesterday. I feel great in them. They're a size 18 from JC Penney's, which has to be smaller than a size 18 from Lane Bryant. I know not all sizes are created equal, so I'm going to be focused on how good I feel in these jeans instead of why they aren't smaller.

I was rambling on an on the other day: How come my jeans from summer 2011 aren't falling off me yet. Why haven't I lost more weight? When is this belly of mine going to dissolve. Am I still on a plateau? When am I going to reach my goal? It left me wondering what else am I not doing that Julie suggested?

Well, my weight is coming off in different places. My rings are too big; my favorite opal rings swirls around and around. I missed the window of opportunity to wear it; now I need to get it made smaller. My wrists are much smaller. Recently a friend was going on an on about how small my wrists are now. I hadn't noticed! Another friend was complimenting me on how much my face has changed, how much smaller it is now. Weight loss doesn't only come off our hips!

So, yesterday, I got out of my own way and stomped into JC Penney's, determined not to leave until I had at least one pair of jeans to take home. I found two different styles and colors and went home happy. I felt great wearing them all day today!

Have you measured yourself yet - go do it now!