Friday night I took my measurements and went online to look at a size chart. OMG. Have you ever done this? When I looked at the chart it says I'm supposed to be...I'm none of the sizes listed! My measurements are not on the chart! According to the charts (and I looked at several), I am three different sizes (my bust, hips, and waist are not in the same size and the size between each is wide; no pun intended). No wonder I'm not finding clothes that fit me.

Then and now

I feel like wearing girly-girl clothes. I'm SO over wearing black and white--I want vibrant colors!  I have a handful of summer dresses and a ton of blouses, but I want some short skirts. I recently dropped another size, so I just need to find the place where my size exists. Size doesn't matter, but where oh where are clothes my size?

Last summer I discovered Dress Barn, but everything I liked was a size 8. My trip there yesterday lasted 2 hours and I left empty-handed. I can see things there fit better, but nothing in the styles I want.

To boost my morale, which was low after not having any success at Dress Barn, I went into my photos and pulled a photo from my days of being a size 30/32 to post here next to my current size. I'm telling you, a photo is worth a thousand words.

I know I've said this a million times on this blog, but it's worth repeating: take photos and take them often!

Looking at myself in the size 30/32 photo next to a photo taken last month, there is no denying my transformation. Wooohoo! As big as I may some days feel--I am not the size I used to be. I have come a long way. Sure, I wish it was faster, but it is what it is and I'm so far from a size 30/32.

I also booked a refresher, because I want to reach maintenance and I need a boost to help me get there. Yes, I'm having success dropping weight again, but I want to push through to the finish line. I called today and have an appointment for next month.

To those of you reading this: do whatever it takes to stay the course to make it to your finish line. However long it takes - you are worth it.

June 23, 2014

I have been on Julie's program for well over 2 years. Still have not strayed, fallen off the wagon, or cheated. Still going strong, and just have a peace inside of me that I WILL get to my goal.

I have noticed in the past few months I have begun an unusual habit. Certainly not a normal one in my book or in my husband's.

I have begun smelling food. Yup, you heard me right!

If my dear husband goes to eat something unusual, or that looks really yummy, I have to smell it. Poor Greg, he can't have a dessert without my sticking my nose in it first.

We were on vacation at an all inclusive the end of winter, and my dear hubby enjoyed a few desserts. Well, he enjoyed them AFTER my nose was in them!

Why do I smell food? Who knows! BUT I must say, some of the fragrances are absolutely delightful. They do not provoke a craving, I just enjoy the smell.

I was telling Theresa about this habit one day, and she likened it to smelling beautiful flowers. We love to smell a fragrant flower but it doesn't mean we are going to eat it. At least I am not going to!! Even though before Julie, I could have eaten everything in sight!!!

I work in a bakery now, have since before my trip to Italy in the fall. I love to bake and seeing no one eats it at home, it is the perfect job for me.

I guess I can pinpoint my strange new behavior as starting in Italy. My father ate the pastries and desserts. He kept telling me they were not sweet even though they sure looked sweet to me. Thus began my smelling food habit.

On an average day at the bakery, while stuff is baking I can not smell it. I figure Julie must have something to do with that. But once in a while I just have to stick my nose into something and smell it. My co-workers find it funny that it doesn't make me want to eat it, but I just enjoy the fragrance.

These are just some of the beautiful flowers in my garden.

Hopefully my food smelling habit doesn't get to out of control!! One of my friends, laughingly said to me, "I sure hope you can contain yourself in a restaurant and not start smelling everyones food! I can see you at therapy now for food smelling!"

LOL! Gotta love your friends!!!

I am going for a refresher this week and plan to ask Julie about this food smelling thing. Will keep you posted!

June 09, 2014

Two months ago, I spent a few hours with three of my key friends / blog contributors and we had a blast. We had a nice lunch together and then walked for an hour or more   something none of us could have endured before this program.

Selfie: Linda, Jennifer, Alaina, Theresa

We met at Johnny's Bar & Grille for lunch. All of us ordered the same thing: bone-in salt and pepper chicken wings, fried Brussels sprouts, seltzer with lots of lemons, and an extra large order of laughing and talking. The staff were fabulous and they were so kind to take our photo again and again until they had one with just the right light.

Alaina, Jennifer,  Theresa, Linda

After lunch, we walked across the street to Mount Holyoke College to tour the beautiful library and to see the Dale Chihuly sculpture Clear and Gold Tower. After the our self-tour of the library, we headed outside toward lower lake.

As we walked across campus, the laughter continued. We were all so relaxed and it was a beautiful day, so I pulled my camera. I had to seize the moment and do a photo shoot of everyone. It was an honor to capture the fun spirit of each of these women.

Usually I would insert a "before" photo next to these photos, but this time, I want to let the photos speak for themselves.

Alaina

Jennifer

Linda

Theresa

When my photo was taken, we didn't realize the video button was selected and consequently we recorded a rather funny moment, but some moments are not to be shared beyond close friends. This was one of those moments.

June 06, 2014

One of the great things about this weight loss program is that I don't think about food all the time. Yes, I plan what I'm going to eat, but only when I'm going to buy groceries. This doesn't mean I don't have a strategy, it just means I don't need to obsess about food.

Finnian asked:

Hi I have a question about some of the strategies or "tricks" as you refer to them...In the sessions I attended she never said anything about "tapping away hunger" or "don't wanna want it" can you explain to me what these things mean?

Tap, tap, tap, is not a phrase Julie uses. During one of my initial sessions Julie described a technique to use when we have sugar cravings. As she spoke about sugar cravings getting stronger and stronger, one of her hands moved closer to her body and then she gave us the suggestion to push away the sugar cravings. Over the years that I've been following this program, I turned that concept into the phrase tap, tap, tap, which I use as a reminder to push away cravings. 

I don't know about you, but I like having energy to do other things in my life instead of thinking about my next fix, I mean meal. In order for this to happen, having a strategy helps.

What's My Strategy?

My strategy is similar to Nike's famous brand statement, I just do it. I follow the plan as Julie taught me and after three years of just doing in, I don't have to think what I'm doing - I just do what I've trained myself to do. Sure, there are days I wonder about what to cook, plenty days in fact, but this program is a way of life for me.

To get to this zen-like place, I did a lot of thinking along the way. I was full of questions that only I could answer. The question that kept coming up again and again was Why am I on a plateau?

I asked my key friends for their sage wisdom about plateaus and what they do when they're on one. In response, they asked two questions: 1) what are you eating? and 2) when are you eating? Let's take a closer look at what they had to say...

What are You Eating?

We tend to get in a rut and eat the same foods...change is good. Think about what you're eating and change up the foods. Breakfast for example, should not be the same every day. When we repeat the same meals, our bodies think "oh no, another diet" and it starts storing fat because it thinks we're going to starve it.

• Army men - if you're eating anything that will bring out the army men, stop now!
• Too much milk - try two weeks of cutting your milk and see if this makes any difference.
• Cut back on the vodka - the caution here is if you drink to much, you may end up eating things that you will regret in the morning.
• Big coffee drinker - scale back.
• Are you only having breakfast foods for breakfast? Mix it up and have chicken for breakfast.
• Are you eating the same foods - it's essential to eat a variety of foods or your body thinks it's on a diet and holds onto your weight.
• Cheese - it's a condiment and the sooner you accept this and treat it as such, the better for you. 
• Cook simpler.  We don't need to make complicated meals three times a day. Keep it simple. Simple doesn't have to be boring, it's just less work. Less work means more time for fun. Fun is good! Go have some fun.

When are You Eating?

• Eat only when you are hungry.
• Stop eating when you're full.
• Milk - while we are not limited to how much milk we drink, we were warned NOT to drink milk by the gallon. 
• Pepperoni - now that I’ve become a meat lover, I've given up pepperoni as a regular item on my menu. When I started this program I didn’t like meat AT ALL and I asked about pepperoni and was told it was allowed. A few months ago I decided I want to drop another size more than I want pepperoni. It's all about free-will.
• Condiments - a wise key friend recently said: Julie gave us meat and veggies, not meat, veggies, and condiments. We are allowed condiments to enhance our foods, not have the whole bottle. Also essential: “nothing sweet to the lips” means if a condiment (or any food) tastes sweet, we shouldn’t eat it. I no longer using Marie’s salad dressing and I’m looking for new ways to enjoy tuna and chicken — am I really going to say it aloud, omg, yes — without mayo!
• Eating the same food daily - variety in our foods is essential. I make smaller dishes instead of large batches that I ate over the next few days.

What to Do if You're on a Plateau?

1. Accept that plateaus are a natural part of the weight loss process. 
2. Have patience. Your body plateaus so it has time to heal.
3. Look at your fat intake. Are you eating a lot of bacon, hot dogs, butter, mayo? Cut way back on fatty foods. 
4. Get moving - find a form of exercise that you can do and start moving. Set goals for yourself and keep to your commitment.
5. Be gentle with yourself. This is a learning process. Along the way, you may discover things you are eating that are not on program. Realize your mistake and move on - today. There are no tomorrows - we only have today. Seize the moment.

Image source: Fitness Health Wellness Professional Fitness Institute

June 05, 2014

My brother and his wife were invited to celebrate the birthdays of a couple we've known for over thirty years. Both the husband and wife turned 80 in May and to celebrate our friends invited four couples to join them on a cruise. My brother was not able to go and I was invited in his place. All I had to do was pay for my ticket to Florida and back, and to bring along at least two formal dresses. Who am I to say no to such an incredible invitation? What's a girl to do? Start looking for formal dresses of course!

View from my balcony on the Oasis of the Seas.

A few weeks after I accepted this fabulous gift, something incredible happened: one of our key friends posted a notice she had 8 bags of clothes ranging from size 12-18 to give away to the first person who contacted her. I responded right away and we arranged to meet at her house.

I spent about an hour on her front steps, listening to her inspiring weight loss story. After our visit, she brought the bags out to the steps and I loaded them into my trunk. As I walked toward my car with the last bag, I heard her call out from inside the house.

"Hold on! I have some more."

I looked up and saw her coming out the front door with her hands full of beautiful dresses. I'm so grateful and fortunate to have made this connection.

Back home I sorted through the clothes and put the items that were too small into a bin, I wrote a note and placed it on top before closing the lid. The note read: beautiful clothes that will fit me soon.

The dresses she handed to me were size 12's and 14's and too small for me last summer, but I was optimistic they would fit me by the time I went on the cruise.  I hung the dresses in the left side of my closet, next to other clothes waiting for me to fit into them.
As summer turned to fall, I kept pulling the beautiful dresses out of my closet and holding them up to me in front of my full length mirror. I could see they did not to fit yet; my body was wider than the dresses.

January, February, and then March passed, and each time I stepped in front of the mirror, the results were the same: the dresses were still beautiful and still too small.

The first of April, after having lunch with some of my key friends in South Hadley, I invited Jennifer and Linda to my house to get their opinion on a formal dress I had bought for the cruise that I was unsure of how it looked. I felt it clung to my backside too much and in the end I returned it. While they were at my house, I put on a black dress from my key friend for them to help me determine if it was too tight.

They agreed with me, it was too tight. I showed them the other dresses and said how sad that they too were to small. Jennifer suggested I try them on, but I said no; I was positive they would not fit. After they left, I decided to try them on and I was shocked--I could get into all but two of the dresses. I would not go outside my house in any of them, as they were way too tight, but I could fit into them.

What shocked me so much was that these dresses looked so small. I was in awe. Am I really that small? Despite the fact that they were skin tight - the fact that I could get into them was incredible.

Tick tock. Time was running out and I still had to get my formal dresses lined up.

A friend in New York sent me a dress that she was confident would fit me and that it would look incredible. When it arrived, I tried it on and she was right. The floor length red dress was a beautiful color on me, but it needed to be shortened and altered to fit me better. I asked around for a good tailor.

One dress down, one more to go.

Two summers ago I bought a few beautiful dresses and they're too big under the arms. I decided to take them to the tailor as well. I was lucky again, as prom season was closing in and the tailor would have just enough time to finish my dresses on time.

Meanwhile, I kept trying on those size 12 and 14 dresses right up until a few days before I left. They fit much better, but they were still too tight. In the end, those beautiful dresses did not go in my suitcase. It turns out that I had exactly the right number of pretty dresses to bring with me.

This cruise wasn't only about dresses, although I have a ton of photos of me wearing all my beautiful dresses. There were a couple physical challenges I gave myself while on the cruise that I could not have done prior to losing this weight. I'll share those stories and more in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, here are some photos in my beautiful dresses. This first photo was taken outside of the Ritz-Carlton in Naples, FL, where the first of many birthday celebrations took place. I felt like a celebrity when we arrived. Getting out of a stretch limo in a short dress while others are watching, was interesting!

Did you ever get into a stretch limo in a short dress?

This is the beautiful red dress my friend gave me.

This is one of the dresses I had the tailor make smaller.

Same dress in 2012 and 2013, which I had altered before the cruise.

I couldn't resist showing this same dress that I had altered to wear last Halloween.

Buying a dress off a street vendor in Jamaica was not possible when I was a size 30/32. And, at the insistence of our host, I bought the hat the same day from another vendor. There was a time, when the hat would have been the only thing on the street that would fit me.

The big birthday celebration was in Cozumel, Mexico.

This is is the other formal dress, which I had in my closet.

Ten of us traveled on the Oasis of the Seas to Haiti, Jamaica, and Mexico

June 01, 2014

One of the key concepts is to eat local veggies and to eat them when they are in season. Here in the Pioneer Valley asparagus season is underway (May through June). Now is the time for us to indulge in asparagus and to get you started, here's a delicious recipe for oven-roasted asparagus.

Oven-Roasted Asparagus

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 pounds green asparagus
• olive oil
• sea salt (optional)
• fresh ground black pepper
• 2 large eggs (which you will hard-boil)
• chopped flat-leaf parsley or chives, for garnish

Directions

Heat the oven to 425ºF

Prepare the asparagus:

1. Asparagus need to be cleaned very well, as dirt gets trapped under the tips and is unpleasant to eat. Grasp each spear at both ends and bend it, it will snap in half; the top half is edible and tender. Save the bottoms to add to a stock.
2. Fill a bowl with cold water and submerge the asparagus spear tips and swirl them around a few times, loosening up and removing any grit. If necessary, repeat in a few changes of water to ensure that all grit is removed. 
3. Wash and towel-dry the asparagus and then peel the tough skin off the stalks with a vegetable peeler.

After preparing the asparagus:

1. Drizzle a few spoonfuls of olive oil on a baking sheet and sprinkle with (optional) salt and pepper. 
2. Toss the asparagus in the oil and roast in the oven, turning the spears a few times during roasting, for 18 to 20 minutes or until the asparagus is tender when you poke a knife into the stems. Don’t overcook them.
3. While the asparagus are cooking, hard-boil the eggs, drain the water from the pot, add ice and cold water, and then let the eggs sit in the water until they are cool.
4. Option: instead the eggs, use shavings of Parmesan or Pecorino cheese, crumbled feta, or crispy bits of bacon.
5. Place the asparagus on a serving platter. 
6. Peel the eggs and then use a cheese grater with large holes to grate the eggs over the asparagus.
7. Sprinkle chopped parsley or chives over the asparagus and serve. 
8. This dish may be served hot or at room temperature. 

Photo source and original recipe

May 31, 2014

If you are on a plateau, I encourage you to go and try on clothes in stores. Not crazy all over the place-just a few stores that you have tried in the past-Touch base with yourself! I learned A LOT earlier this week when I went shopping.

Talbots May 2014 (left) and Coldwater Creek February 2013 (right)

When I look in the mirror, I don't see ONE change. But, trying on clothes? Big change! In October 2013, I didn't buy these pants-they fit awful. I wanted them to fit so badly! But, tenacity paid off-I kept to my exercise routine and clean eating (meat/veggies/hardly any condiments) and 6 months later I found a prettier pair of pants in a smaller size!

Going to stores and trying on clothes helps you gauge a lot. Yes, using your own clothes is helpful, but sometimes can be frustrating. I am a very curvy person, so I do most of my shopping in women's stores: Chicos, Coldwater Creek (I will miss them as they are closing maybe by July-even the salesclerks don't know!) and Talbots, to name a few. I only grab a few articles-mainly pants as this is my toughest body part. I grab a couple of different sizes as well. But NEVER a larger size than what I want to fit into as I do NOT want my body to think that size is OK!

May 2014 (left) November 2013 (right) Not a huge change, but noticeable! Yippee!

This a pair of shorts (above photo on the right right) I have used since last October when I went to a refresher and decided I no longer wanted to be a 6-8, but a 4-6 (long story!!!!)  I have been trying them on and taking pictures. For the longest time, no change! Took more pictures today: BIG change in how they fit (above photo on the right left)!

The odd thing: When I just look in the mirror, I don't see the change! Only in the pictures! Wild. I am not whining. I am being truthful about not seeing a difference. Moral of this story? Go shopping. Be realistic. And go WALK! lol. I can't believe I am posting these.....but, I guess it's proving what tenacity and believing can do. Your plateau will take as long as it takes! It is up to you to work through them! Move more, be consistent. Be careful with condiments! (This includes cheese! I hardly ever eat it anymore!)

Did I say move? I mean it! Most of you know I have a Fitbit, and I have logged over 480 MILES since March 13!!!! That commitment moved me from my plateau, I know it!!! And go try on some clothes!

May 26, 2014

Meet Jennifer M, who started at a size 14 and is now a size 2-4. Jennifer is asking for help with a problem many of us have experienced. Despite the fact that all her clothes have literally fallen off her body, she's having trouble seeing the changes in her mirror, and she's nervous about starting maintenance.

Mirror, mirror, on the wall...

Here's Jennifer's story and questions:

I follow your blog and I love reading the posts. I first went to Julie in September of 2013 and I have had amazing success, but I think I need a little bit of advice and I really do not know where to turn. Since your blog has been such a great resource for me the last several months, I thought maybe you could give me some advice/insight as to what I am feeling.

First, I should tell you that I was always thin, often considered underweight. I started gaining weight in college. The pounds came on rapidly and I just figured it was the "freshman 15." Each year, I gained more and more and was finally diagnosed with Polycystic Ovarian Syndrome (PCOS), after several years of searching for answers to several health mysteries.

Through the PCOS diagnosis, I ended up receiving fertility treatments (more weight gain!) which resulted in a pregnancy. Being pregnant was the only time I was able to lose weight and I lost 30 pounds. Once my daughter was born, the weight came back on and  15 extra pounds. I never have eaten terribly, and I am extremely active, but no matter what I ate or how much time I spent at the gym, the weight wouldn't budge. After researching PCOS and talking to my family, I learned that Hashimoto's disease is closely related and it runs in my family.

It was around the time I was diagnosed with this that I went to my first session with Julie. I was an extremely tight size 14. I listened to what she said and I followed all of her instructions. I did not have the same triggers as you and others on the blog have mentioned. I just ate my meat and veggies because I felt good not eating the other junk. I wasn't totally convinced that the hypnosis worked on me because of this, but I firmly believed that the principles of the program make sense, especially for my health.

Now I'm between a size 2 and 4. I have not strayed from the program. I had to purchase an entirely new wardrobe because my old clothes literally fell off my body. I get complements every day.

My problem is that I don't see any change when I look in the mirror. I'm scared that this could become a serious problem... forcing me to never go into maintenance because I'm scared to eat anything else, or worse--trigger an eating disorder.

My goal when I saw Julie was to get into a size 6. I have surpassed that, but I'm still not pleased because I don't see a change. Also, Julie had said that maintenance should start after a year on the program. I am not there yet. (Note from Theresa: I believe this was a misunderstanding in something Julie said, as there is not set time when one should begin maintenance.)

Do you have any thoughts or similar experiences? I am not sure what to do at this point. I am scheduled to see my doctor next month and I plan to bring my concerns to him, but I would love some insight from someone who has been through it all.

Jennifer, congratulations on your incredible success in reaching your goal size! This is no small feat, as we all know. I'll do my best to answer your questions and concerns from my own experience and I hope others will respond with their experiences too.

As far as seeing your body changes in the mirror goes, just about everyone I know has expressed they too had problems seeing their weight loss at one time or another. I often hear others refer to poochy belly, their arms as bat wings, or thunder thighs, the list goes on and on.

After a week of being with 5 other women during my vacation, I noticed that this list is something all women seem to have and not just women who have lost weight. Every time I showed a photograph to one of my traveling friends, they always criticized themselves, despite the fact that they looked beautiful in the photo. If they didn't point out something about their body, then it was something about what they were wearing. I was keenly aware of this every time I showed them a photo, even the woman in her 70's who was very petite! So, it isn't just because we've lost weight, it seems to be common for women to speak negatively about their bodies.

Seeing our new bodies and adjusting to them in our heads is not easy. This is something each of us has to work through for ourselves. This is all about self-acceptance. It's essential for each of us to make this transition to see our bodies as they really are, to see the positive, and to stop focusing on our flaws. Look at those photos of you in your tight 14's - you are not that same woman! Do this often.

I don't want my life to be a constant battle with myself over my size when I'm at goal; I refuse to live this way. When I was a 30-32 and never saw myself that size either. I'm determined to work through this issue. I want to live life to the fullest and not be so self-obsessed with my body. I am determined to start this process now and if I'm still seeing myself the size I really am when I reach my goal, I'm go to therapy.

This is all part of the journey, as is going on maintenance. What you're describing about being fearful of maintenance is normal. Julie tells us we must be willing to play the game (of maintenance) in order to take this weight off and keep it off. Maintenance is about bringing foods back in slowly and intentionally. Along the way, we will gain some weight and we will take it off by going back into the river. We repeat this process, adding new foods as we feel ready, going up and down within our goal size (not up in size, up to a tight goal size) until we get it and our body realizes this is our new pattern.

You can do this, just as you've done the rest of the program. Julie taught you maintenance in your classes and you have all the knowledge within you to achieve this goal too. Trust the process. Trust yourself. This will take time. How much time varies from person to person, but trust you to will get there!

Thanks for sharing your story.

May 21, 2014