Two Great Things

Hello everyone!  I apologize for being so quiet as of late.  It's not that I haven't wanted to check in, I have just been busy enjoying spring.

I set a goal in late March to take the dog and visit all the state parks within 2 hours of my home of which there are TWENTY-FIVE!    Since I made this goal I have visited four.  And I'm loving it!
It's beautiful watching the parks "green up".  It's not very wet here so the trails are dry and it's still can be chilly so there are not many people, which gives the dog and I the sense that we are out in nature alone.  And anytime I feel alone in nature is when I feel most connected to my Higher Power.
Nice.

But I know I could only be doing these hikes because I have found a deeper abstinence which is helping me shed my excess pounds.  And those shed pounds are giving me energy, stamina, and strength to go up and down bluffs along the river, to go five miles at a time, and to catch myself smiling while doing it!  What a great thing!

But I did title this TWO great things didn't I.

The other great thing...When I started regaining weight, I put all the clothes that didn't fit in a big tub.  About a month ago I went through it and tried some things on and about 1/3 of the tub mostly fit but I only took out about five items but that's all that really fit me.
But last night I got out the tub again and tried everything on and EVERY SINGLE ITEM FIT ME!!  Holy crap?!  Approximately 6 pants, 6 jeans, five skirts, about 15 shirts, and 7 dresses!  And 80% of the items are summer-wear which means I have CLOTHES that FIT again!  And I didn't have to go SHOPPING (I loathe shopping).
The clothes are timeless in the fashion sense, are cute, and show off my new figure!  What a great thing to happen at the end a week that was kind of crazy and stressful. 

What's that you ask?  I mentioned a new figure but didn't talk about it??

Well, I don't exactly know how much I've lost because I made a deal with my sponsor to stop weighing for a couple weeks.  But in October I was wearing 18W and barely wearing those.  But everything in the box was either an XL, or a misses 16 or 14!!!!  I cannot believe it!  I knew I had lost weight but since I didn't shop for new clothes I didn't understand the extend of what I'd lost.  So the jump from the "W" to a "misses" means I'm losing my hip and thigh girth, and then to drop two sizes??  Nice!

So that's what's up with me. 

I'd love to hear what's up with you??? 

Giving up or facing the truth

Last summer I had gained 20lbs and none of my summer shirts fit.  My weight is still up there.
I bought 3 shirts and wore them (and a few older items I could stretch out) all summer long.

I. Was. Miserable.

I was not willing to face the fact that I had gained weight and I was feeling financial poor, so I suffered all summer and refused to buy clothes.

Well ta'heck with that!

I went shopping last night.  I got a pair of capri's, a pair of jeans, and 10 shirts!!!  TEN!!   And I'm ordering another 6 tonight!

I'm a big-boned person and even at my thinnest, I still barely fit into an XL because I have massive shoulders.  So, of course, now I do not fit into them at all! 
So I had to shop plus sizes..which is why I refused to buy last year.

But it was so freeing!!  And by that I mean it felt good to have things fit (or be too big).  To feel like I have clothes to wear again.  To feel like I'm not a great big blob of a human being and that all my clothes just accentuate that blubbery fact.
And yes, I did have all those feelings almost every day last year.

So, here it is.  I wear a 1X.  I look good in a 1X. It fits my shoulders and you cannot see all my back bra lines and "bumps" surrounding them (I hate that on me-ick). 

This weekend I'm cleaning out my closets and drawers.  I'm going to pack away all the clothes that do not fit me...and if by NEXT summer they still do not fit, I will not even open the containers, I will just give them away. 
I am done torturing myself with a closet full of clothes that don't fit (or I'm even afraid to try on).  It is not worth it...but I am!