So here’s the real skinny…

Y’all listen..there are things that no one, and I mean NO ONE shares with you about the process of losing weight. I am not one to shy away from the truth about something.  Unless of course, it involves murder or jello..those are things I can not get on board with.  But really, some people will tell you how their lives changed when they lost weight, how they felt so much happier, and some will even share the sweat and tears they shed along the way.  I have recently watched a show about folks that have lost hundreds and hundreds of pounds.  Obesity, on many levels, is something that affects a large percentage of America and we need to be trying to do better.  I am not the person that needs to talk to you about changing your diet totally.  I am not the person that should advocate for getting out and exercising every single day.  I make mistakes and slip ups and whatever else.  But I am also capable of hard work, and change.

Losing weight is something that feels like the longest, hardest road to travel.  But you have to do the work.  There really aren’t any short cuts to eating better and exercising.  There are people that choose to have weight loss surgeries, and while I can respect that it may be the only way for some, it will never be an option for me. There is also something called a beet diet that I can tell you works, but it will beat you down, and  you will want to kill me.  But seriously, if you want to lose some weight quickly, gimme a shout and I will send that diet on out for ya.  I have also done the Dukan Diet with great results, and have that book to loan if someone needs it.  I guess those are the only two real “fad diets” that I have done.  There was a carb strike once when I was in the Navy, but I think that might have been more related to the quality of food I was eating on deployment.  I, just like everyone else, have read about the tea flushes, and the pills that I can’t even spell without looking at Google.  I have many times thought about all the easy ways out, but here’s the thing y’all..easy don’t stick, and easy ain’t worth it. That’s all there is to it.

The first thing that I would like to talk about might be considered too much information, or too personal.  What can I say..I just like to keep it real.  I have lost a considerable amount of weight, and something that I have noticed only more recently in this journey is that my womanly assets seem to be slipping away.  Yes, I am talking about my breasts. (boobs, tits, ect)  While I am ok with losing some, I also don’t want to lose everything, I wasn’t that large chested of a woman to begin with, and having to get new bras has been a little sad.  You prepare to watch the tummy shrink, and the thighs and everything else, and I haven’t lost in this area until now.  The thought of implants even crossed my mind if it gets too much worse as I lose more weight.

Along with buying new bras, I had to get new panties.  Did anyone else lose a lot of weight and report to you that they had underpants that were falling down, and baggy in the booty? Cause I am pretty sure that it’s just me telling you this.  The struggle is real.  As if having to CONTINUALLY replace jeans and shirts hasn’t been daunting enough, I am not sure why it never occurred to me that the undergarments would get so huge as well, but let me tell you it was a damn situation.  I have clothes that I love that I can’t ever wear again, I have clothes that I bought during a sale, and then in a few weeks when the weather changed, or an opportunity to wear something came up, the item was too big, with the tags still on.  The only thing I have been replacing now are jeans, since its kinda hard to not have anything to wear, and I can always rock jeans with a t shirt, or a tank top here in Florida.  I have some dresses that are several sizes too big, but I can still get away with wearing them.

Another thing that I can share about a weight loss journey is that the way you think will be challenged.  I love food.  I like the whole experience of most meals.  I mean come on, I write food reviews, take pics of my food, and am a member of foodie groups.  This has been a real struggle.  Yes, there have been times in the past that I have told myself that I couldn’t eat this, or couldn’t eat that. I have restricted myself to the point where I am miserable. So this time around, I knew that it just wouldn’t work.  I also had to re think the way I went about exercising.  I can tell you that there has been a large amount of pain; there have been bruises, blood and sweat, but I have done this in a way that I haven’t over whelmed myself.  I didn’t set goals that were too difficult to meet or make myself feel like I was going to end up just feeling over it.  I also didn’t start on a certain day like New Year, or set a goal like losing a set amount of pounds by a deadline.  I have just let the changes happen, and I have sometimes realized that with everything I have done to make myself better, it’s all about one day at a time.  Sometimes you can have the tacos, and sometimes you have to eat the lean chicken, but every day you should love yourself anyway.  I have also had to quiet the inner voice that has been there telling me how big I am, how I was going to have to find the largest size of something, and that I wouldn’t feel comfortable wearing a certain outfit.  That voice is still there, sometimes..but she’s not nearly as loud.  I have worked to replace that voice with one that tells me how far I have come, how much I have worked, and how worth the work I am.

If you take anything from this, make it be that you can start today, or start next week.  You can have 100 pounds, or ten pounds to lose. All that matters is that you treat yourself right.  It is very rare that someone else will treat you as well as you can treat yourself, and also only you will know when you are being a brat vs when you really need to let yourself rest.  I have to work on that part a little bit, I could stand to give myself more of a break every now and then.  If you have some tips or stories to share don’t hesitate to drop me a line, I’d love to hear from ya!  I was glad to share some of the funny and frustrating truths about losing weight –the real skinny on getting real skinny. 😉