trying to inspire, version 2

I’ll admit it – I live in a state of perpetual self-delusion. According to my mirror, I’ve always been a size 8. It didn’t matter that my face got a little rounder, or that I was wearing the largest size that the plus-size store carries. I slid on my size 28 jeans every day, and my mirror said I looked fabulous.

When I started traveling for my first post-college job, I found I couldn't buckle the airplane seatbelts. Have you ever had to ask for an extender? It’s humiliating, and was enough to shake my version of reality. What 24-year-old has to ask for a seatbelt extender? So I started buying more vegetables. I even bought some workout DVDs. And I didn't change my lifestyle a single bit.

After I moved back to Colorado, my mirror image continued to hide my waistline, and had me completely convinced that it was the thin mountain air that made me winded during a walk. In what could only be called a momentary lapse of reality, I agreed when my mom asked me to go with her to Weight Watchers. I was completely against the thought of talking to a group of strangers about my weight (which was not a problem!) – but I went.

I don’t know what I expected, but I do know that what I saw in the mirror was altered drastically when I stepped on the scale for the first time. The “Guess My Weight” game I had been playing was over, and all I could see was the 195-lb difference between the scale and what Weight Watchers said was a healthy BMI for my height. I didn’t cry; I was too shocked.

I’m still working on a new version of reality. The weight fell off at first, but after losing 50 pounds, I almost gave up. The scale said the plan was working, but I looked exactly the same. It took those “strangers” to remind me that my energy was up and my clothes were too big. I pushed through it, and in just about 21 months, I’ve lost almost 150 pounds. I actually eat more vegetables, and I consistently walk 3 miles in the thin mountain air. Thanks to Weight Watchers, I can live my life like any other 26-year-old. It still needs some work, but this girl is now far closer to the size 8 in the mirror than ever before.