The Transformation

Dear Readers, 

It is hard to write about my daily life without talking about my weight loss journey. I have been purposefully trying to keep this topic light or completely unmentioned because I'm not really here to toot my own horn. I'm here to share bizarre stories. I will try to keep these stories to a minimum, however, I thought this week I'd share my progress to date with you.

I should start by saying, like a lot of people, I hadn't really noticed how out of control my weight had gotten. And some of my resistance to getting healthy was pure stubbornness. "Oh, you think I could lose weight? Haha! I can gain weight!" Because that's healthy. 

I had also spent a very long time trying to convince myself that I was legitimately happy with the way I looked. And generally, I was. Because I never saw myself. So I must look awesome, right? Yeah. That's how the world works. 

I have tried diets many times over the course of my life, which seems like a radical statement to make for someone who is only 22. So, maybe I shouldn't say "many" but rather, "a handful" that sounds better. Most of them, in my mind, were unsustainable, though. I never focused on being healthy. I just wanted to lose some weight and keep eating what I have always been eating. I don't care what those weight loss commercials tell you, that is nearly impossible. 

Every time in the past couple of years that I saw a picture of myself I was completely deviated. How in the world did people let me ruin their pictures by being a large sphere in them. 

Sphere isn't even right, because at least that would be impressive. I was more like a large potato. 

Rough sketch of the accused.

If you didn't laugh at that poorly drawn potato I don't think we can be friends. 

I have been slowly working on making healthier choices for a few months now. That has resulted in a completely made up 1000 pound loss. I literally do not exist any more. 

Seriously, though, I have managed to drop 30 lbs since the middle of January. 

The problem with that is, I don't really notice it. Sure, my jackets fit better. But to me, my face still looks like a lumpy potato. I will say, though, the other day I caught my reflection in the mirror and realized I could see my sternoclidomastoid, which (don't judge me) I always think is sort of attractive. 

Via Wikipedia

 So, that was sort of a cool sign. I didn't really think about it though, until this week when my sister made a comment about how she saw a real change to my face. I wasn't sure I believed it. So, for myself (and now for you) I have put together comparison pictures. 

The before picture on the left is from around Christmas of this year, the one on the right was a week ago. 

And here's a better picture of a potato in the wild, along with a slightly smaller potato! The left is from Fourth of July this last year and the one on the right is again from about a week ago. 

I said at the beginning of this that I don't want to toot my own horn. But, holy crap my sister was right. 

I still have a long way to go. And let me tell you, keeping the motivation up is no easy task. I would love to just eat pizza all the time. But when I look at the past potato to the current potato, how can I quit?