Feb 4: Inches, away!

Good Friday morning, chubmates,

I trust you've all had a week that could be described with some sort of adjective. I have to say, thus far, I am coping pretty well with winter in Catnada, comparatively speaking. Long time followers know that I struggle with depression, particularly in the winter months. This year my mood has been fairly stable, for whatever reason. This despite the fact my weight is still, after 9.6 pounds of weight loss, at an all time high. Whatever. I got a ton of new clothes on the weekend with my Christmas returns – a couple of outfits at full price goes a long way if you wait for the clearance sales – and I'm faithfully following the DubDub plan, so I feel in control. The lethargy lingers but I chalk that up to ancestral hibernation patterns. Evolution, you done me wrong.

So time flies when you're calorie restricting, n'est-ce pas? I've been on the DubDub straight-not-narrow lifestyle for four weeks now. Lost 1.2 this week, bringing me to 9.6 pounds, as mentioned. Significantly, I hit my 5% goal with this weigh-in. At DubDub, they like to tackle the mental challenge of long-term weight loss by giving people small, achievable goals to focus on to keep them encouraged. So the first goal is to lose 5% of your total body weight. All you math whizzes are getting out your calculators and gasping at the implication. Yes, I was 182.2 at first weigh in. Five foot two. So, yeah, everything I bought at the mall this weekend was size XL. Oh well. It is what it is.

Anyway, point being, if one is not totally embarrassed to put their hand up at a meeting to admit achievement of one of these goals, they will be soon after, because the leader gives you a STICKER, like you're in kindergarten and you made a poopy in the toilet and managed to pull your pants up all on your own. Despite my amusement, I quietly admit to you, my close, discreet circle of friends, that I proudly affixed the 5% sticker (it is, indeed, a STAR with 5% in the middle) to my weight tracker booklet. After all these years, there is still a Pavlovian thrill response attached to receiving merit badges or stickers.

Also, took my measurements last night. First of all, let me stipulate that this is an inexact science. Unless I get a tattoo on my hip and one on my waist – maybe just a line marker – I can't say for sure that I'm measuring the same place each month. With that said, it looks like I've lost an inch off the chest, three inches off the waist, two inches off the hips and one off the thigh. Right on! Maybe.

Okay, have an awesome weekend!