Thursday, October 7, 2010

Fun Shopping



It's fun shopping in your own closet.

I'd let myself go. Four years ago in a fit of disgust and loathing, I took to dieting, and was fairly successful at it. within several months I lost 3 sizes and finally could stand to face a mirror. It was fall, nothing fit, so I shopped like a recovering nudist.

Before long, a little voice in the back of my head told me, "it's over, I'm hungry, time to stop this now." Stopping became a very clear, conscious decision. The weight and more returned.

The fit of disgust returned last fall, but this time I told myself, no diets. I vowed to lose the girth, first through exercise, which I fully understand has little to nothing to do with weight loss, but all to do with health. I began slowly.

Initially, I gained weight, but lost inches. Slowly, I became conscious of how many miles of treadmill time it takes to work off that bag of M&M's I craved, and learned to deal with the trade offs. I've come to accept that junk food is not a reward.

The gym routine is 2 days on, 1 day off, and has been for a year. I despise every day going to the gym, but do like the results, medically as well as physically, more than I hate the routine.

Today, the clothes I purchased 4 years ago, still practically new, fit fairly well, and men's clothing never goes out of style. I haven't lost much weight, but am in the best shape of my life. Today is an off day, so it must be a beautiful sunshiny day.

If I can do it, anyone can.

Toad

12 comments:

Anonymous said...

Congratulations Toad, I know it can be hard to motivate at any age. I tried going to the gym for a while but I really just didn't like the workout or the environment. I have a lot of respect for people that can keep the routine going. It's great to hear you found a balance that suits your lifestyle, it's something we should all endeavor towards.

I'm now trying to jog or play tennis everyday and do push ups/sit ups; as I'm of the mindset that if it's good enough for my brother in the Marines, it's good enough for me.

Jane Kilpatrick Schott said...

Oh, Toad, you too? A voice of reason in this horrible blight we all deal with. Weather turning cooler here so it is feasible to go outside and not faint. Putting some air in my bike tires right after I eat this damn banana instead of a big bagel with everything.

Damn...why don't carrot sticks taste as good as M&M's?

Kim said...

Congratulations! Slow and steady wins the race. Now I just need to heed that advice myself and get in the race.

Suburban Princess said...

Congratulations! Yay YOU! It's not easy losing weight in the tasty world we live in! It's so much fun shopping in one's own closet - now that I have lost the baby weight I can fit into all my fave clothes again so I know how happy you are right now!

M.Lane said...

Way to go. I have an "on again off again" relationship with my waistline and it is mainly on again!

ML
mlanesepic.blogspot.com

SouthernProletariat said...

Very proud of you!

Patsy said...

If 3 weeks makes a habit, a year must mean a lifetime commitment.

Hopefully, your great grandchildren will be able to thank you in person.

Toad said...

Many thanks to each of you. My one, unspoken bit of advice is please don't let yourself go. It's near impossible to recover.

ADG said...

Good on you Toad! I've been a runner for years and I tell people that anyone who says the LOVE running WHILE they are running is lying their a_s off. The reward is after the run, when you are finished and the sweat and endorphins are greeted with the reality that it's over.

Great for you Toad.

preppyplayer said...

Good, classic clothing AND feeling fit, trim and healthy never goes out of style!

Anonymous said...

Yeah!!! So proud of you. Want you around for a long while to come. Love KT

Shelley said...

Well done you! Enjoying your clothes is a far better reward than junk food, I think. That and the sense of moral superiority one can get when having done something tough. I'm impressed (and more than a little envious that men's clothes don't go out of style).