Just a wee update

It’s been a bit since I last posted, so I thought I’d put out a little update!

Things have been carrying on the same as usual, more or less, but I did pass another biggish milestone recently: I’ve now lost over 150 lbs! I live with whatever the current number is daily, so it’s easy to forget how big that actually is! Here’s a check-in on the state of things currently:

External body stuff: I’ve now lost 25 inches on my waist, 152 lbs, and now have things like a visible jaw line and collarbones. There are other little changes that crop up almost on a week-to-week basis that probably only I would notice. It’s constantly changing, but in good ways. Semi disorienting, but all part of the grand plan, so yay.

Clothes: At my biggest, I was wearing size 24 jeans; as I type this I’m wearing size 12 ones with a size medium shirt. I recently bought my sixth belt since the start of this, and my third new bra. I still have to wear speciality sizes in that department – my band size has changed by 8 sizes, but my cup size has only gone down by 2 sizes, lol. Sigh. I’ve replaced literally every single piece of my clothing that wasn’t socks. Every few months I suddenly realize that all of my underwear is now granny panties and have to replace it, too. It’s fun buying new clothes, but also exhausting and expensive to be constantly replacing them. Even my feet have gotten narrower. I’ve replaced the ring I wear on my left middle finger twice now. I’m looking forward to settling at my “final”-ish size and getting some clothes I can keep for longer than a couple of months.

Fitness: In earlier posts, especially on my old blog, I used to mention that everything physical has become easier – flexibility, endurance, anything cardio-based (stairs, hills, bolting after a departing bus, etc). I was always fairly active, and when I started out, my heart was in solidly good condition. Now, as opposed to things just being easier, I count a day wasted that I haven’t actively worked out. I just feel slow and sludgy, almost as though I didn’t shower or something. My job has changed, allowing me a lot more walking there, too. I’m currently averaging around 8 km/day, way up from my standard 3-4 km. I never, ever thought I would turn into one of those people who lives to sweat, but here we are. I alternate between high intensity interval cardio and weight lifting with a slice of cardio just to get the blood moving first. Fitness wear is my new financial drain hole, lol. I also bought a bike (plus a load of related gear) and am looking forward to it finally being warm enough to ride regularly!

Eating/fasting: On those few occasions where my social life doesn’t fit into my fasting schedule, it actively feels weird to be eating every day. When I indulge in the sweet stuff, I definitely want a lot less of it than I ever used to, and rather quickly find it too sweet. I find low carb eating honestly quite sustainable. And enjoyable! I eat well, when I’m eating. And I fast well when I’m fasting. My standard schedule of three 42-hour fasts per week is quite comfortable. It means I eat lunch and supper every other day; otherwise I’m fasting. I’ve stopped caring, being bothered by, or even noticing when other people are eating around me, at least 97% of the time. The other 3%, I can deal with. 😛 I’ve gotten really good at deciding what things make for worthwhile exceptions and which don’t. Some of the exceptions are things that I was missing while I was away from Winnipeg; other things I’ve found I really don’t care about at all, like potato chips. I’m unbelievably fond of certain vegetables now. I don’t even recognize myself sometimes, particularly when my eyes fall upon a zucchini in the fridge and light up with joy! 😂

I think that’s about it! I’m under 35 lbs from my end goal now, though I suppose I’ll see what things look like when I get there and act accordingly, but this is honestly a really happy way to be living and I’m very much enjoying this whole new lease on life!

Author: SandraBender

Human rights educator & advocate View all posts by SandraBender