O.M.G. I am still in shock.

I’ve been culling my wardrobe pretty much on a continual basis for the last two years, as I’ve posted about before. Lately I’ve been quite ruthless in getting rid of things in anticipation of selling the house – no point in taking/packing things that don’t fit. So my selection of available items was getting down.

All I had left in the leg covering category were leggings, yoga pants, and two pairs of capri pants. And some weren’t suitable for anything more than the gym or mowing the lawn.

I needed a pair of dress slacks last week.  So, off I went to the Mall. I was wearing size 12 black yoga pants that I’d bought back in early 2016, with high black boots. They weren’t tight.

I popped into the first women’s store I passed.  I was standing there staring at the wall which had lots of black pants on it when one of the staff asked if I needed help.  So I told her I needed black dress pants – slacks not leggings.  Told her I was wearing a 12.  So she grabbed some different pants and let me into a changing room.

Well… I think I tried on around 10 pairs.  Many were more like leggings than slacks. The slacks hung badly me, sagging between the thighs and on the outer thighs.  I don’t have much in the way of a butt or hips so find many women’s styles have too much material in that area to look nice on me.  In casual pants I usually buy men’s, that way there isn’t all that extra material.

At that point three of the staff were looking for pants for me and I was trying on size 10s. One of them then said, “I’m going to get an eight.”

I started laughing and told them, “I used to be a size 28.”

So she got some slacks that were still boxes and not yet out on the floor, in a size eight. And you know what?  They fit perfectly!  No baggy thighs, comfortable, looked nice.

SIZE EIGHT!

As she rang in the sale she said, “Welcome to the single digits!”

And in tops I’m in medium. I actually killed some time at Value Village the other evening while the house was being shown, and bought five tops in medium – all fit well.

It is very strange, STILL, to look at my new clothes and to think, THAT fits me?

Here is the visual – size 28+ jeans, and my new size 8 dress slacks.

And 2X t-shirt (I don’t have any of the 3 & 4X left) with a t-shirt that fits me now!  It is a child size XL that I accidentally picked up last Fall when I was at Niagara Falls – it was too small then, but not now.

I’ve also now officially hit the lowest weight ever in my adult life.  I’ve been maintaining steadily in a five-pound range since last December, with a drop of a couple of pounds every few months that lowers the range a bit.

And my blood sugar is staying in the normal range, which was the point of the change to Low Carb, High Fat.

But… wow, SIZE EIGHT!!!!!

 

 

The new me, to-date

Had my monthly weigh and measure at the gym on Friday.  And we took some “after” photos… well, it isn’t after really, as I am still doing everything I have been so let’s call them “progress” photos!

This shows me in 2002 around the time I was told I was pre-diabetic – I had already lost a bit of weight at the time of the time of the photo; middle was in October 2005 and my weight was documented at 274.6 lbs; and third is Friday at 173 lbs.

We figure I probably maxed out around 375 when I was at my largest… but no weight records exist… but compare the above to this photo taken in 2000, shortly after I arrived in Grande Prairie:

That means I’ve managed to lose about 200 lbs. since moving up here almost 17 years ago.

Initially it was just a change in lifestyle – no more lattes or second breakfasts on the way to work, packing a lunch as going out to buy it wasn’t convenient, jobs with some physical activity involved.  Then, a more conscious effort to control my health by cutting out excess sugar, etc. The loss of the first 100 was not a specific diet, just a collection of changes that resulted in the loss over a period of about five years.

Over the next ten years my weight would fluctuate depending on my activity level, which was directly tied to the jobs I had.  Working graveyard shift on my feet netted a drop of about 30 lbs over a couple of months.  Working in retail also caused weight loss and better fitness levels.

Stress would change my eating habits too, causing weight changes.  After Neil died I dropped some, and both times mom was in the hospital I lost quite a bit.

Then since December 2015 when I completely changed my way of eating to Low Carb High Fat to control my diabetes I have lost another 62 lbs. (so far!)

The weight loss has slowed considerably now, which is what I was expecting to happen. I’m now only dropping a couple of pounds a month, rather than the 10 I was losing to start with.  With the slower drop I am noticing that some of the loose skin is tightening up a bit and my muscle mass is increasing with going to the gym regularly.

In my photo from Friday I am wearing my size 12 yoga pants and a medium top!  That’s pretty exciting for me.  I get teased at the gym as I tend to wear oversized (XL men’s sweat pants and 3XL t-shirts!) to workout in, but I have them so I am wearing them until they are ready for the garbage or won’t stay up!  I only wear the skinny clothes for measuring days and photo ops!

My regular wardrobe is all new – all old items have been donated, recycled or thrown out. I still need to get a new heavy winter coat for -40C.  What I have now are not rated for that, but I wanted to wait until I needed it to make sure I got a nice fitting one. I used to always wear men’s winter gear – this year I am getting women’s!