Wednesday, November 25, 2009

In the spirit of Thanksgiving...

I thought today would be a great day to stop and give thanks...

Thanks for my new body.

I'm a hundred pounds lighter than I was 2 years ago and I feel a thousand pounds lighter. In my body, in my spirit and in my soul. My life is changed.

Sure, there are the physical changes. I mean, its so darn wonderful to look down and be able to see my lap. I absolutely LOVE being able to cross my legs. Or even cross my arms in front of me without having to have them press my boobs down. (I'm not crazy about all the flaps of skin that are hanging from me, but hey, those are my trophy flaps, right?)

Then there's the activity part. I'm so much more active now. I used to be a couch potato. Now I just love getting up and doing whatever I need or want to do. Because I know I won't get tired. I used to sweat when I went shopping. Now, I can shop all day and never break a sweat. I love being able to skip up the 3 flights of stairs at work, multiple times a day and not get winded at all. Heck, I ran 6 miles on Sunday, 4 miles on Monday and 2 miles this morning. 12 MILES in one week!!?? Whodathunk!

I've had to get all my rings resized and I think I need to get them resized again because one of them keeps flipping over to where the diamond part falls around to the palm side of my hand whenever I type. I have a little silver chain bracelet that I paid like $5 for, but I don't want to replace it, so I just moved the clasp up to hook into one of the chains, so that there's a strip of chain dangling about an inch long after the clasp. An inch of chain that used to encase my fat wrists. And I'm now down to a size 12 (maybe even a 10, but I haven't been shopping in quite a while). When I started this journey over 2 years ago, I was a SIZE 26/28 and they were too tight on me!!

I love the way I feel about myself. I feel so worth it, now. I feel like before, when I was fat, I was hiding from the world and I wasn't worth anyone noticing me or giving me any kind of credit for anything. And I had to fight for any ounce of respect from my peers. Now... Now, I hold my head high. I am worth it. I am so much more confident in my choices, my actions and my conversations. The weird part was that I always was worth it, I just didn't know it because of all the embarrassment and unworthiness that I felt when I was fat.

Now, I can call my self thin. I even go so far, sometimes, to say I'm skinny. Although, according to most BMI and weight charts, I still need to lose another 10 pounds before I'll be "healthy". But in my heart and soul, I AM SKINNY!

I love this new me. And I'm SO thankful for her. I'm proud to be in the skin I'm in, now.

And I'm SO thankful for my family at Weight Watchers and of course my real family, too—including my absolutely amazing husband. And I'm SO thankful for all of you out there reading my blog. And this is something I want each and every one of you to own. Even if you've never commented on one of my blog posts before, you still read my blog. And that is SUCH great encouragement to me to keep going and keep losing. You know what would make me SO happy. If I could get each of you to just post "your welcome" on this blog post. You don't have to say anything more, I'd just like to send this little piece of thanks out to each one of you and I want you to know that you've changed my life and the way you can own this appreciation is to take it in and just say a simple "you're welcome, Cara". It would make me so happy. It would really make my Thanksgiving PERFECT!

So, what do you say?

.

12 comments:

Unknown said...

(Jennifer A. commenting)
Thank YOU, Cara! For sharing your heart, your struggles and triumphs in this journey! As you know, I've had a hard time maintaining this year and I've enjoyed reading your blog. I know if I had the time to devote to working out (more than twice a week), meal planning, and journaling I could maintain my weight (you know, like on the Biggest Loser they can loose over 100 pounds in 3 months because that's all they ever work on). But real life happens and so you've got to juggle the weight thing with other priorities. I will never give up though because I didn't work hard to loose it all for nothing. Keep writing Cara because you keep me going on this journey knowing I'm not alone with my struggles! Happy Thanksgiving!
Love, Jennifer A. :)

josie said...

I'm new to your blog, but am thankful I found it! Seeing your success is a real inspiration to someone like me who's just startin' out. I hope you have a great Thanksgiving!

Oh, and You're welcome ;)

Cole Walter Mellon said...

A thousand pounds lighter! That IS a good feeling!

Happy holidays, Cara.

Sheilagh said...

You are Most Welcome Cara!!!

You have been an inspiration to me and I have so loved reading your blog on good days and bad. You have always told it like it is.

On the eve of Thanksgiving I wish to say I am thankful for people like you, I am half way to my goal and I couldn't have done it without you..

screwdestiny said...

That is definitely a lot of stuff to be thankful for!

And you're welcome. :)

Anonymous said...

your welcome.

Shelley said...

You are welcome, Cara...and thank you for being there for me! Happy Thanksgiving, my friend!

WWSuzi said...

Your welcome!
And than you for inspiring me more than once :)

Charlotte said...

Cara - you are such an inspiration - and you're welcome! From: Your Former WW Receptionist, Charlotte

Lynn said...

You're welcome, Cara, and thank YOU. I've been reading your blog for months, and you've helped inspire me to lose 44 pounds. I've a long way to go, but I'll get there. Keep writing, and we'll keep reading!

--cara said...

This comment made it to my inbox bot somehow didn't make it into the comments section:

From WWSanford:

I am thankful for your continued dedication to your weight-loss journey. I am thankful for you continued support in our meetings every Saturday. I am thankful that you appreciate the wonderful you that you have become.
You are welcome and appreciated!

weight loss said...

That's great Cara, this is my first comment on your blog. This is perfect weight loss progress. I still have'nt managed to loose even 80lbs in last 7 months. But i will, I have targeted myself to loose 125Lbs, and one day i will be there enjoying like you.