What if... the Weight-ing Game

Posted on February 2, 2016

I am a planner. I can't help it. I discovered long ago that anticipation extended any happiness associated with an event, so trips are planned far in advance -- even three-day weekends merit agendas of places to see, things to do, and new foods to try. (Hummmmm... I may see a new correlation here. ;) )

It would not surprise you, then, to know that I plot my weight targets for each Kickstarter and Transformer DietBet on my calendar. "By this date, I need to weigh NNN, and by this date, I need to weigh NNN," and so forth. My weigh-in days are noted through the end of my bets.

It was during this exercise of marking my calendar that I realized, as my goals stretched out into July, "Hey, I can't even remember the last time I weighed that. Oh my gosh! Is that even possible?!?!" Now, don't misunderstand. "That weight" is still well within what the insurance chart says I should weigh. It is nearly 10 pounds MORE than even the more generous goal weight that my GP and endocrinologist would like for me to weigh. But for me... Holy moley! "That weight" is almost inconceivable.

I was thinking about the last time I felt I looked pretty good. It was in 2011 at the Route 66 half marathon. My friend snapped this photo before the race started. "That weight" is roughly more than 30 pounds LESS than what I weighed in this photo.

Then, I started to imagine an uncharacteristically optimistic weight-loss scenario... What if I actually reached "that weight" -- and in our 2016 family Christmas photos, I looked even thinner than I was in that photo from 2011? What if I no longer needed to take medication for diabetes or high blood pressure? What if I wasn't the fattest one in the office anymore? How different would my life be?

I'd like to think I'm well liked by many, and that my coworkers recognize that I'm competent, but we know that some folks simply can't see past what we weigh, and make all sorts of assumptions about us based on that. What if instead of "fat assumptions," they were making skinny ones?

We have a lot more than new wardrobes to look forward to, my friends. Enjoy the journey!

Comment Now!

LilyN

02/02/2016 12:14PM

I haven't let myself look that far ahead thought lately I've been starting to daydream about it. I'm still worried that I'll fall back into my old habits even though it's been about 8 months!

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getnthinr

Yes, it is very uncharacteristic of me to speculate about it. I have yo-yo-ed all my life, and I struggle with a fear of failure in this attempt too. But you! 8 months is incredible, LilyN! Certainly you have moved from habits to lifestyle -- that's awesome! Still I recognize there is no "finish line" in this journey we are on, and we will always need to be aware of any drifting toward our old way of life. Still -- Happy daydreaming! You've earned it!

PDXJael

02/02/2016 10:54AM

Guilty, I am totally a planner too.

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Chrystal M.

02/02/2016 8:09AM

Planning is truly the key to success, isn't it?...Goodness before you know it you will be planning out your maintaining goals.

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Deanna

02/02/2016 6:52AM

Nice blog! When I lose/gain/lose/gain, sometimes I realize that if I had just kept at it and lost ONLY a pound a week, I would have lost XX pounds. When you have a lot of weight to lose, I think plotting it out can be helpful, as long as your weekly goals are reasonable and you understand that plateaus are inevitable.

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Cali

02/02/2016 5:45AM

That was a really great blog! I plot out future weights, too, and it's almost unbelievable at times to think I could weigh NNN if I keep on track. I believe people don't see past the weight, and even those who like us or love us look at us differently when we're thinner. Great tutu pic, too! :) Let's get this done!

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getnthinr

Yeah, baby! :)