Friday, October 23, 2009

Non scale victory



Pictures - left-son and hubby at the start
right- son today, 68 pounds lighter ( I thought it was more!)

A non scale sign of progress happened here yesterday. I went to put on one of my newer pairs of sweat pants ( yes I know, glamorous,
but I call them my everyday uniform)
only to discover that they have become clown pants on me. Sweats are big to begin with, but these suddenly fit me like a circus tent ! I guess this is proof that while the scale my not be moving at a pace I like, changes are happening in different ways. I am getting more toned I guess. This was a good thing in another way- I was noticing that son's clothes are begining to resemble circus clothes in the fit department
as well. One good thing about sweat pants is that they are pretty unisex, and I asked him if he would be interested in these now too big for me pants, and he said yes. Happily, they fit him perfectly !

These sweats are an XL, which means I can now start shopping for regular L or even medium now. But even more exciting is what this means for my son. When we began he was being crammed into a men's plus size 6x everything, and we were on the verge of it not fitting. His clothing had to be purchased from specialty stores, which as always a great hassle and expense. There was no shopping at places like Walmart or Thrift stores for his clothes. He would often comment on how he wanted different characters on his clothes but it was never to be. This was one thing that I felt very bad about- my son could never dress in the way he desired. I was a heavy kid myself, and I HATED being forced to shop in the plus sizes during grade school !In those days they were not plus sizes, but half sizes and very ugly. I hated the idea of my child being subject to the same fate, but at the same time too overwhelmed by other problems to
spring to action. That changed, slow progress has been made, and now my son has gone from a 6x to an XL. Life is good. On to the food !

Breakfast was a Thomase's Better Start with whipped cream cheese, sugar free orange marmalade and a Fiber One yogert with coffee-240 calories. After that we did our Wii work out and I decided to attempt a "stairmaster" workout with our actual hallway stairs. I managed to climb them once and my knee gave out. This may not be a good idea for me. I will try it again because if I can do it, it will sure roast the calories fast !

Lunch was turkey breast on Arnolds ( if you cut it different it looks different , and is a whole new lunch) with sliced carrot, celery , apple and Diet Soda for 290. What can I say- it's a turkey sandwich. After lunch , another Wii workout.

We finished school , and before I tackled my afternoon of printing for next week ( or as I call it being chained to the printer beast) I grabbed a snack of 1 cup nonfat plain yogert, 1/2 cup of pomegranate seeds, 1 tsp flax oil and Stevia. 200 calories. Mixing it was playing with food and appealed to my inner child , who wanted to spend the afternoon doing anything other than being chained to a printer !

When the hubs got home we headed out to do grocery shopping in the nasty cold rain, and came home to a dinner of a simple marinara sauce with ground turkey in the crock pot. Served over whole wheat pasta and sliced cucumber, tomatoes and mini sweet peppers with another diet soda for 470 calories
Dinner was late and there was a rush of activity of the necessary but uninteresting kind and finally the day was done and I grabbed my evening snack of an apple and a Fiber Plus bar for 200 calories. Days total calories was 1500 on the nose !

Tomorrow morning is weigh in again, and we shall see if that digital contraption arees with the non scale progress. Which is better, really ? To have a number that only you and your Doctor sees tell you your worth or more obvious things like clothing , feeling more energetic and fitting better in the world around you ? Personally, I hold equal stock in both !

2 comments:

Diane, Fit to the Finish said...

What amazing pictures of your son. There is a tremondous difference. I know you are pleased and he must be too.

As a mom myself, I know that you are happy that he getting healthier. I have a friend whose son has had weight struggles for years. They finally are trying NutriSystem for him. (He's 30) It's working, but I worry a bit about his long term success because he's not really learning or seeing good food prep modeled for him.

Di said...

As much as I get excited about my own weight loss, I get even more so about my son's weight loss ! I think it's a mom thing.

I think most programs teach a small degree of behavior modification, but if they re based on pre packaged meals or a very narrow range of choice of food it will not be a lasting success. You have to learn how to make choices in the real world with real food and often with limited access or resources. Everyone is going to be faced with times of limited financial means for one reason or another(unemployment, illness, unexpected expenses), limited choices ( stuck somewhere because of business travel or such) and it is at those times knowledge of food labels , portion sizes and your own caloric needs will give you a better than average chance of maintaining your healthy lifestyle !