Throwing Out My Fat Clothes for Good

Finally! After two weeks of small gains, I lost some weight. I lost 2.6 pounds this week. Just a bit short of my three-pound goal, but I'm happy with it. My mental state is getting better, and that's what I'm happier with. I still slip up on eating every now and then (more likely every day), but I don't let it ruin my day.

I was hanging up my clothes one day this week, and I realized that I have a lot of clothes. I'm a guy, so I only wear the same five or 10 things over and over again, but throughout the years I had accumulated quite a few shirts and pants. It was starting to get a bit crowded in there. So I decided to clean it out.

I got to the back of the closet where I found some things I'd forgotten about. Here I found some "just in case" clothes -- those pants and shirts I kept just in case I ever got that big again. How's that for preparing to fail, huh? I tossed them all in the giveaway bag, just a little bit angry with myself for having ever thought that way.

Next to the just-in-case section is the what-if section. These are clothes that have gotten snug and unwearable. I looked at these for a minute, remembering why I'd kept them. What if I could fit into these again? So I tried on a pair of pants. Sure enough, they fit! Not a suck-in-your gut and strain-to-button-them kind of fit, either. I tried on pair after pair of pants, and for the most part, they all fit! I'd never measured my waist or anything with the little tape measure, so I don't know where I started and where I am now on those measurements, but obviously something good is going on.

All that just reinforced my thoughts last week that even though I may not lose weight every week or may even gain one week, it's not the end of the world. By making solid changes and ending bad habits while introducing good habits, I'm moving in the right direction.

Is there more I could do? Sure. I'm still not back into a steady routine on exercise, but I'm getting there. My work schedule has lightened up some, so I'm trying to get back into the gym again. I've found that if I can make it past the first 10 minutes of exercising, then the rest is gravy. That first 10 minutes is really tough to get going sometimes.

It's getting to that time of year when things start to get a little dicey. Our company shuts down the week between Christmas and New Year's. And I have some vacation time to use up, so I'll be home for the last two weeks of December. Sounds great, right? It is, but at work I don't have a kitchen and an endless supply of food to munch on throughout the day.

Being at home for an extended period is a break in the routine. A welcome break. So I have to plan ahead now in order to not get sucked into those old habits. I'm participating in our company's "don't gain, maintain" contest that's going on during the holiday break, so I have that motivation as well. I'm not too worried. I've hit a groove. I've gone several days without evening snacking, and I've started getting to bed earlier.

I'm leaving tonight to be a chaperone for our church's youth group's winter retreat. I know, I know, I must be insane. But it should be fun. Who wouldn't want to freeze to death in a little cabin, trying to sleep while junior-high boys compare their gas passing techniques? Wheee!

But I am a little concerned about the food. While there won't be snack food lying around, I'll pretty much be at the mercy of whatever they're serving. I imagine biscuits and gravy, bacon, and pancakes and syrup for breakfast. Chicken-fried steak and macaroni and cheese for lunch. Things I don't need to be eating. Hopefully there will be cereal options for breakfast and vegetables I can load up on during the main meals. I think it'll be fine, but I don't want those foods that I've been trying to avoid to get back into my system, however small the portions. That's just all part of the journey, right? I can't control everything, so I have to make the best choices with what I've got.

Goals next week? I'm shooting for another three pounds (or more). The more I can lose, the more I clothes I can throw into that giveaway bag!

More on Tipping the Scales:
Eating Healthy Is Harder Than I Thought
Begging for Pizza
Finally Enjoying My Workouts

After decades of dieting only to gain it back, two That's Fit readers have decided to finally rethink their relationship with food and exercise over the next year to move toward a lifetime of fulfilling, healthy living. Come by every week as Ashley and Lee share their successes and challenges as they tip the scale.