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12 Ways You’ll Know I’m Close to Goal Weight

blog2 goal weight

I thought I’d beat the New Year’s rush and get started on a weight-loss program before the holidays. I’m not one of those people who tries every diet that comes along. No – I know exactly what works. It’s as simple as less calories in, more energy out. So what a rude awakening it was to discover that knowing what works isn’t enough – apparently one has to actually do what works. Ugh!

I am a grown woman – I can “just do it,” right? Well, that is what I kept telling myself. The mantra works in so many other areas of my life, but no matter how much I mentally beat myself up for not having more “willpower,” I could not “just do it.” It was quite humbling to have to admit that I need external assistance if I’m going to change things. So I mentally reviewed my distant past, when I looked my best, and asked myself what was different back then. It didn’t take me long to figure it out. Accountability. The buddy system. Having someone who counted on me as much as I counted on them to keep heading toward the goal. But I don’t have close friends nearby, I no longer live in a neighborhood where I can recruit a neighbor to walk, nor do I have a schedule that allows for driving to a gym 2-3 times a week. By necessity, I got a little creative. I called a professional friend who had recently had a total knee replacement and worked in an office a few blocks from my own office. Having had two total-knee replacements myself in the past couple of years, I pitched the idea of doing something to protect our new knees.

I am a life-time member of Weight Watchers – a feat achieved three decades ago while in my twenties. Not that the organization would claim me as a spokesperson at this point, mind you. One of the reasons the habits learned back then may not have really taken is because I had a bad attitude. Well, maybe more arrogant than bad. My twisted logic included premises such as on weigh-in day I could splurge because I had six days left to “fix it” before the next weigh-in.

12 Ways You'll Know When I'm Close to Goal Weight

But I’m older and wiser now, with  a new and improved attitude! I know the program really boils down to making wise food choices that include variety and moving more. It has the built-in accountable-to-self component with the weekly weigh-in and I  had found somebody who had a common goal, thus creating that mutual accountability component. So now I am ready to head, once again, toward the feeling-my-best coveted “goal weight.” I remember well the excitement felt as clothes became loose, energy increased and I closed in on that reasonable number that both my body and wallet (no more payments when you maintain goal weight) would thank me for. I also remember how those last few ounces seemed to mockingly hang around, delaying the big day, and the weigh-in-day creativity of members who were mere breaths away from “goal weight.” So I’m already planning ahead for success. Here are twelve ways you will know that I am ounces away from the magic number:

  1. My eyebrows are plucked into commas;
  2. My legs are shaved despite the fact that there’s snow on the ground;
  3. My short hair just got shorter;
  4. I turn down coffee on weigh-in day;
  5. There’s only a white stripe where the wedding ring I hadn’t taken off for 38 years used to be;
  6. My skin is hot pink from having the top layer loofahed off;
  7. My fingernails have been trimmed to almost nonexistence;
  8. I seem to be flossing my teeth excessively;
  9. My face is make-up free;
  10. I’m going sockless in spite of my mother’s lifetime warnings about how doing so ruins your shoes;
  11.  I refuse to put a band-aid on a profusely bleeding papercut;
  12. I’m pulling lint out of my pockets.

So if you run across me and I’ve got a smile and a swagger, don’t let the pink skin and the funky eyebrows fool you – it will mean that I’m enjoying some sweet success!

What weight-loss program, plan or tips work for you?

0 Comments

  1. When I was in my 20’s I joined a gym and hardly went. I had every excuse…it’s raining, it’s too cold, the traffic will be bad. I invested in exercise equipment for my home and it was a life changer for me. I work out every day…no more excuses. It’s simply part of my day.
    I love that sign! 🙂

  2. Funny! I feel this way sometimes when having a weigh-in at the doctor’s office. Take off the shoes, jacket and what else can I take off? It’s actually crossed my mind to take off the jewelry! Ahhh, what us women put ourselves through…ridiculous stuff. Good luck for the holidays and keep smiling. 🙂

    1. Thanks, Laurie! I hear leaning slightly forward on the scales can lop off another 2-3 ounces of the final tally – I’m saving that one for when I am close to the prize!

  3. May the Force be with us during this holiday season! It’s really become harder to lose weight as the years go by. My metabolism has never been efficient and it seems it has decided to go into coma once I hit 40. It sucks. But you’re right….less food in, more energy out is the only thing that makes sense and works.

    1. I had been warned for years about that metabolism-slow-down, Joy. More than one person said “do it now – it gets harder in your 30s.” Then “30s” was replaced by “40s” and then “50s” And I’m big enough to admit they were all right. Literally. But I’m embracing the concept that “harder” is not the same as “impossible.” May we remember that it is a holiDAY and not a holiMONTH! Thanks for visiting!

  4. This was definitely written by someone who knows! 😉
    In college, our dorm had its own WW rep come to do a session and weigh in once a week, and 93 signed up (it was free, paid for by the dorm council for 6 weeks). On Tuesdays, everyone shaved their legs and trimmed their fingernails 😉 ; no one ate anything after breakfast, drank nothing after noon, and wore little more than tights and t-shirts for the 7:00 weigh in and meeting. At 8:45 many of us put on regular clothes, piled in cars and drove to Denny’s for the 9 pm All You Can Eat Night Time Breakfast Special.
    Enough said. 🙂

    1. Confession: I left my shoes on and wore jeans and a sweater for my first two weigh-ins and will continue to do so until I need the kindness of an option to help with the numbers. You are a great example of what one can achieve if they change their mindset about how they handle food, Dee Dee – you look great!

  5. These feedback comments are hysterical! Never thought of leg-shaving and fingernail trimming… HAHAHAHA… Been the WW route myself — more than once. I’ve also done the Beverly Hills Diet (pineapple,) Grapefruit Diet, Weigh Down, TOPS, Cabbage Soup Diet, Slim Fast, gym memberships, home exercise equipment…

    What works for me now is to just focus on FEELING healthy (get some movement, eat veggies and fruits whenever I can.) I also choose my pig-outs during food-laden celebratory occasions. On Thanksgiving, I bypassed the mashed taters, gravy, and bread, but (over)indulged in stuffing. 🙂 My goal these days is health, regardless of the number on the scale.

    1. And a worthy goal it is, Natine! Your focus has helped me, too – I never would have even tried peppers with the seasoned hummus “dip” if it hadn’t been for your guest post!

  6. Ah. memories of the Buddy system. Tried it twice, The first time (and buddy) we got thrown out of the ‘Health and Beauty’ class for sniggering in the back row as we tried valiantly to hold our sticks between two fingers whilst swinging our hips from side to side. The second (different buddy) was because we both had a goal, both of us getting married that year, so went swimming in our lunch hour three times a week and keep fit on Wednesday evenings.
    Loved the class. Loved the chat, exchange of tips and recipes. Loved the aerobics.
    Loved the pie and chips on the way home.

    1. Oh my gosh – another kindred spirit!! Your description of you and your buddy sounded pretty darn close to the behavior M (my co-author here) and I exhibited in our high school gym class. While our teacher didn’t appreciate our antics, we felt sure that the rest of the class was as entertained as we were by our . . . antics. And you know I would have been with you on the post-aerobic pie – assuming, of course,it didn’t have nasty ‘ol raisins in it! So glad you found us, Pen!

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