Checking in

I really, really have to apologize for my absence in posting.

I've been reading the other posts, though, and y'all are doing terrific!

I, on the other hand, have been struggling a bit this summer. It's been like a rollercoaster, except I don't have the assurance that the ride will end eventually!

I've been losing and gaining the same couple of pounds all summer. I could attribute it to a lot of factors, but I'm trying everything I know to combat it - mostly weight training, because I know that's the key to getting my metabolism up and running.

Oh, and drinking green tea.

So, congratulations to all you girls who continue to find success - and to those, like me, who have basically been maintaining all summer!

And let me recount a little story that happened to me today.

After having lost nearly 80 pounds, I still sometimes struggle with the "fat girl" mentality. I know I don't see myself the way others see me, and that's something I'm working on. It's nice to know that I'm typing this while wearing size 10 pants, but somehow my brain doesn't always catch up with my body.

(And for the record, I now weigh 158 pounds, a loss of 79 total since August 2005.)

Anyway, I work in a newspaper office, and we are having a county-wide election in a couple of weeks. One of the candidates came in to put in an ad today, and I attempted to make small talk about how cold the weather had gotten. I noticed he was in short sleeves, when it's raining and about 50 degrees outside.

"It's a bit chilly today, isn't it?" I said.

"Not for fat people," he replied.

It should be noted that this man is not huge. He's an ex-highway patrolman, and he's what I'd call stocky and muscular. The comment took me a bit aback, until I realized that he didn't see me as a "fat person!" This was the first time I'd met him, and he didn't know me 80 pounds ago!

It was just enough to keep me going, for one more day at least!