"amazing!" (lyn)

This is the word I actually hear this morning when I go to my Weight Watcher’s meeting.  Three women (all of whom I like very much, even before their comments today) tell me I look amazing.  “You are so tiny now,” they say. I am thrilled.  And just yesterday, my doorman noticed.  As I entered the building, he literally looked me up and down and said in heavily accented English, “You are looking good.”

I put on form-fitting clothes, walk out the door with confidence, and really do feel amazing.  It’s been a very long time since I have felt this way. 

Twenty years ago I was interviewing for a job at Lifetime Television.  I had begun working out regularly about ten months before and I was in great shape.  Thin and toned (now I’m only half that).  I remember being asked on the interview, “What accomplishment are you most proud of?”  And I remember answering that I was most proud of having the discipline and determination to stick to a workout plan, and end up in great shape (I’m guessing I was a bit more subtle in my answer, but I distinctly remember that getting in shape was the answer I gave).  I didn’t get the job.  And I remember that the recruiter, who had sent me on the interview, told me that my answer to the accomplishment question wasn’t a good one.  I knew that I could have given a more practiced response about share increases or upturns in sales, but in truth, those did not make me feel nearly as accomplished as making a commitment to working out and sticking to it with great results.

I feel now as I did then. Today I weigh 124.8, down 35.2 pounds since September 16.  31 weeks. I feel accomplished.  I know this might sound shallow, but it’s something I control 100%, and is therefore something I can own.   Maybe the only thing.  And maybe that’s not so bad.