Today, I BRAG

No one likes a braggart. That is, no one but the person doing the bragging. Obviously, if a person brags, they think they have something to brag about.

 Today, like it or not, I’m gonna brag.

 Size 24 (US). That’s what I was about six years ago. Just to be clear...I don’t mean waist size in inches. I mean DRESS size. Yikes! They say a woman peaks in her thirties but THAT is not quite what I had in mind!

 It’s taken awhile, and here’s where the bragging comes in, but I just spent Valentine’s day at the mall with Mr. Man and I was comfortably trying on size 12’s (US).

That’s half a Susie!

 

One dress was even too big at that, requiring a size smaller to hug my newly svelte curves. “Go get me a size 10!” I elatedly shouted at Don. I didn't care who heard. “Wait. How much is it?” Turning over the tag nearly caused a stroke. Still, I almost paid the atrocious $180 pounds (we live in the UK now) in pure celebration. Almost.  I didn’t really need the dress so I responsibly handed the size 12 back to the change room attendant with a seemingly nonchalant (and perhaps a little smug), “Sorry. It’s too big.” Ha! My smile might have given away my true feelings though, as my reflection in a mirror on our way out screamed, “You’re smile is so big it looks like a surgeon carved it onto your face!”

It has taken time, hard work and determination to get this far. Cleaning the sugar-loaded, fat-laden, salt saturated foods out of my cupboards and exercising and supplementing my diet with loads of greens and vitamins are all at the foundation of my success. (Okay, recently being sick and having surgery has also worked in my favour ;) My body also responds well to eating low-carb, which I instigated a few years ago to keep better control of my blood sugars. Attendance to a local Slimming World group with its support and inspiration is like icing on the cake. (Of COURSE I don’t eat cake! That was a cliché - a simile - a joke. ;)

Continually making all these good choices can be exhausting (think treading water in a snowsuit), but as you can see...it has paid off. So I’m taking my moment to revel in my “lost half a Susie” success. I’m not even going to apologize for it.

I will say this: If I can do this, a hippopotamus could do it. And I don’t mean that figuratively. (That would just be mean.) I purport an actual hippopotamus. Self control, stamina and endurance have never been my strengths. Believing in myself never was either. But I do now. I really do. And if I can, you can too.

I promise I’ll try to be humble again tomorrow. But today I don’t care. Call me a braggart.  You can even call me “Skinny Bi#ch.”

 Yeah.

 I kinda like that.

 THAT DRESS WAS TOO BIG!!