The incredible shrinking bride

I keep marveling at the fact that I'm down a size...that I don't have to shop in Lane Bryant if I don't want to (well, as long as the stores carry up to size 16).  :)  It's strange, though, because the weight doesn't seem to be dropping as quickly as the inches.  I'm going to wager a guess that my muscles are outweighing my fat percentage because my BMI is also decreasing.   When you've gone through the weight loss cycle as many times as I have, you start to learn something about the process as a whole.  These fun facts: sizes drop faster than pounds (at least in the beginning, especially if you're working out to lose weight), water does more for weight loss than anticipated, constant eating of yummy foods (those that increase your energy level rather than detract from it...so fresh fruits rather than potato chips, for instance) kicks up the metabolism into high gear and keeps it going all day.

What's more of a marvel is that I'm enjoying the process this time.  This time, I have Robert with me.  We're already making steps to take care of ourselves and incorporate it in our daily lives, something that will stay with us through our marriage.  I want it to be normal for us to exercise together.  And later when we have children, I want it to be a given that we go for family walks after dinner on nice evenings, that we play in the park on Saturday afternoons.  I want my children to be active and healthy--I want my entire family to be active and healthy.

And in non-weight-loss/health news, I got my hair cut yesterday.  I walked in, sat in the chair, took down my ponytail, and told Amy, "Save me!"  She did.  As of yesterday, my hair looked like a rat's nest on a pretty regular basis.  I'm growing it out so that when I go back to Amy for my wedding hairstyle, she'll have plenty to work with.  It'd been about three months since my last trim, so my hair was very thick, long, and bushy.  Actually...come to think of it, I looked like Hermione Granger.  But Amy rescued me--she grabbed a new photo from her station and said, "Let's try this."  It's long layers (about three, an inch or so apart from each other and very well blended), and a very long bang swept to the side.  She straightened it out and used a hair dryer to bring the ends to a loose curl.  When I saw it, I realized this is what I want to look like for my engagement portraits, but I'm not sure I can reproduce it...until this morning when I saw what I was able to do. :)  She penciled me down for Wednesday afternoon (right after I finish teaching and before the portrait sitting), just in case I need or want a touch-up.  If I don't need to go, I'll just call her and let her know.  I really love this new hair cut--I think it's the best my hair has looked in a long time.

Whether or not I meet my ultimate weight-loss goals by the wedding is not important.  What I'll remember from this year is that this is the year I've made leaps and bounds toward feeling comfortable in my own skin.