The Changes

Yep, that is right.... there are LOTS of things that will change as you lose weight. Things will come back that you never realized you were missing. Here is a preview of coming events-

"Oh my GOD!!! I can cross my legs again!!!!"- Yeah.... right now you might be thinking, what are you talking about Carrie?? I can cross my legs JUST FINE! Yeah, sure you can. However, I am not talking ankle on the opposite knee kind of leg crossing. I am talking about sitting like a lady WITHOUT having to block your leg so it stays there. I remember last year when Kyle and I were flying to NY for Thanksgiving and all of a sudden I realized I had crossed my legs to stay out of the way on the plane. I looked at him and said, "OH MY GOD!!!! I CAN CROSS MY LEGS AGAIN!!!!!" I am sure the other people on the plane got a REAL kick out of that... but when it happens to you.... you will KNOW how exciting this new change can be.

"No need to rush ma'am, I will hold this door as long as you need me to."- This change is more subtle. Remember when you were younger (AKA Skinnier) and people went out of their way to do generally polite things for you such as holding a door or stopping as you cross the road? Yeah, it was a distant memory for me too! But in January I was going to a bridal show in Richmond and I realized that cars were stopping to let me cross the road. I noticed that this was something that rarely happened to me anymore. But it opened my eyes to the changes around me. I would stop at the gas station and some guy would see me coming from across the parking lot and he would hold the door the whole time! A few times I even jogged because I was so far away and the nice gentleman said, "No need to rush ma'am, I will hold this door as long as you need me to." WOW!!!! Being thinner sure does have its perks!!!!

"What is he looking at??"- Picture this.... I am walking through work and I notice this guy looking at my pants. It seemed odd but I did not think much of it. So the next time I pass the same man, before I can even get past him, I notice he is looking down at my pants and I am thinking "what is he LOOKING at?!?!." Now, we have all had this moment of panic. "OH MY GOD WHAT IS ON MY PANTS??!?!?! DID I RIP THEM?!?!?!?!" I promptly hustle to the bathroom to figure out what the damage is. As I am craning my neck around while in front of the mirror and seeing that there is nothing wrong, it occurs to me..... "HOLY CRAP!!! He was looking at my ASS!!!!" So as any self respectable woman would, I walk by him again. Call it a test, call it an ego boost, but yep.... he was clear as day checking out my derriere! It has been a while since I got checked out! I had not even REALLY realized that it stopped.... but I sure did notice when it came back!

"Woot Woot! Hey guuuuuuuuuuuuurl..... you lookin FINE!!!"- Yeah.... you knew this one was coming right? Well, after getting checked out by the man at work I became more aware of my surroundings. And as I was getting out of my car near a construction area I got cat called. You know what I mean ladies.... the "psst psst" or the "whooooo hooooo!!!" or the "woot woot! Hey guuuuuuuurl..... you lookin FINE!" Well... that last one, that was the first cat call I got in years. And I remember a time when I would have rolled my eyes and turned away. After all, this is what all thin pretty girls do. They are so used to the attention that it becomes an annoyance. Well, I stuck to my guns and turned away, but there was no eye roll, there was a BIG OLE SMILE! Yeah, it may have been a sketchy construction worker.... but that cat call shows me that I still got it!!!!!!

"Where did these towels come from?"- OK, so there was a time when I was thinking.... why do towels seem to be getting smaller and smaller? Yeah well now I know, the towels were not getting smaller... I was getting BIGGER! You know how you can wrap the towel around you and tuck the top in so it stays on you? Well, that was not working for me anymore. I had gotten so fat that the towels were just not long enough for that anymore! I will admit that as things have changed I have not always noticed at the moment they happened. But one day I look at Kyle after getting out of the shower and I said, "where did these towels come from?" It took a half a second of him looking at me like I was insane before it clicked. We have had these for 3 years. They haven't changed, I have. It is a nice change when you can lounge after getting out of the shower instead of clinging to the towel for dear life just to keep it on you!!!!

"Pants balls"- If you are smiling, you know where I am going with this. Big girls have to deal with something that skinny girls don't. Pants balls. You know that area on your pants that is between your thighs? Where your thighs rub together? Yeah... pants balls. Anyone whose thighs touch knows what this is.... this is where the friction from your thighs rubbing together 24hours a day causes your pants to beg for mercy in the form of little fabric balls on the inner thighs of your pants. In my opinion this is likely the best way to keep them from actually bursting into flames from all that friction! Jeans are a different story, they do not produce pants balls, instead they just wear down.... and one day you are sitting down to use the bathroom and you look down at your pants and you realize that the thighs are now see through because you have worn them down. Make all the excuses you want ladies, but I am going to tell you the HARD TRUTH... your pants are BEGGING FOR MERCY!!! Well, as I have been buying pants I have noticed that this is no longer happening!!! Think of all the clothes we will save with the weight loss!!

"Shoe shopping anyone?"- So you may look at yourself and think, "gee my thighs are big, gee my arms are big, gee look at my belly" but do you ever look at yourself and go "gee my feet are fat!" No? Well you should. A strange change was when I went back to wearing a size 7.5 after several years of wearing size 8. I remember thinking that my feet must have been getting flatter as I got older and that is why I went up 1/2 a size. Now I know the truth.... my feet were fat too! Bad thing, I needed all new shoes. Good thing, I needed all new shoes!!!! Happy Shopping ladies, happy shopping.

"Why are the pockets so tiny in these pants?"- Yes, really. Long story short, I have bought several pairs of pants over and over again as my sizes have changed. In particular, I have several different pairs of Old Navy pants, which I LOVE, at size 18, 14, 12, 6. I just like them that much. Now, I knew the pants would get smaller. But I DID NOT expect the pockets to get smaller. In one certain pair of jeans, at the size 18 the pocket nearly went half way down my thigh. I never thought anything of that until I got the size 6 version (exact same pants, different size) and the pockets are so shallow that I cannot even put my keys in there without some odd looking bulge! So it is official, these clothing designers specially tailor pants for fat girls. Apparently they knew we need deep pockets, after all, we are HUNGRY!!! We need SNACKS! They make deep pockets so that we can store twinkies and cookies and other JUNK in there! Skinny girl jeans, on the other hand, have TINY pockets. Apparently, all those girls need is a stick of gum in their pocket! I am tellin you... as you drop the sizes pay attention to this! It is really funny and I SO WISH I could ask the designers about this.... it would be like watching a bug squirm under a microscope! teeheee...

Use these examples as some small things that you will notice change as your body does. You may notice some of your own changes, but pay attention to them and SAVOR THEM! Because you will NEVER go back! I will NEVER go back! WE WILL NEVER GO BACK TO BEING FAT! Why? Because it sucks being fat... that's why!