It is the final ten days till my countdown clock runs out! How is that possible?! It finally feels like summer, or should I say… “summah!” is coming. I’m looking out the window and everything looks vibrant there is a cool breeze it’s a perfect day.

I just finished playing with Sadie… that was fun.

I am thinking about transformation and what it means. Well, it literally means “a dramatic change in form or appearance.”  Transformations are not that common really.  So when you dramatically change your appearance, it causes some disequilibrium. People don’t know how to react. Know what I mean? So this really happened to me…

• I was at a wake, of all places, and there were people I hadn’t seen in a while there. I was saying hello and making small talk. “Jennifer?” I turned around smiling, “Hello.” I say, “It’s nice to see you. I’m sorry for your loss.”  He looked at me shaking his head back and forth as if to say no, “Woooow. Woooow. You look SO much better! You lost a lot of weight!”  I smiled incredulously “Thank –  you.” He continued to shake his head, “I like it when this happens, I’m so proud of you.” I felt my eyes open wider and my eyebrows were now scrunching together, “Oh, thanks so much.” 

I realize that he meant these words in the best possible way and that he was just trying to be supportive, acknowledging my accomplishment. I think that when we go through a weight loss / healthy lifestyle journey it changes fixed ideas about people. This happened to me as well…

• I was standing with a group of colleagues in school. We were talking about a 50th Birthday Party we recently attended. My friend looked at me and said, “You know Jenn, James didn’t recognize you. He didn’t know who you were.” 

This felt surreal. I’ve been out with them  We  (Day 40) went to an escape room with them. So weird.

I think the important thing is this. Yes, I’ve changed a lot since September, and now I look different. However, as I have gone through this journey, I have felt great, I felt so good about myself every step of the way. Even on the hard days and there were quite a few of those. If I stopped to concern myself with how others perceived me it would probably not have been helpful – at all. It’s so important to love yourself throughout all the phases of this. The story you tell about yourself is the story that matters. Hold onto that and remember it because that is the truth. That is an essential piece if you want to “get to goal”.

Thank you for reading my random thoughts. If you’re so inclined, come back. I’ll be here tomorrow.