Isn't it great when:

You are doing laundry and your DH that was always so much smaller than you, well his jeans now look huge. LOL

Your DH's friends always say what a "lucky man" he is to have such a sexy wife.

You can now sit in DH's lap without the loud grunt. LOL

You can shave your legs or bikini area without a mirror.

Your teenager is not ashamed to go places with you, even swimming.

You can shop, shop , shop and feel like it's not only needed but you deserve it.

You can wear an underwire bra without feeling like you are being stabbed all day because of the fat roll under the breasts.

You can fit in tight places.

You don't need anyone to help you up off the floor.

You have extra money cause you aren't paying as much for medicines now.

You don't wake up with reflux everynight.

Your teen daughter borrows some of your clothes and thinks they are stylish. LOL.

I LOVED all of those Lilybelle! Those are all great, especially the sitting on the lap. :) I can't wait to sit on my boyfriends lap....he's only 140 lbs so I wouldn't even THINK of doing that right now! lol. I can't wait to get a piggy back ride for the first time in my life. ;)

My list could certainly be almost identical to Lily's.

Here's a few of my own, Isn't it great when:

-Your hubby's new nickname for you is Slim.
-When people constantly mistake you for one of your teenaged daughters.
-When you have tons of energy that you never thought possible. Amazing how much more one can get done in a day.
-When you absolutely love instead of loathe getting social invitations
-Having lots of room when you sit on chairs instead of spilling over them.
-When people call you "tiny" and "skinny"
-When you have soooo much more room in your drawers now because your clothes take up soooo much less space.
-When you can squeeze through the smallest of spaces
-When going out dancing you actually dance all night instead of hanging out on the side.
-When you rediscover all your hidden bones. And you're absolutely loving them. Those darn collar bones, they're the GREATEST.
-When your 3 teenaged daughters think they have a "hot" mom as do all their friends. Ditto the hubby and his friends.
-When you get to share clothing with those teenaged daughters.
-When you're the talk of the neighborhood.
-When everybody wants "diet" advice from you
-When your thighs don't rub together.
-When you can't wait to get on the scale every morning.
-When you look forward to the day instead of dreading it.
-When your kids and DH are so darn proud of you that they can't stop complimenting you and praising you. And when they tell just about anybody who will listen what a great job you're doing.
-When your daughter tells you, "Ma, I can't believe I like vegetables so much"
-When you discover that of course, yes, you DO have control over your food intake.
-When you can go shopping anywhere and everywhere and there are sooo many choices that your head spins.
-When you have an incredible wardrobe where every item is a knockout winner.
-When you go shopping and they only have something that you love in a small size that you think will surely not fit you. You try it on anyway and lo and behold it FITS.
-When you do the laundry and see the small sized underwear and marvel at the fact that their actually yours. No more granny panties.
-Whereas you used to be just about the largest person in the room at any given time you are now one of the smallest.
-Along the same lines, when you were absolutely the LARGEST one amongst your friends and you are now the smallest (except for one).


And on and on and on. The list is endless. :smug:

.....you catch a glance of yourself in the mirror and feel so proud of how you've taken control of your life!

.....you develop a new attitude to go along with a new body, and find yourself becoming a better person.

-Someone mentions you've lost more weight when you're in plateau. :p
-Other people notice a difference even when you don't. :cool:
-You find food substitutions you love. :D (Thanks to you guys, I'm hot for Laughing Cow Light Swiss Cheese wedges now, lol!) :p Next experiment will be to try hummus when I can find it!
-You buy exercise equipment and actually use it. :carrot:

Isn't it great when...

...you do hard early morning water workouts alone in your apartment complex pool and later someone at the pool comes up to you and says they have been watching you out their window and are amazed at your stamina!! ?? People start coming up to you and saying "Oh you are the one who does all the hard aerobics here."

Robin, I think our lists could be interchangeable. LOL

Isn't it great when:

Everyone thinks you are 10 yrs. younger than you are, when before everyone thought you were 10 yrs. older than you were.

When your 21 yr. old son proudly announces to the crowd that he is singing a duet with his mom, and hear all the whispers of how "there is no way she looks old enough to be his mother". LOL.

When you walk past Lane Bryant and it hits you that their clothes no longer fit you.

When you are no longer too self-conscious to get in the Limbo line at the club with your DH and son. LOL.

When you take your dogs for a walk and they tire out before you do.

When you don't have to wade up to your waist in water in the lake before tossing your now wet towel up on the beach.

When you can comfortably sit in a lawn chair without worrying about it breaking.

(This one's a bit creepy) but DH and I had jokingly planned on being buried in an above ground mausoleum with me on top. The wording on the mausoleum was to say "I finally get to be on top". LOL. Well, now I don't have to wait til we die to get to be on TOP. LOL.

Originally Posted by cjc92802:
.....you catch a glance of yourself in the mirror and feel so proud of how you've taken control of your life!

I'm hoping to start feeling like this, right now I am still avoiding my reflection :(

Soon though, I have faith :smug:

My single biggest motivation was realizing that I was worth the hard work it was going to take to lose weight. That was my only "stumbling block" (rather, it was a giant wall!) - feeling worthless. It was impossible for me to lose weight until I started liking myself. I had spent a lifetime with low self-esteem, crash dieting as "punishment" (and getting to be too thin, then eating and eating to fill the void) and telling myself I was a failure.

Then I began CHOOSING to take care of myself, body and mind. What a difference it has made in all areas of my life.

......you can tell your husband is more attracted to your body!

-When you can sit without having back rolls.
-When your stomach goes from a giant roll, to a giant bump, to a smaller bump to being flat.
-When you forget what you ever saw in fast food.
-When you can wear your boyfriend's clothes.

- when you get up in the morning and no longer dread looking at the scale
- when you can go to the movies and actually want to just have an iced tea w/ sweetner instead of a coke! (did that yesterday)
- when your kids ask you if it's exercise time and join in (mine are 3 and 5 yrs)
- when your husband starts to notice a difference and changes his attitude towards your weight loss!

Isn't it GREAT when you finally feel comfortable enough to take your shirt off when getting it on with dh? :love:

I thought of another one..

-When your 'diet' includes eating all freakin' day and always feeling full and satisfied and not being a slave to meals in a box

Isn't it great when you can finally sit with your legs crossed at the knee instead of the ankle!

...when you can do 20 minutes on the Stairmaster without going out of your heart rate range, given that you had to stop or die after 5 minutes the first time you got on!

Jay