a new me

i'm sitting here after a jazzercise class, a shower, and a healthy dinner. a little over a year ago, i hit a frightening number on my scale about the same time my doctor told me my thyroid disease is under control and it was time to make some lifestyle changes...eat better and exercise were the two specifics. to weight watchers & jazzercise i went and it worked. i lost 40 lbs and tend to feel much better. it's had some interesting effects...

...i actually feel better after i work out. when i'd exercised before, i was just exhausted mostly. now with the exercise and the healthy eating, it works. i get the endorphins...i feel better, less stressed & i sleep better.

...i like my veggies. well, not all of them, but way more than i used to. i still like junk food or just healthy food prepared in an unhealthy way--fried. but i like healthy food for itself. and just like when i eat junk food, i crave more junk food; the same is usually true of healthy food, i crave it when i'm eating right and exercising.

...i apparently look "new". people have been telling me how good i look since losing weight. i'm finally starting to believe them, but yesterday i had an interesting compliment. i was chatting with a friend and her husband at a wedding. he finally says to me "i like your new boobs".
"excuse me"
"i mean, didn't you, aren't they new--smaller? didn't you have a reduction?"
"no..i, uh, lost 40 lbs and bought a new minimizer bra."
"i thought you were having reduction surgery," my friend says.
"oh," i say, recalling a conversation she and i had about cosmetic surgery. "i've considered it, but haven't actually done anything."

after an awkward pause, we managed to find a new topic before going our separate ways. in the moment, i was more than a bit embarassed. but there's something else about the new me...my attitude is lightening up too. i'm learning to better laugh at myself. so, within a few minutes of our conversation ending, i was able to see the humor in it. and realize it was probably more awkward for him than me...and that somewhere in there, it was meant as a compliment.