BOATS and PLANES

Before I get into boats 'n planes, the pictogram above is from an article on 'Customers of Size' on commercial airplanes in standard seats. You can see a size 14 is just barely contained, and the 16 and 18 crash test dummies are bleeding their shoulder-chub all over their seatmates. Given that I'm a size 24 on a good day, I would very much like to shrink myself before ever again sitting on a plane. That image is something I will carry with me over the next six months because I will not be stressed and embarrassed about doing something I'm really looking forward to- flying to Massachusetts for Christmas. I have just under 6 months to get down to a 14 (or even a 16 or 18) and I know I can do it.

In other, imminent, body-freakout news, we are planning to go up to Adam's parents again and hang out on Bass Lake on their new patio boat. We went last year and even though I was pushing maximum (weight) density, I found out being on a boat all day is much more fun than I expected. Being IN the water is something I've always loved, but the other stuff: putting on a bathing suit, marching around in public wearing shorts, pulling myself up the small ladder, walking on a dock that shakes or creaks, being aware of how your body weight affects a pretty large vessel, and just generally feeling TOO BIG...well that is less fun. Since we're going at the end of the month, I'll basically have to deal with all of that stuff, but even being 7-10 lbs lighter and knowing I'm in 'weight loss mode' will help me to feel so much more comfortable in my skin.

I'm thinking that July 26 -the day before we go up- would be a good day to start facing the scale again. I may take a current picture, and there MAY even be self-tanner involved.

So besides the positive stuff like living longer and feeling all sassy, I now have two tangible motivators to keep me focused when I want to stress-eat at work or funnel a bottle of yellowtail cab in the aisle at Albertson's...BOATS and PLANES.

What is keeping you motivated this summer, friends??