Losing Weight and Feeling Great

Archive for March, 2008

My clothes don’t fit.  I have nothing to wear.

Up to about a year ago, these two statements would have meant I had grown out of my clothes — they were all too small because I had gained pounds and inches.

Now it’s because I’ve lost so much weight and my clothes aren’t fitting very well.  In fact because they are so loose, they make me look like I’ve gained weight!

The Closet Trials

Around Thanksgiving of last year I tore through my closet, making piles — this pile Goodwill (good clothes, just too big) and that pile trash (too big and need too much repair).  It left me with very, very little in my closet, except for some they-fit-me-at-the-time and some too-small clothes I thought I could shrink into as I move between sizes.

Today, I’m supposed to meet a friend of mine for lunch.  We talk, laugh and have fun.  When lunch is over, I have her take some photos of me.  Since we only see each other every three months, it’s a good length of time to document the pounds I’ve lost with pictures.

So with that in mind, I go to the closet and pick out the outfit.  I tried it on. Waaaaay too big!  Guess that one goes to Goodwill.

There’s another one I tried on 25 pounds ago and it was still tight.  I put it on.  Again, too lose.  Now this outfit I have never had a chance to wear even once (and no, I won’t gain weight just to be able to wear it once).

Hmph.  I literally only have one outfit left, and it just barely fits — and I do mean, just barely.  It’s a tight, but it doesn’t cut off my circulation.

But it’s also a size 18.  And when you start from a size 24, an 18 is practically petite!

Now I do have to do a little clothes shopping, but only a little since I’m still in transition.  I’ll post some pictures after I get back and can get to the computer to crop and re-size. 

Me, in a size 18.  Wow.  I have made progress.  Yeah, I’m still fat, but there’s a lot less of me now and I almost feel thin.

Has the diet been worth it?

YES!

(P.S. — a new photo is posted on my About Me, Before and During page.)

It was about this time last year that the weight-loss drug Alli was introduced, with much fanfare.  Finally, a diet pill that was over-the-counter but approved by the FDA.  And it lets a person lose 50% more weight than they normally would on the same diet.
What wasn’t to love?

Can you say “side effects”?

Now you can go to the official Alli website (My Alli) and they do warn you, in politically correct terms, that this is not a diet pill to be taken lightly.  That is can, and often does, have some embarrassing side effects.  I liked the part about wearing dark clothes while getting used to Alli.

Anyhow, there’s been some time that’s passed, and Alli is now mainstream.  And it’s still not for the uninformed.  Or people who have no willpower.  Unless, of course, you don’t mind wearing Depends.

But seriously, can taking Alli weight loss pills help or is it just another gimmick?

If you can stick to the Alli diet plan, this weight loss pill can help you lose more weight.  It works by partially blocking the absorption of fat, thereby lowering your calorie intake. So if you’re motivated to go on a weight loss plan and stick with it, Alli can be a way to lose the weight you were going to lose anyway, but just faster.

Alli has partnered with eDiets.com
to create a home food delivery program that works with the Alli weight loss pills.  So that’s an option, if you want to really manage your food and limit any side effects.

The Alli diet pills aren’t for everyone; the side effects can be, um, explosive.  But they can be for some people, who are committed to losing weight.