I feel strongly that weight loss is something people should do because it will give them more pleasure in their lives. If the pleasure is more confidence and compliments that’s great, but to me those are external reasons for losing weight. It’s weight loss to please other people.

I like to focus on the personal pleasure that losing weight gives to us. For me, it reopened a world of good food I forgot about. I was reminded how much I love fruit and vegetables. I got reacquainted with delicious home-cooked meal with subtle flavors instead of the typical mass-produced food I’d fallen into the habit of shoveling into myself.

Losing 40 pounds restored the communication I had with my horse. My center of balance changed allowing my hands to work independently of my seat. I didn’t need to hang onto the reins to keep my balance. My hands became soft and yielding again allowing me to help my horse balance himself and perform to his full, athletic potential.

Losing weight made it possible for me to slip into a highly tippy kayak from the dock without flipping it over. I wouldn’t even attempt to squeeze my body into that opening, much less try to get in while keeping the watercraft upright.

Squeezing into a kayak was daunting endeavor when I carried 40 excess pounds.

Getting off the extra weight gave me back energy. It’s been 26 years that I’ve been at goal and my energy hasn’t waned. I was 36 when I got to goal and today at 63 I feel as energetic as ever. That’s a good thing because I have 4 grandchildren I want to be able to keep up with them and I can. I can run with them and get down on the floor and get back up again with ease. I can play with them until they’re exhausted and I still have energy to carry them up to bed.

There are a lot of things I love about having lost weight. One of them is sharing my expertise and insight with others who want to lose weight too. Here I am doing an interview on the Matty B morning show on Z105.5

These are things that I love about having lost and maintaining a 40-pound weight loss.

I recently had a member share with me the things she can do now that she’s lost 100 pounds. Here is her list:

Now I can…

1. Walk more than a few feet without getting out of breath
2. Sit on any chair without fear of breaking it       
3. Stop taking medication to lower my blood pressure
4. Ride the subway because I can fit through the turnstile
5. Buckle my seatbelt on an airplane without using an extension
6. Lower the seat back tray on a plane
7. Cross my legs
8. Easily slide into restaurant booths
9. Have more energy that people half my age
10. Get on the floor to play with my grandchildren    
11. Get back up off the floor without needing help
12. Easily reach all my body parts when showering
13. Bend over to tie my shoes
14. Lie on my stomach
15. No longer qualify nor need to use the handicap parking spaces
16. Stop using powder to stop my skin from chafing
17. Enjoy Zumba classes
18. Buy shoes at any shoe store because I don’t need extra wide shoes    
19. Wear cute shoes because I can fit into the cute shoe sizes (and actually wear and walk in them without pain)
20. Ask the saleslady if they have “that dress in a smaller size”
21. Cook a delicious and healthy meal that my whole family enjoys
22. Wake up in the morning feeling great
23. Go to bed at night feeling great
24. Get into the back seat of a two-door coupe
25. Smile when I catch my reflection in a window