Dress check

There's one very wonderful thing about moving that I had forgotten until about a day or two ago when I stepped on the scale: the opporunity for some serious weight loss.

You get your cardio/strength training with all the box moving and up and down the stairsing. You get your diet when you stop going to the grocery store because you don't want to have to move any extra food or, once you're in new place, you don't go to the grocery because you just don't have time.

Granted, there's more potential to lose weight when you do all the box moving yourself (I think I lost about seven pounds during the last move because of this), but I stepped on the scale a couple days ago and voila! four pounds down like that. (Of course, I seem to have gained one back, but still. I haven't seen that point on the scale in about a year).

There's also this:

That would be my pedometer. It's a bit blurry, but in case you can't see clearly: 27,381 steps. That's about 14 miles or more than a half-marathon. That was achieved on my first day of doing touristy-stuff in D.C., and while I do have reason to believe that the floppy waistband I had clipped it on caused the steppage to be inflated, my feet would argue with that. What I'm saying is I did a butt-load of walking which may have resulted in me dropping a pound or two from my butt.

I know what you're thinking: What a nerd! She wears a pedometer all day every day? It's true. I maintain that 80s-style beeper look and I make a certain click-clack noise with every step I take. But you know what's not nerdy? That feeling I get when I put on the benchmark bridesmaid dress for the first time in a month and a half:

(For background on the dress and its role as a benchmark, please consult here.)

I'm not longer ashamed of how I look in the dress, therefore decided to stop covering my face with Microsoft Paint. My huge head makes me look extra-skinny, right?

For reference, the original photo:
And the last time I tried on the dress, about a month and a half ago:

Ok, maybe on second glance it's not that much difference. But I swear it looks different in person.

Now that vacation time and the great move of '08 is nearing to a close, I'm going for a different method to help me tackle those last 20 pounds I'm trying to lose. I joined Weight Watchers over lunch on Wednesday. It's worked for several people I know and no one more than my mother, who lost about 60 pounds with WW's help. It completely transformed her. She no longer is shy about photos or trying on clothing while out shopping. She also just seemed happier once that weight was off.

What I'm worried about is becoming one of those crazy Weight Watchers. You know the ones who obsess over every single calorie or dietary fiber in their food and freak about going over their points, oozing guilt along the way. My mom also was one of those for a while, but I think she's found her balance a bit. Still, just spending a week with her making my dinner, I can tell it's going to be rough.

So I'll share my experience with WW with all of you -- if you're interested. If you find that I'm obsessing over it all a wee bit much, then all I ask of you is to remind me to go eat one of my beloved chocolate chip cookies every so often.