The Muscle Difference: I can wear at 265 lbs what I used to wear at 250 lbs

I am not kidding.

As I sit here, I'm wearing a shirt that's like 9 years old. I remember wearing it to OUTBACK with hubby (I hate that restaurant, but he likes it). I remember cause I felt pretty in my blue, floral print, fluttery, chiffony top that I finally fit into (with just a bit of snugness at the belly) after going to Weight Watchers and losing a bunch of pounds. There is no longer snugness at the belly. It just plain FITS.

Funny how I can remember weights attached to certain clothing pieces. The fat-gal memory files relating to poundage is undimmed by age, whereas I can barely remember the ending of a novel I read last month.

This particular blouse was at the back of the closet. Hadn't fit me in a long time. Since before my mom was dying in 2003. It was back there in the dim recesses of my walk-in along with my "sparkly goal dress", size 20 that I bought in the late 90's, but it didn't fit back then. (I got up to size 30/32 in 2004, btw. And clearly, size 20 has crept up tons, cause there's no way I'm a size 20, period. This dress is a stretchy mutant. But I took a pic to try to show how it's SHORT and SPARKLY and has a classic cut--so it would be fashionable for years and years and years...heh. I'll upload it later and add it to this post. I gotta get back to closest-clearing before I exercise pre-meal.)

I had been going through the closet looking to see what might fit me now. I hadn't done it since more then 10 pounds ago, so I figured why shop in the stores if stuff I hadn't worn ever or in a while might fit me.

Well, shoot, there really is some weird thing going on, cause my "sparkly goal dress", size 20, which didn't fit me at 254 (when I bought it), fits me at 265. My fluttery top that I wore at 250 (yes, I remember the weigh-in and my joy at getting the top to celebrate), fits me at 265.

The Pilates difference. The muscle versus fat difference.

I weigh more, but after two years of regular hard workouts, a lot more of this weight is muscle than it was last time. That means that while I'm morbidly obese, I'm definitely less fat than last time I was 255 (and sedentary). Prolly less fat than when I last was 250 (cause the belly is not snug on the shirt).

So, a fifteen pound fit difference...shoot. I'm pretty amazed.

Makes one wanna keep working out. :)

Anyway, my "sparkly goal dress", size 20, fits now, and hubby says I look "great" in it. (He is blinded by love, but it makes me happy to hear that all the same.) My 27th wedding anniversary is Friday. Two days away.

I think I may need to figure out how to wear that sparkly dress out for dinner, yes? :)