Lumpy Girl Claire
Trial by Dryer

Today, I took a leap of faith. I took an action based on the belief that I would stick to my diet this week without fail. I did something that even skinny girls I know don't do.

I threw caution to the wind and threw my jeans in the dryer.

I think that "overly optimistic" would be the best words to describe my lapse of judgment. Or maybe it was purely denial.

Clearly, sticking to my diet for one week was not enough time to slim my thighs and carve out a waistline. Even my "fat" jeans came out too snug. It's a sad state of affairs.

So I've had to resort to the jean stretch calisthenics: the lunge and the squat. If you are ever in a similar pinch (and I do mean pinch!) try getting the areas that need stretching a little damp first. That makes the denim more malleable. But remember, even stretch jeans have a limit. You don't want your squats to turn into the splits!

Luckily there was room for a little stretch left in the fabric and I was able to get two of the pairs to fit - not comfortably - but they fit. The other jeans went back in the wash for rewetting and stretching and drying slowly sans heat.

I suppose I could have gone out and bought jeans in a size larger to avoid the drying problem, but who wants to buy jeans in a larger size? Not only that but after you sit down a couple of times they would stretch out and be too big.

Better to allow for longer drying time and have jeans that don't sag. I have enough things that sag on their own. I don't need to have clothes that do the same.

I started getting into more of a routine this week with the diet. I was packing my salad for lunch and bringing appropriate snacks to get me from meal to meal. When I knew I was going to be having a meal that wasn't really on my diet, I made up for it by eating light beforehand. I actually had a big cheeseburger and fries and still lost weight this week. What a treat that was!!

I think that writing my weight on the calendar has helped me keep focused on my goal and on my daily eating plan. When I deviate from my diet it shows the next day or two on the scales. One big thing I noticed was that on Monday morning I have the biggest upswing in my weight. That's got to be from my weekend splurges.

I don't think I'll be stopping having dinner out on Fridays and Saturdays, but I'm going to try harder to balance my eating the rest of the day. I also don't drink as much water on the weekend, which I need to work on.

I'm down 1.4 pounds from last week and that's pretty good. I've seen this weight before though - about 3 months ago - and then everything started creeping back the other way. This is the weight I seem to get stuck at and never go below. This is my wall.

Last time I gave up at this point. I spent a month trying to break through and then quit. I'm not quitting this time but I already know it's not going to be as easy from here on out.

But I'm going to persevere. I'm going to keep writing my weight down on the calendar until I can write the magic number I'm aiming towards. I'm going to keep packing those salads for lunch. I'm going to keep making myself get up off the sofa and do some exercise at least 3 times a week.

And most importantly, I'm going to stop putting my jeans in the dryer. They won't be all fluffy and soft, but they'll be more forgiving of the fact that I am.

Claire