So I shot the splash photo for December today. I was specifically out to reproduce the splash photo from December 2011 in order to show the progress that I have made in slimming down.
So here I am in late November 2010:
And now this was taken today. Take a look:
There you go. The difference between the two shots is about 80 pounds.
It’s interesting to see what’s the same and what’s different. I specifically controlled for any external variables in order to place the focus on my body. Thus why I’m wearing the same outfit, sitting in the same place, doing the same pose, and holding the same stupid sign.
So the most obvious difference is in my face. In 2010, I was fat. There’s no tiptoeing around that. I was huge. I looked really heavy, and it was true, with an extra chin in there, and a lot of stuff around the sides. Then in 2011, my face is much smaller than it was a year ago. Things are a little more defined, and I discovered that I actually do have a neck. But the thing that really surprised me was seeing the shoulders. My shoulders look a lot higher and bigger in the 2010 photo, while things are definitely a bit lower in the 2011 photo. I guess all that fat that I’ve now burned off (and then peed out – I know, weird) was propping things up and making them sit higher than they ought to be. This is what I’m supposed to look like, I suppose.
One thing that this photo doesn’t show very well, though, is the fact that the shirt I’ve got on no longer fits me properly. I even put it in the dryer in hopes of making it shrink, but no luck. Seriously, none of my clothes fit me anymore. The only clothes that fit me are a blue polo shirt that I bought at JCPenney a few weeks ago, and a bunch of shirts that I bought at a Salvation Army thrift store with Isis. Even those jeans that Mom bought me after our trip to Chicago don’t fit me anymore. I can hold the waist of those out with my thumb and have lots of room in front. Such is the case with transitional pants, I suppose. Then there’s my blue tie-dye shirt. Everyone, and I do mean everyone, has basically told me that I shouldn’t wear that shirt anymore. I loved that shirt, but yeah, when 12 out of 12 people tell you that the shirt doesn’t look good on you anymore, it’s a good sign that it’s time to retire it.
This whole I-need-a-new-wardrobe thing is the only downside to my losing all the weight. See, I’m cheap. As evidenced by the aforementioned blue tie-dye, I will wear my clothes to death before I replace them. Seriously. So I’m not exactly pleased about having to buy new clothes, even though everyone says how good of a problem that is. But they don’t have to pay for them. See, if I were getting bigger, it would be obvious that I had to get new clothes, because I couldn’t physically fit into the old clothes. But in this case, since I’m getting smaller, I can still get the old clothes on, but they’re a bit roomy. Take a look at this, of me in my winter coat on Friday:
This is the same winter coat that I’ve had since 2006, and it’s starting to look a little bit big as well. I’ve got it cinched way in on the inside (it has some elastic cords to allow you to draw it in), and it still looks too big. And I so love this coat, too, so I’ll be sad to see it go. If not for the fact that it’s too big now, I could easily get a few more winters out of this thing. I posted this picture on Facebook, and eleven different people said it’s time for a new coat. Seriously, the score was eleven to zero on the coat front.
And then of course, no sympathy from the Lysy household. I was telling my sister about the clothes situation on the phone today, and she said something to the effect of, “Most people aren’t such a cheapskate and get new clothes when their body changes.” There you go, I suppose. But I believe that I am about to the point where the old clothes are starting to get on my nerves, and so I’m probably going to start replacing things sooner rather than later. And see what old stuff I have that I can fit into again. We’ll see, I suppose.