Poppy on a Kite

To describe today’s guest blogger, Julie Powers, as bubbly and full of life would be an understatement. I don’t think I’ve seen her without a smile on her face. Her wry sense of humor must be how she does it! Even while undergoing chemotherapy she was telling jokes and making others smile. But amidst the humor, Julie is sharing a very real story with an important message today.

My name is Julie (aka @JPowers155) and I’m fat. I am, however, 52 pounds less fat than when I started this journey back in January. My weight has been creeping up since puberty with intermittent bouts of dieting but the reality is that I like food and I don’t like to sweat. Oh, and I have lupus so that complicates things a bit.

In January, I decided to start the #NotSoFatBastardDiet in conjunction with an experimental chemo trial for lupus. Being an optimist, I figured that 15 weeks of no appetite might be a good kick start to my plan of dropping 40 pounds by my 40th birthday in October. I’d still be fat but I would be LESS fat. It’s all about setting the bar at a reasonable level, isn’t it? I downloaded a free Droid app and started tracking calories and my minimal exercise efforts.

During chemo, I threw up a lot, didn’t eat much and lost my hair.  My weight dropped dramatically … 10 pounds a month between January and May. It was easy – too easy. In June, my appetite (and my hair) came back with a vengeance. I gained a pound, had a small nervous breakdown and realized that I had to do more than just take a few walks with the dog. I had to learn portion control and stop skipping meals. So I returned to the gym after a 10 year hiatus and so far, I’m having fun. I’m Smart Commuting to the office, gardening and I’m looking at buying a bike. One day, I’ll have Michelle Obama arms or at the very least, the skin on my triceps will stop waving when I do.

For a lot of people, losing weight is about getting back to where they were at a moment in time. For me, losing weight is more about getting ready to face what’s next on the lupus journey. Having a particularly virulent form of a poorly understood disease means that I don’t know how long my body will hold out but I owe it to myself to be as strong as possible so that I can fight for as long as I can and to look damn good doing it.

So here I am, almost six months into my #NotSoFatBastardDiet and here are a few things that I’ve learned:

• Climbing stairs hurts less when you weigh less
• Compliments on your new shape are empowering
• Fitting comfortably into an airline seat feels good
• Every woman has body image issues, past or present
• Setting small goals and achieving them is powerful

Thanks for the chance to share my journey.  Feel free to follow along on Twitter or Facebook.

Julie, thank you for motivating me to care more about the daily goals I achieve, rather than being stuck on the numbers .

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