A Story Told In Jeans

When I started my weight loss odyssey in 2009, I had a favorite pair of jeans from Old Navy. The Sweetheart provided a low waist, a stretch denim, and a boot cut that flattered and also felt super-comfortable. I liked the light blue color. My jeans were size 18.

I started training with B. the Sadist, and the jeans began to sag.

"I think it's time for some size 16s!"

 As the weight came off, I was determined to spend the minimum on new clothes, because it seemed silly and wasteful to buy a ton of new duds when more weight would be coming off and I'd just need the basics. Since I could hardly teach middle school with my jeans falling down, I decided to continue buying the same pair of jeans--that light-blue Sweetheart from Old Navy--in descending sizes as I continued on.

Sixteen...getting baggy.

Fourteen...Eighties Day at my school.

Twelve, for the first time since college.

Ten...first time since high school.

Eight...feeling pretty darned good.

Six...Wow!!!

I've documented and measured my weight loss--currently standing at 75 pounds total--through a pair of jeans, always buying the same style and color, simply watching the size go down, down, down.

A few weeks ago, I bought the sixes, and felt fantastic. I don't think I even wore a size six anything in high school...and here I am, rocking them and feeling great. Then today, I found myself near Old Navy, and my jeans were feeling a wee bit baggy, so I thought, "Why not go in and...just see?"

I grabbed a pair of size four Sweetheart jeans from the shelf and headed back to the fitting room. I was whispering under my breath the whole time, "Oh, it's probably not quite that time yet. You probably need another couple of weeks. So don't be disappointed." But the jeans slipped on, and they buttoned and zipped. They're snug, but I can see myself wearing them, comfortably, in another week, two at the most.

So I bought them.

Tomorrow, I plan to hand my current trainer, M. the Reasonable, this
tag, saying, "I have a present for you." He'll be so happy for me.

As for that original pair of size 18 jeans...I still have them.

I've held onto them as a reminder of how far I've come. And because I love the satisfaction that comes when I show them to people who didn't know me when I used to wear them, and watch the jaws drop. There's often a moment or two of silence as they figure out what to say. Maybe a quiet, "Oh, wow." In G. the Meanie's case, it was the only time I ever saw him speechless. In M. the Reasonable's, there was a quiet, "I...I can't imagine you ever fitting into those." In my own, there is a deep satisfaction in knowing that I've come this far, that I've chosen health and activity over the lethargy that used to rule my life.