2021 is almost over. It’s the perfect time to slough the stuff I’ve been carrying since the spring of 2020 – and beyond.

Welcome to my newest weight loss journey. I’m coming at you 25 pounds down from this time last year, I’m proud and relieved to say. Like many, I have been overweight all of my life. While I’ve been a member of WW for approximately ten years, hormones and stress in the last three years undid all the work I had done when I first joined. Like most, I put back on more than I had lost. While furloughed from work in 2020, then, and working from home, my weight continued to increase until I had surpassed my postpartum weight. And by that I mean the weight I gained in the year postpartum, when I continued on a high-calorie breastfeeding diet even though my babies had given up breastfeeding four months in. I’d been carrying a lot of stuff for a long time.

The last time I was under 200 pounds, I was living and working in Shanghai. Buying organic groceries and cooking my own food definitely made a difference, as did walking 15-23K a day as part of my job. I dropped about 30 pounds in those four months, without really trying. I even lifted weights in my building’s gym and continued some mat Pilates from the practice I learned while trying to get a little more fit before my trip. I felt great, even with the occasional smog alert due to dreadful Shanghai air quality.

That all came back with a vengeance when I moved home, sat at a desk, and had five days a week of 3-hour commute. I returned to WW a couple of times. I tried Slim Fast – and gained weight. We did Keto – which I loved, and took me down about 8 pounds. All of the saturated fat made me concerned, however, because of the history of heart disease on both sides of my family, so I backed off of that program. Perimenopause was kicking in too, making the distribution of fat was look different than before, and I hated it. For example, I had developed a booty that was totally new, casting a shadow all its own. I swear it followed me home one day and just stuck there, refusing to leave, much like my childhood cat, Pumpkin. My formerly hourglass shape was shifting to pear. Not a favorite fruit or preferred look for me. I missed my waist.

In my desperation I had actually begun to contemplate bariatric surgery. I knew a few people who had done this – including one who’d had the procedure when she was about the age I am now. Naomi Wolf’s words from The Beauty Myth kept ringing in my ears – that this was a form of violence women (and doctors) inflicted based on unrealistic body image. I didn’t think my body image was unrealistic or unnatural. It was, however, unhealthy and I couldn’t find a good way to make this upward trend stop. Because two of the people I knew who’d had the procedure ended up putting all their weight back on, and because I was due to go out of the country for work again, surgery didn’t feel like a good option. What if something went wrong while I was out of the US?

When a lifelong friend told me about a program she was on, I was intrigued. Very little food prep – eat six times a day – no exercise required – lots of water. It sounded do-able, especially since the kids were busy in the evenings anyway now that they were back to school and activities. I was still working from home. While I had been trying to back away from processed food, I was willing to take a chance on this due to my friend’s rapid success and recommendation. There were workbooks and coaches to help support my journey, and recipes full of protein, veggies, and good fats. I promised myself I’d try it for three months. Do the program through Christmas and see how it went. My goal: lose the Pandemic Poundage.

From March of 2020 through June 2021, I ate and drank like there was truly no tomorrow. While we thought the furlough would last a couple of weeks, or maybe a month or two, I was out of work for about six months. My wife and I would finish off a bottle of wine nightly, and sometimes I’d have a cocktail before that or a nightcap after. Or both. We started our furlough with a two-week staycation, full of day drinking as if we were on vacation. Everyone had been told to stay safer at home, so we weren’t driving anywhere – who cared? Our teenagers began to make comments about our drinking. They were mouthy, sure, but they weren’t wrong. Steak, restaurant food, pizza, and fast food became staples of our diet. I kept walking, doing a personal 5k two or three times a week, but the gym and Pilates were closed. The walking may have mitigated some of the gain, but I knew I was carrying at least an extra 20 pounds. I joyfully investigated new avenues of creativity and new professional relationships. Then furlough was over. Work began to pick up, at a severely reduced number of hours, but working towards a large project. I didn’t want to go to my next foreign assignment with the bonnet and boot that had grown onto my chassis. First thing I cut back was alcohol.

After my birthday in July 2021 (during which I enjoyed a short vacation with much less alcohol), I resolved to do better. I ate and prepared more veggies. I’d have a glass of wine every other night instead of a half-bottle every night, switching to sparkling water or iced tea. I started walking again, which had fallen off when remote work picked up. Shorter distances, less time, but something. And I went back to Pilates 2-3 times a week. Ultimately, the numbers on the scale started to descend, and I lost about six pounds. I began to have fewer sweaty perimenopausal nights, which was an added bonus in the right direction.

So I’m on the new program, wrapping up my second month (8 weeks) and as of this morning am down 22 pounds! My waist has returned (I’ve lost 3.5 inches around my waist) and my booty has reduced. I reached the Pandemic Poundage goal a month early, wearing pants I haven’t been able to get into since last Christmas. But no reason to stop now. I haven’t had an alcoholic drink in that whole time, and you know what? It’s fine. I mean, I know I could, it’s all available, but it doesn’t help me to keep going toward my goal. I celebrated Halloween with a couple of slices of greasy, yummy, cheesy pizza but no candy or specialty cocktail. I made a choice, and enjoyed every moment. For Thanksgiving, I am fine to skip mashed potatoes, candied yams (not a fan), and bread. I love stuffing but can skip it if it includes nuts or fruits or oysters (gah!). There have been enough WW Thanksgivings in my life to know how to navigate! Besides, my current program has a terrific, sage stuffing recipe made with cauliflower rice. We’ve tried it already and it’s ALL the flavors of home for me. That swap alone will afford me a glass of wine or fancy cocktail, which I may choose over the pie. I’ll reserve making the choice until I see the pie. 🙂

I promised myself 3 months. Get through Christmas and see where we are. I can do that, and I plan to do so. Pushing through New Year’s will be six more weeks. That also seems doable, even with a holiday meal here or there, because I am seeing results and liking the process. I know how to handle the cookies and the cocktails and the parties and they’re not gonna break me! Maybe as the ball drops I’ll get to see the other side of 200 once again.