Feedback Needed

I told Nev the other day that I needed more feedback from him. I am down 18 pounds, and he has not said much. From him, I expect a daily two second nudge – “you go, girl” or “you look good” or something along that line. If I ask him, he will say something like, “It’s hard to tell, I see you everyday.” This is the engineer in him, but not necessarily something that reinforces my resolve. Of course, having told him this, he says something nice about how I look at least once a day, but now I am not sure I believe him. (He can’t win.)

The amazing fact is that 18 pounds is a lot, but not enough. I still have 22 pounds to go to slimness. You will note that I am wearing my traditional black. So I look different – my friend, Pam, tells me my “behind” is smaller. I remember several years ago, someone at work one day looked very slim. She said, “Finally someone noticed, I have lost 17 pounds.” So I have the next 18 pound weight loss to look forward to and big changes! Meanwhile each week everything gets a little looser. The winter coat is no longer tight; the red vest (that Carla tells me to dump) is almost not tight. It is at the size that you would try on and say, “It’s a little small, so I don’t think I will get it.”

We went to a concert last night; 90% of the male singers had sizeable potbellies. They were mainly dressed in snug turtleneck shirts. Most men hide their weight pretty well – it seems to settle in the belly. Women gain all over. It was clear that everyone was told to wear black, and men chose the turtleneck shirt. Most of the women were overweight too, and many wore voluminous jackets. I wasn’t sure what looked worse – too tight shirts covering an inner tube (the men) or mountains of cloth hiding the whole person (the women).