Reminiscing

I was just reminiscing about when I weighed only 170 lbs. That's 12.4 stone to my UK friends. That may seem heavy to some of you, but for someone who is 5'14" tall, that's pretty thin. It's been ages since I was that weight, and since then my weight nearly doubled at one time. Yes, I'm ashamed to say I ballooned up to 304 lbs.! Direct suicide is not always the result of not being able to resolve gender identity issues. My complete lack of resources and inability to transition in my early years, or to even connect with any other transgendered people, instead lead to a total sense of dissolution, that eventually almost killed me. In 2004 after several episodes of nearly passing out at work, I was diagnosed with type II diabetes, and knew that I had to make some changes, or I would be found dead at my desk one day. I began a regular exercise program, radically altered my diet to reduce saturated fats, simple carbohtdrates, and excess salt. The result was I lost 80 lbs., and brought my diabetes and blood pressure under control, without having to stay on the dangerous drugs that were prescribed to me. I've done pretty well ever since, but two years after retiring, I found that I had slacked off a good deal on the exercise, and had let my weight gradually rise to where my clothes were fitting very tight. I resisted the urge to buy larger sizes again, and redoubled my efforts on portion control and exercise. I've been making steady progress, and today I was pleasantly surprised that a pair of white denim capris that fit so well last summer, were a pretty good fit today! I still have a bit of a roll above the waistband that needs to go, but they looked especially good in the butt and the thighs! An hour a day on the stationary bike, can literally be a pain in the ass, but it really does make a difference when you stick to it.

And speaking of reminiscing:

I know I'm showing my age, but does anyone else remember sweating and grinding on a dance floor to this number? Written by Otis Redding and Jerry Butler, it appeared as the A-side of a 1965 hit single by Otis Redding - and subsequently appeared on his third album, Otis Blue: Otis Redding Sings Soul. (Links courtesy of Wikipedia)


Melissa XX