Guest Post - My Husband!

On Friday's post, I had a comment from MizFit where she mentioned that her husband had recently lost 60 pounds (nice job, RenMan!) and as I read her comment I wondered what that must have been like for her to live with someone who was actively dieting. Then I realized that I had someone nearby who was doing the same thing, so I asked my husband to answer that question in a guest post. (I also told him that he should feel duly honored, as I get a lot of requests for guest posts (what is it about certain medical degrees that they have to publish and think that my blog is where their info should be?) and as this is my blog, I'm the only one who posts here, which is why it was a little quiet last October when we went to Maui). So where was I? Oh yeah, Jeff's post. His stipulation for writing it was that I could only edit it for grammar, which explains why the last sentence was left in. Without further ado, I present to you my husband, Jeff:

What it is like living with someone who is losing weight? Well that depends on where you are in the process. In the beginning, I was hopeful, but like a lot of things Shelley thought were good ideas to try they would crash and burn after awhile – even when she was getting good results. This is not the first time the weight loss journey had been started. We did “fat free” for a while, which I was keen to the idea and it showed results, but then back to the old ways. But there was something different this time, something I had never noticed before in this person I have lived with longer than anyone else in her life and something I would not understand until she got close to breaking the 100 pound goal.

So what’s it like? Great! Really great! It is more than the weight loss and all the benefits associated, it is watching her grow past and burst through the ceiling that has kept her down all her life. Not just weight, that’s just a symptom, its sloughing off years and years of other people’s expectations of what you should be, should look like, should or should not have done. This journey to fit has been completely – one hundred percent – of her own doing. Every choice, every decision, every movement forward – was hers. That journey and any success that comes from it does wonders for a person’s self-esteem and outlook on life. And I get the benefits of it in a happy wife and partner.

OK so what about the hard stuff – the pain of living with a dieter, the doing without? News flash this is how we are supposed to live. I do without bad stuff, stuff that is not good for me, stuff that will decrease my life expectancy or quality of life. She took all that away from me and I am grateful. If I never eat at McDonalds or plow down a Denny’s Grand Slam breakfast I have not lost anything. I really like living like this – I have lost (a little) weight as well and I feel better which is a result of me following her example. I would rather eat something she prepares than go out to eat. I have tasted clean food and it is better. This is the benefit of healthy living - there is no real drawback other than going without crap you should go without anyway.

Oh, and did I tell you she also looks freaking hot!?!

I know in my post on Friday I said that we normally don't exchange valentines, but I consider this to be a pretty good one!