Me in my size 28 fat jeans. The photo doesn’t do justice to how baggie those suckers are now. I’ll try to get a better photo up when the hubby is home.

Yesterday was a bad day. I won’t go into the details, but let’s just say that I started the day feeling sorry for myself (sore knee = no exercise; plateau frustrations galore).  And I ended the day with a big slice of chocolate cake and a side of vanilla ice cream.

Ugh! I hate self-pity days. My rational side knows weight loss is a marathon not a sprint.  It’s just amazing how quickly you can turn on yourself regardless of success.

This morning I stumbled upon an idea to hold the negative thoughts at bay.

While getting dressed I found an old pair of jeans.  I completely forgot about them. When I started losing weight, I did a complete wardrobe overhaul. The only item I kept was the size 28 jeans. I wanted a reminder of how far I’ve come.

I decided to try them on.

Wow! If I needed a pick me up, this was it. I can’t believe that I was that big. But then again, I have days like yesterday where I still think I’m that size.

Sure I look in the mirror everyday, but I can’t see the weight loss. I notice that my clothes are a bit loose or that I have more energy. But I needed to put on old clothes to shake me out of my funk and appreciate the work I’ve done this past year.

From now on I’m going to take a photo of myself once a month to track my progress.  It’s a great way to chronicle my weight loss and motivate me when I feel down.

Getting the photos off the phone is key. Seeing is believing, right? I’ll keep them in strategic places – on the fridge, in my wallet, as my screen saver on my phone and tablet, and on the blog.

I can’t trust my own eyes, but photos don’t lie.