I’m a fairly short person. Five feet, two and a half inches, to be exact. Apparently, 50 pounds on someone of my stature is quite a dramatic difference. I am flabbergasted at the kind compliments that continue to pour in, all these months after reaching my goal weight. A girl could get a big head, if she’s not careful. I am going to share here what I have been experiencing, not because I am fishing for more compliments (I am most definitely not), but because I am still in a state of disbelief. These kinds of things just aren’t supposed to happen to moi.

I am frequently told how much younger I look now, and that I don’t even look like the same person. Over Christmas, I was mistaken for my 25-year-old sister. I have been told I don’t look old enough to have a 7-year-old child. Just this week, someone I met for the first time thought I couldn’t be more than a couple of years out of college. I have even been told I look like a teenager, if you can believe it. Not bad, for a 35-year-old.

I have had words used to describe me that I haven’t heard since I was a kid. Or ever. I have been greeted with jaw drops from acquaintances who have not seen me in some time. I have had people who know me not immediately recognize me. Just today, in fact. And at my doctor’s office a couple of weeks ago, the nurses, who hadn’t seen me in over a year, went simply gaga. They excitedly flipped back through 10 or so years of my personal weight history (the only people alive privy to such painful information) to make sure their eyes weren’t deceiving them. After that, I’m more determined than ever to make sure my current weight stays a permanent home, not a temporary visit.

And I have, inexplicably, been receiving attention of the sort that I have never been accustomed to before. Last weekend, for example, I got the “hot babe alert” from a passing motorist while biking with my family. Or so my husband says. I was oblivious. I don’t even know what a “hot babe alert” is. All I can do is laugh, and think that such things might have meant something back in the days when I never thought I’d get a date. I’ve also had complete strangers stop me to compliment me on my style. What? Who, me?? I’m the least fashion-conscious person alive. The first time, I wrote it off as a fluke. Yet just days ago, it happened again. This is all completely foreign to me.

Everyone still wants to know how I did it. I’ve answered the same questions so many times that I can recite the answers in my sleep, so I’ve put together my own personal diet FAQ. What the world apparently wants to know about how Mo lost 50 pounds.

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How did you do it?

My facetious answer is “math.” That is, I burned more calories than I ate. The real answer is that I strictly counted calories. I allowed myself about 1000-1200 calories per day, with an occasional weekend splurge.

Did you give up any foods?

Give up french fries? Are you kidding me? I ate whatever I wanted, just less of it. Extreme portion control, rather than depriving myself entirely, was how I found success. I still take my kids to McDonald’s (though much less often than we used to). Now I just get a kid’s happy meal instead of a large Quarter Pounder meal.

Are you eating healthier?

Maybe sort of, by default. Not because I’m eating more healthy food, but because I’m eating less unhealthy food. For the most part, my food choices haven’t changed. I still love burgers and carbs and all things fried. As mentioned above, I just eat less of it.
Any other tips?

This sounds surprising, but I gave up watching TV. It turns out that I had a bad habit of snacking while watching TV in the evenings. Kind of a Pavlov’s dog thing. TV = snacks. When I stopped watching TV, the snacking followed with no effort at all. I didn’t even miss it. I also replaced the occasional meal (usually workday fast food lunches) with a SlimFast meal bar.

Where did you find the willpower?

Just one of the many, many blessings God favored me with last year.

How long did it take?

About 9 or 10 months. I officially started in January 2005 as a New Year’s resolution, but didn’t start seeing any pounds come off until February. I reached my goal in early November, just in time for my 35th birthday, and have remained there since.

Did you hit any plateaus?

(Men, you might want to skip to the next question.) I noticed a very strange phenomenon in that I would regularly see no progress for 3 weeks, then in the 4th week when I was off birth control, the 3 weeks’ worth of pounds that seemingly wouldn’t budge suddenly melted off. It happened every month like clockwork. I suppose it must be a hormonal thing. It was incredibly frustrating, until I recognized the pattern.
Was it difficult to do?

Getting started was hard. I didn’t even tell anyone I was doing it, because I didn’t want them to see my failure. After the first 20 pounds or so, when people started noticing, it became much easier. The compliments really kept me motivated. After a while, it wasn’t work at all. So much so that when I was ready to transition into a “maintenance” mode, it was almost anticlimactic. I hardly knew how to let myself add more calories back into my diet.

Did you exercise?

Off and on. I started out walking a 2.8 mile loop around my neighborhood on weekends, until it got too hot last summer. I did the occasional workout video at home and later joined a gym, but only go sporadically. I take the stairs now instead of an elevator, wherever I can. I’ve also recently taken up weekend biking with my family. My strategy has been to be more active in general, rather than a strict exercise plan.

Has it been hard to keep off?

So far so good. All those compliments I mentioned above? They help. A lot. And after paying such strict attention for nearly a year, mentally calculating the calories I consume is now second nature. But right now I’m really using my scale as my control. I weigh myself often. If I creep up a pound, all I have to do is watch it for a few days. It’s been working like a charm.