Well, it’s been a fun week! Thanks to everyone who cheered me on and helped me along the way!

However, now that I’ve reached my goal weight (the FIRST goal, that is — I’ll be setting a new one soon!), I realized that, fat or thin, there are a few things that won’t change — even though I kinda hoped they would!

1. Most people don’t notice — or care — as much about your weight as you do. Sure, there are always a few people around you in your day-to-day life — your spouse, your kids, your fellow employees, etc. — who are aware of your weight challenges. But there’s a whole lot more people who don’t know, or care, that you used to be fat and now you’re slightly less fat. The cashier at the grocery store doesn’t really care that you’re buying more fruits and veggies and fewer giant bags of Nacho Cheese Doritos. All she wants is to go home and soak her feet and binge-watch “Downton Abbey” for the hundredth time. So keep your ego in check.
   
2. Clothes shopping is easier in some ways, tougher in others. I used to dream about getting thin enough to fit into a beautiful dress that would make me look like a princess. Well, guess what? Fat or thin, you can’t find dresses like that unless you’re currently residing in a palace and/or playing the part of someone who lives in a palace. The fashion these days seems to be sleeveless dresses that show off your underarms, and IMHO that’s not a good look for ANYONE. Also, swimsuits still suck, even in “normal” sizes. There are very few women who don’t feel like “Cathy” when trying on swimsuits.
   
3. No one will read your blog. OK, that’s not fair. YOU’RE not “nobody,” and you’re reading my blog! And believe me, I appreciate it! What I mean, though, is if you haven’t become a major star in the blogging firmament by the time you hit your goal weight, you probably won’t afterwards. I’m still gonna keep blogging though, since it seems to be an important factor in keeping me honest about my weight-crackin’ efforts (“Hmm, I’d really like to eat that second donut, but tomorrow’s ‘Rhymin’ Weigh-in Day’ on the blog, so I better not. Pass the celery, please!”).
   
4. Crappy stuff still needs to be done and you’re the one who has to do them. For example, our sweet cat Princess had to go to the vet this week, which meant getting her into her carrier (helpful hint: “mrrOWW!!” means “NO WAY!!” in Cat-ese), then I drove her to the vet, which is about 5 miles and 5,000,000 angry “mrrOWWs” away (no matter how loud you turn up the radio), paying the vet bill, and driving her home again (repeat angry “mrrOWWs”). Cats don’t care if you’re fat or thin. They just want out out out NOW!!!
   
5. Half the people in the world will hate you. I don’t write about politics or religion in this blog (though at some point I should probably mention that my faith in God was a MAJOR part of my motivation to stay on the diet, so thanks and yay, God!). Still, if you’re a normal person trying to live your life in this beautiful country we call America, you probably know that, no matter what your political views are, about half the country despises you and wishes bad things would happen to you. I won’t go into detail, but rest assured, those dirty looks you were getting at Starbucks this morning when you were reading “National Review,” or at Dunkin’ Donuts when you were perusing the op-ed pages of the “New York Times,” had NOTHING to do with your weight. Isn’t that a relief?
   

So there you go, five things that won’t really change a whole lot once you’ve reached your goal weight! Does that mean you shouldn’t try? Heck no! There are a lot of things that do change, for the better, and I’ll write about those next Friday. If I remember. Remind me, will you? Thanks, and have a great weekend!!