What does 50 pounds look like?

Like this.

This first picture is Eli on March 24th, the day before he left Tennessee.

Let's backtrack. Body image is one of those crappy things many of us struggle with. I sure do. Left on its own, my body would be between 35 and 40 pounds heavier than it is today. How do I know? Because it used to be. Fifteen or so years ago, before I began to monitor food intake constantly, incessantly, and religiously, I weighed 35-40 pounds more than I do now. And I didn't like it. I could lie and tell you it was about health and fitness and other such virtues, or I could tell you the truth: that it is all about body image. All about vanity. Truth is I like the way I look better when I'm thin. And that matters to me. Should it? I don't know. Does it make me superficial? Maybe? Have I caved to societal pressure, including air-brushed, photoshopped models telling me that beautiful equals thin? Without a doubt.

And I've undoubtedly passed forward some of this to my unsuspecting children, for better or worse. Moreover, I've also passed on the genetic predisposition to weight issues to some of them, some...not all. Which leads to another weirdly interesting phenomenon in our family. As many of you know, Gerald and I have different last names, so the obvious question that arose once upon a time was what last name we would give our children. With no malicious intent to confuse the world forever (though that's pretty much what happened), we opted to alternate last names as each child came along. The result is that three are Erichsens and two are Websters.

And here's the crazy part. The three Erichsens (Luke, Isaiah, and Seth) take after their father in countless ways, one being the ability to remain beautifully long and lean regardless of what they eat. It's so not fair. The Websters (Shulamith and Eli) are more like me and have to watch every last calorie. Blah! Poor Eli was pretty much doomed when he headed for a 2-year mission to the southern states. Like all missionaries, he was at the mercy of whatever the members fed him, and oh my how they fed him! Fried everything. I think he gained nearly 60 pounds in the two years. Something like that. It was bound to happen. Focused on the work, with little time to think about food, and with members eager to show him that gracious southern hospitality, yep, it was inevitable.

The day he came home he declared that the following day he would begin a weight loss plan. Really? "Don't you want to just relax for a few days before thinking about dieting?" Nope. He was absolutely determined to begin the very next day. And he did. That was 2 1/2 months ago, and this is the result. We took a one-meal break when he reached the 30-pound mark, but other than that, he has been full on committed to the plan every day since he got back. That was 50 pounds ago. His goal is to fit into some of his pre-mission designer jeans, and he's super close.

Weight loss is hard. Crazy hard. I know this. You lucky people who are naturally thin (YOU KNOW WHO YOU ARE) really have no idea.

This second picture is Eli today, a full 50 pounds lighter.

 Congrats to Eli for his incredible determination.