The art of making things disappear

 I have decided to be ruthless with my weight loss this winter. I am tired of being overweight: I feel uncomfortable, ugly, self-conscious and unhealthy. I know the various reasons why I got to this weight but I also know how to go back to being slim. 

So I have made a clear target and timescale to lose 50 pounds (23 kg) in the six months between November 1st just past and May 1st next year. That will leave me at my ideal weight.

In the first week I have lost over 5½ pounds (2.5 kg), which I am very pleased with. I expect weekly losses to become harder to achieve as I approach the right weight but for now I'll enjoy the high achievement figures!

Wear a bra every day

I was intrigued to read about the Bra-tober challenge by Paula Gaikowski on the Femulate blog today. The challenge is to wear a bra all day, every day for a month if you are not full-time femme. 

The bra is probably the most characteristically feminine garment there is. If you don't have breasts, you don't need one; women have breasts, men don't, therefore these are not for men, goes the logic. Well, actually, you don't need a bra if you do have breasts, and some men have breasts, too ("Meatloaf has a very nice pair," says Hugh Grant in Notting Hill), but it's become an item that apparently women cannot do without! Like those kitchen gadgets that apparently transform your mealtimes. 

The first time I put on a bra it was the weirdest feeling. I was totally aware I had it on as no other garment I had worked in that kind of way. Some trans women like the feeling, even the discomfort, as it makes a statement about their femininity that their body can't really ignore. Until you get used to it, that is. I wear a bra every day now, it feels right and normal, and in the mornings the issue is no longer whether I get to dress as a woman today but what style and colour I should choose. Although I don't present as female in public at the moment, all my clothes are women's items. My bra is simply one item appropriate to wear with the rest of them. It's not as good as being full time female, but it's enough to keep me reasonably content.

If you aren't able to dress every day, or dress fully, there's always the choice of underdressing. Of course, in trans speak that doesn't mean not wearing enough, or not being smart enough for the occasion, but wearing women's clothes under your male ones. Since my theme is disappearing, you can, in my view, wear a bra to work if it's a well-fitting and discreet one and your clothes on top are loose and opaque. Go for it; it will make you feel more complete and your colleagues won't know. Nor need they know about your panties (don't forget to wear a belt!) Of course, some trans purists refuse to mix and match their female wardrobe with their male one. I can understand that, but for many it's needs must.

Caramac

Back to food! I'm sorry that Nestlé have chosen to discontinue the Caramac bar, which they bought from Mackintosh's (caramel + Mackintosh = Caramac). 64 years of sweet treats terminated - boo! 

I remember the first one I got from a vending machine at the very old-fashioned Acton Swimming Baths some time in the 1970s on the recommendation of a friend. It cost 5p then. Caramac was essentially a very smoothly milled fudge, and I got hooked on them! That's not why I'm fat, though. Well, maybe it is.

Sue x