Weight loss

"Before"-YIKES! 1996

I have had a few people ask me about my weight loss recently so I decided that I would do a series on my blog. I have my weight loss story on another website http://www.freewebs.com/sha9830/ -so if you would like the details that led me to begin my journey you can find "my story" there. The site is somewhat outdated so that is why I thought that I would share some things here. As many of my entries are, this is a personal experience-but I know that there are many people who struggle with their weight who may benefit from hearing my story and my thoughts on the subject. I used to wonder how I got to the weight I was (which, I am embarrassed to admit,was around 225lbs)-it seemed that I went to bed thin and woke up one day "fat"! Of course, that is not exactly how it happens. I, like many other people, got to be 225 lbs ONE lb at a time. As a young "stay at home Mom" with NO transportation I sat at home and ATE. It was all that I had to do-at that time I had not discovered "MOPS" (mothers of preschoolers)-which is where I met all my "sistas" (my girlfriends who are more like sisters) and I had no outlet, no friends, no hobbies, nothing-so I stayed home and ate. The bigger I got, the worse I felt about about myself and the more I ate and the cycle continued. I remember waking up each morning promising myself that I would eat healthy and lose the weight-but, by 10:00 am I would give in eat the junk food that got me to the place of desperation I was in. Brett, being the amazing man that he is, NEVER-not even ONCE made me feel anything less than beautiful. He never mentioned my weight and he told me everyday that I was the "most beautiful woman in the world". I am so glad that he was able to look past my weight and see "me". Once I became pregnant with our 2nd daughter I was so ill that I LOST 30lbs within the first trimester. "Maddie" gave me a jump start and once I had her (11 years ago)I decided to change my unhealthy habits and I made the commitment to myself to lose the weight and change my life. Unless you have lost a large amount of weight you can not truly understand how it really does change your life! I found out that I was capable of so much more than I gave myself credit for. And even though I was never shy, in a sense, I "came our of my shell". I vowed to NEVER go back to the place I was in and once I heard that "95% of dieters gain their weight back" I became even more "stubborn" and decided that I would beat the odds! I still struggle with my weight-it goes up and down about 5-10 lbs but the difference between now and then is I am "aware" and I am committed to myself . I know that my value does not lie in the number on a scale but I value myself enough now to take the time, effort, and energy to live a healthy lifestyle. I will be blogging more on this topic and I plan on keeping you updated on my goal of losing 10lbs. (see, I TOLD you the struggle never ends!)
"After"-although my son told me I "looked like I had another baby in my tummy" as we were walking into church this day! KIDS! Gotta love 'em! (April, 2008)