Weight Loss-Becoming Me Again-Before and After Pics

I freely admit that when I was younger I did not eat in the most healthy manner.  I have a sweet tooth and an iron stomach, oh and a great pancreas that allowed INSANE amounts of sugar consumption.  Don't get me wrong, I also loved carbohydrates, breads, pastries, cereal, etc.  Get the picture?  I would eat lots of fruit, but not as many vegetables, and certainly not enough protein.

When I was 18 and out of my parents house I made the full switch to being a vegetarian, but I did not do it right.  All this despite knowing how to do it right.  I was more interested in buying things than food.  Quite the opposite of now, where I spend a lot to feed my family in a healthy way.  However, I was contradictory, I would also have moments when I was obsessed with eating healthy, and making those right choices.  It would never last, the freedom to buy and eat all of the junk food/junk cereal I wanted was too much.  I do not have an off button, remember, iron stomach.  I could eat a whole box of Lucky Charms; you know, breakfast, lunch and dinner.

Bodies change as we get older though, and that, along with the birth control pill are what changed my body for the worst, or was it for the better?  I gained weight quickly, it was compounded when I had children.  My body does not like pregnancy, in fact, I think that my auto-immune disorders cause my body to freak out.  Gain 70-80 pounds, hormones out of control.  It takes about two years for everything to level out and weight loss, serious weight loss to be possible.  I know that is considered normal, but I am around women who seem to recover a lot faster!

I lost 75.6 pounds and almost 10 inches off my waist.  I should still be trying to lose 15-20 more, but I just can't be on that diet anymore.  I needed more than a three week break.  My doctor says that even with a reduced calorie diet it is unlikely I will lose weight without being on her diet.  I am sure she knows what she is talking about, but I hope to prove her wrong, at least a little bit!  The big problem for me on that diet was all the meat.  I just couldn't eat meat every day anymore.  It was grossing me out.  Plus it is EXPENSIVE!

 These are my before diet pictures.  To be honest I did not really see myself as this fat.  I was pretty good at not analyzing myself in the mirror and just kind of ignoring how I felt.  I learned to ignore how hard it was to do things I used to do easily; you know, like washing my back, painting my toe nails, etc. 

And these are my after pictures.

I am not a fan of having my picture taken

Before I was diagnosed with Fibromyalgia I used to work out a lot.  I love that feeling after working out.  The surge of energy coupled with the sheer muscle exhaustion.  I like to exercise, it is just really hard to find the time!!  However, to lose weight or maintain what I am at, I will have to keep up with some sort of exercise regimen.  I also used to love to hike or ride my bike.  Over time I lost the ability to do this.  It was so much work to get my body to move in that way.  I don't know if diet was making it worse, but I am hoping that the medication I am on, and my healthier diet will make it easier for me to keep up with the activities I want to do.  More on that in another post though, this one is getting long.

The point of this post is I finally look like I felt inside.  Make sense?  I always pictured and felt like I should be that fit person who is not skinny, but thin enough and able to workout.  It wasn't true for many years, and for many reasons, but I am hoping that I will be able to keep my body the way my mind sees me.  The exciting thing is that (once it is not hot enough to melt me) I am looking forward to riding bikes with my family, getting Big L to let go of training wheels, and sticking little l on my bike so we can ride together.  There are so many things I can do now that were just too painful to do before.  There are also emotional aspects to my weight gain, and loss that I will talk about in another post.  For now though I am content to be improving myself.  Life is good.