Inspiration

I absolutely looove taking pictures (at times not necessarily being in them though)!! ever since I was in middle school my friends and I would always have one of those disposable KODAK cameras in our hands, snapping shots of different poses of ourselves and different events that we would go to.(Thank God they came out with digital cameras a couple years later) I love how a picture takes you back to the moment it was taken and lets you remember what you were doing, who you were with and what was going on at the time.

In these pictures I remember feeling so happy for my sweet sister-in-law Meagan who just sealed the deal with her husband! But also very uncomfortable with the fact that I was wearing a size 14 dress. I know it's not a huge size to some people but you also have to look at that dress and see that the only place it is form fitting is underneath the bust. As weird as it may sound, these pictures above inspire me. These pictures were taken in spring 2009 and are probably evidence of the heaviest I have ever weighed. (guessing between 220-230lbs) When I first saw these pictures I could not believe what I was seeing. I knew I was gaining weight I just did not realize how much I had gained until I saw these shots.

(190 lbs)

One year later (spring 2010) I had lost some weight trying various diets some worked some did not! May 2010 I decided sacrifice time and money and try out the program at Dr. Slott's office.

(160 lbs)

This picture was taken about two weeks ago. As you see I have lost about 30 more pounds and am continuing to get down to a healthy weight range. :) I feel good now but I know I'm not ready to start maintaining. I feel like I have lost a lot of weight and shame about what I look like and happily I have gained a lot more self confidence and endurance health wise. I now am at the gym on average 4 times a week doing various cardio/strength training activities. I haven't set a goal for myself as far as a date on when I want to loose my last 25 pounds by because to me what is important is my choices for the day. If it takes another 10 months to loose the rest I am perfectly fine with that. (although I am praying it starts to come off sooner than later so I can spend less money and start on the maintenance plan) In my logical mind I think my body should loose two pounds a week cutting my calories back and working out hard. But these last 3 weeks seem to show that maybe God is wanting me to also gain some patience along with my confidence ;)