My journey to a healthy weight

I never struggled with my weight until my adult years, after marriage. Then once the weight packed on, it was a constant struggle to get it off and keep it off. 

In February 2010, I hit my highest weight ever, 235 pounds. I think I weighed more than my 6 foot tall husband! I was so ashamed of myself and I was very unhappy with myself and my looks.

Around April or May of 2009, I took Grandboy to a local park. One that I played at when I was a child. One that hadn't been updated much and had the same tall, metal slides.

Grandboy decided he wanted to go on the slides. He climbed the steps to the top and got scared and wanted me to come get him. I tried to get him to go down the slide since he was already up there but he was frozen. I started to climb the steps to get him but before I could reach half way, I had to start backing down because I was too big and too wide to go any farther. And there my Grandboy was needing me to rescue him and I couldn't do it. 

Thankfully another mom was standing there and she went up after my Grandboy and got him down. 

I was so ashamed!

Then I overheard that same mom telling the story to another mom and she referred to 

me as a "fat cow".

That made reality hit home real hard!

Then in August of 2009, I was hospitalized with a bout of pancreatitis. 

It took me several months to recover from that illness but

I knew I had to get myself healthy and I had to get serious about it.

I didn't really get serious until May 2010 and I decided that I had to take care of me before I could take care of anybody else. So I started making time to exercise, I stopped drinking soda, I started eating more fruits and veggies, I started drinking water and I started to control my food portion sizes.

I walked 3 miles a day 5 days a week. I had never felt so confident in myself the way I did once the weight started coming off. I felt like I could accomplish anything. 

I felt better than I had at any other time in my life.

Now, it has been a slow process for me because I have had some set backs and health issues; but as of today, I have lost 82 pounds.

82 pounds!

Holy smokes batman! That's like 1 and 1/4ths of Grandboy!

I can't believe I'm gonna do this because I'm so embarrassed of how I looked, but here are a few "before and after" photos....

(Keep in mind that I am the picture taker of the family so I don't have many photos of myself to pick from)

February 2010 & December 2012

September 2009 & November 2012

March 2010 & December 2010

October 2010 & November 2012

As embarrassed as I am of how overweight I let myself get, if I can inspire anyone to start or continue on a healthy path then it's worth the embarrassment.

And I just want to add.....I believe I can have what I want in moderation.
I still eat sweets and burgers and pizza, I just control the portion and 
use healthier ingredients when possible. 
If I get a burger out, I skip the fry's.
Because I know myself and I know if I go without the foods I like most, I will give in and go overboard and then I'll be back at square one. 
You just have to find a method that works for you.