My Official Before Photo

I never officially took a "before" picture when I decided to lose weight this time. In a previous post I do have a before/after photo, but that was after losing the majority of the weight.

Not taking a before picture and not taking my measurements are the two things I regret the most on my weight loss journey. I'm a very visual person and I would love to be able to look back and see the changes.

Through all the ups and downs of my journey I don't regret any of it. I've learned a lot about myself throughout this process and I'm finally at a point in my life where I feel so different about it. It could easily be a phase where I am ready to put my all into it. I could easily fall off the wagon for the billionth time. I could easily fail. I could also easily succeed.

I just recently finished reading "Feel Good Naked" by Laure Redmond. If you have the opportunity I highly recommend reading it. I finished it quickly, and although not all of the points pertain to me or to what I want to follow, I am planning to start to incorporate many of the steps into my daily life starting Monday.

My first attempt at weight loss was when I was a senior in high school. I lost the weight I had gained and then some. I felt great and was at my lowest weight that I could remember.

Then I got pregnant. I went from (what I considered to still be "fat") 145 pounds to over 220 pounds in 9 months. I gained about 80 pounds, give or take. I used the "eating for two" phrase to my advantage. I was happy because I was pregnant and there was a reason for some of that gain, but I was unhappy and frustrated with myself because there was no reason for that much of a gain.

I stayed away from the front of a camera for some time. There are very few pictures of just me after having Isabel.

So here is my before picture. At my highest weight of 220 pounds. Yes, I realize that I was 9 months pregnant at the time, but I think it helps me to see that even though I'm not at goal yet, I'm on my way. I could have chosen to do nothing after Isabel was born, but I did. In fact I made it back down to 145 at one point.. Then back up, then down, and up... No matter what happened between then and now I'm on my journey and I'm ready to make a change.