Finally...

A before and after shot of me!

Here's me before at about 260 lbs give or take a pound or two last May...


(I hate this picture and of course I was doing what I do best!)

and yesterday at 218 lbs!!

What a difference 40 lbs or so makes!

My cousin sent me these pics as a comparison and it blew ME away!

I look so different now and I feel better than I have in a long, long, time!

I can't wait until this current pic is considered a before pic. : )

I'm getting there and it feels so darn good!!

Remember me...?

Gosh, where have I been?

Has it really been that long since I posted??

Let's see what's been going on here...


Firstly, I officially weigh 218!

I am down a total of 40 lbs!and the angels sing... Hallelujah!! : ) LOL

My goal is 170 so I still need to lose about 48 more lbs but I am almost halfway there!

A few NSV's...

I bought my first pair of Levi's in years and they look great on me, if I do say so myself! LOL

I also bought myself a pair of heels the other day just because...and that feels great!

Heck, it just feels great to actually care about the way I look again and actually start to feel comfortable in my own skin again.

I am far from where I want to be but it's a good feeling to know that I am getting closer to that goal each and every day!

How's your journey thus far?

I can't wait to get caught up and see how y'all are doing!

Oh, and here's a silly pic of me that my daughter took of me the other day.

I was excited about it though b/c I can actually tell that I've lost weight in my face.

It's the little things, right?!?! : )

Have a great day! : )

Busy, busy, busy!

Goodness!

Has it been a week since I last posted?!

Life's been a bit hectic, but in a good way, lately.

We've gone out of town and had long, lost friends come to visit us.

I'm definitely going to take some time today to get caught up on everyone's progress, though!

Oh, and guess what!?!?

I lost 4.2 lbs last week!

GO ME!! YAY!

I was sooooooo excited because I had been at a bit of a plateau for a while.

So, I had to do my happy dance!

I promise, promise, promise to take some pics soon!

Hope you all are having good days, too! : )

Spent the weekend in Charleston

We had the best time!

I walked and I walked and I walked.  Seriously, we walked EVERYWHERE!

I'm a little sore today but it was such a WONDERFUL feeling!

A few months ago, I don't think I could have done it.

But, I did it!

So, YAY for me! : )

Anyhow, my camera is still being fixed so I didn't get to take any pics, but here's a quick shot of me and the fam from this weekend.

Hope you had a great weekend too!

A whole new wardrobe

I have a whole new wardrobe now, and the best part is, it didn't cost me a thing! : )

I am actually able to fit into a lot of the older stuff that I had stuffed back in my closet and it feels soo darn good!

I can wear my size 18/20's now!

So long, 22/24's!

Part of me,  wants to go ahead and donate my bigger size clothes just so they aren't even an option for me, anymore.

Because, I have no intention of ever being able to wear them again.

Even my shoes seem a bit big to me now, too!

So weird, I never thought about my feet losing weight?! LOL

I do need to supplement my wardrobe a bit,  but don't want to spend a lot of money on clothes while I am in my "during" stage.

Where's your favorite place to shop for your "during" clothes?

Oh, and thanks so much  for the warm welcome everyone, and thanks for the shout out, Kerri and Katie!

Y'all really know how to make a girl feel welcome and I look forward to getting to know all of you, better!  : )

A typical menu

I'll be the first to admit, I am a creature of habit.

When I am on a diet, I stick to what I know works for me but I tend to eat the same things over and over.

For example, here is a typical daily menu for me.

Breakfast: Protein bar, water, clementine
Snack: apple, or air popped popcorn
Lunch: WW meal and a 100 cal snack pack, Dt mtn dew
Snack: clementine or yogurt
Dinner: Just usually a small portion of whatever I cook for the evening.


Do you do this, as well?

Or, do you like to mix things up?

Yesterday

I swear I could have eaten myself out of house and home, yesterday. 

I was a bottomless pit.

Now granted, I didn't eat anything "terrible" per se but I ate ALL DAY LONG.

It was like I was trying to fill myself up and I just couldn't do it.

Seriously, I couldn't just get enough.

Do you ever have days like that?

Today's a new day though and I am determined to stay on track!

Have you "shredded'?

I just bought Jillian Michaels 30 day shred, last week and OH MY GOODNESS, it kicked my butt!

Oh, and I only did level 1!! LOL

My 10 year old wanted to do it with me and even she, was tired!

I'm determined to stick with it, though!

Just curious, have you "shredded"?

If so, how did you like it?

Me

My name is Stephanie and I am 32 yrs old.

I have fought this battle with my weight for the last 10 years.

I was never what you called "skinny", but I was pretty much "average" all my life.

It wasn't until I became pregnant with my daughter, that my battle with my weight really began.

I gained 50 lbs in my pregnancy but lost 30 of that pretty quickly.

I never lost that additional 20 lbs, infact, I gained 50 more on top of that over the course of the next 10 years.

I've done weight watchers, the Atkins diet, diet pills, etc. all in a desperate effort to lose weight.

The most I would ever lose was about 10-15 lbs and then I would quit.

Only to gain that back, and then some.

Finally, this past November my parents offered to help me with this struggle and made me an appointment with a nutrionist. They knew I needed some direction and wanted to help me get it.

So, on November 7, 2009, I had my first appointment.

My starting weight was 257 lbs.

I wanted to die.

It was my highest weight,ever.

I was miserable.

But, I knew this was the frest start I needed.

She set me up on a plan and I meet with her every other week.

So far to date, I'm down 22 lbs.

I feel like a different person, seriously.

I know, I have a long ways to go but I am starting to feel like myself, again.

My relationship with my husband has improved, my house is cleaner, I am more pleasant to be around, I am more active and actutally am starting to care about me, again.

I think my weight really has put a damper on me, I was embarrassed and ashamed of the person, I had let myself become.

I became a homebody, I quit volunteering at my daughter's school after one of her classmates called me "fat".

I was hurt by it, but I think it bothered her more than it bothered me.

I didn't want her to be embarrassed by me, anymore.

But, that's all changing now.

I still have my bad days, but instead of just completely giving up like I did in the past, I just continue to move forward.

I did want to share a few of my "before" pics, to remind me of where I was.




Can you say "cheese"!?



Stuffing my face. YUCK! (I can't believe I am putting this on here.)

If that's not inspiration, I don't know what is!?! : )



I will definitely add some current "during" pics soon.


So, here's to "resurfacing me"!

The 1st step. . .

This blog is more for me than anything.

I plan to use it, to hold myself accountable to...well, myself, more or less.

I'm on a path to find me.

I want to. . .

find out what I want to do and who I want to be.

do what I'd never thought I could or would.

forgive and forget.

have more faith in God, others and myself.

be a better me.

I can and will, do this.

A journey begins with the 1st step.

So, here we go!