I Finally Reached My Goal !

This blog has been almost two years in the making.

I feel I must warn you that it is full of egotistical comments and is a non-paid endorsement of Weight Watcher's, who I credit with helping my in this journey.

That being said, here goes...

I has some trouble finding pictures of me "before" because I usually tried to stay behind the camera. This is me just before we moved back to Virginia. I had no energy, my knees hurt, and I had trouble getting around in general. I look HUGE! Of course, it doesn't help that I'm standing to my tiny, under 100 pounds, mother at the time.

Two weeks into my journey. I have dieted many times over the last 35 years. I've tried several different kinds of diets, my attitude was often they were DIE with a T. I did try WW several years ago with good results, but I was loosing weight for a particular event and when that event was over, so was my dieting. I had bought myself a "little red dress" at that time, but never actually lost enough weight to fit into it so it hung in my closet with the new tags for years, waiting for me to finally lose enough to wear it. It once again became part of my goal. But this time I was tired of feeling bad, I wanted to lose this weight just for me. I think the change in my attitude is what really made me work for it and made it work for me.

I was so happy when I took this picture. I had lost 10% of my original body weight (21 pounds) and I had "rewarded" myself with a new haircut. I was already feeling much better and had more energy.

Back of my "reward" haircut.

You can really start to see the thinning of my face. We took a wonderful trip just before Thanksgiving of 2009 to visit Megan and then Stephanie, Jon, Alex, and Jack.

I was down 40 pounds at this point and feeling pretty good about myself. The best part of the trip was that I didn't gain any weight while we were gone. I was enjoying my new life style as opposed to trying to stick to some diet. That's WW mantra... it's a healthy life style, not a "diet".

Success!! I finally lost enough weight to get into my "little red dress" that had been hanging out in my closet for all those years. I was so pleased with myself, I felt thinner, prettier, healthier. It was a real milestone for me.

My sister-in-law made sure she didn't show my feet because I didn't have red shoes to match my red dress. Hey, I never claimed to be very fashionable.

Mother's Day. Another outfit that had hung in my closet for several years, waiting for me to fit into it. I was 55 pounds down from my starting weight. Unfortunately this jumper and my "little red dress" only got to be worn for a few months before they were too BIG to look good on my anymore. That was kind of weird. I only got to wear my red dress about 6 times. Oh well, I can live with that.


[ OKAY, I ACCIDENTLY DELETED A PICTURE I HAD PLACED HERE OF ME IN FRONT OF A FULL LENGTH MIRROR HOLDING A CAMERA. I WAS TRYING TO SHOW HOW MUCH WEIGHT I HAD LOST TO THIS POINT. IT WAS TAKEN IN MAY OF 2010 AND I WAS DOWN 55 POUNDS AND FEELING THIN.]

Amy took this picture when they came to visit just before Christmas of this year. I guess I'll never get rid of the belly bulge, but I truely feel SO much thinner and healthier. I officially reached by goal on 10/26/2010. I lost a total of 70.4 pounds.

Taken today after Church. I am trying to rebuild my wardrobe a little at a time. Lisa inherited most of my outgrown clothes. It's weird seeing her wear some of what were my favorites, but she's looking good in them.

And finally a big smile. Thank you to Weight Watcher's, thank you to my sweet husband who has been so supportive and a real cheerleader for me, and thank you to my family who have been complementary at each stage to make me feel like not only could I make it, but I was looking good in the process.