60 pounds later

I am not going to sell a weight loss plan to you and I am not going to promote any workout regimens. I simply want to cheer myself on and in the process I will tell you what I did, just in case you're curious.

   It is hard to believe that 6 years ago I was 60 pounds heavier. When I gone to the gym, walk around the neighborhood, climb steps or get dressed I think about how I couldn't imagine strapping on 60 pounds to carry around with me. It slowly began with low self esteem, I was a big- chested girl and used to say if I can't see my belly past my chest then I can't be that bad, little did I know. I felt semi comfortable with myself and had a group of friends that I knew I could always count on. When I went to college I made a lot of new friends, a lot of them being guys, go figure. At this point I had already been thinking of a breast reduction and was ready to make it a reality. With support from my family, especially my mom, I set up an appointment with a plastic surgeon in the Raleigh area. After the inital appointment he informed me that I would need to prove I could lose weight without it showing a difference in my chest size. At this time it was winter break at school and I had created a workout schedule for myself. When I got back to campus, I decided that I would start out with going to the gym every other day. All I did was the elliptical for 30 minutes, I know BIG right. I didn't know how to use any of the machines and didn't want to ask anyone out of embarrassment. Every now and then I would go to a class and sometimes I would walk the track for 30 minutes or use a bicycle in addition to the elliptical, it is all about the cardio. My goal was to lose around 20 pounds or so by spring break.
   I kept a paper chain, the kind kids make to count down for Christmas, in my dorm room. Girls on my hall would walk by, ask me how many more days and give some encouraging words. Spring break came and so did my doctor appointment. Results: a 30 pound weight loss! The paper work was sent in to cover my upcoming procedure. It took about a month and I was told that insurance would cover the procedure due to the "health risks" that were being caused. Surgery was scheduled for July 2005.
   When I arrived home for summer, I asked my mom to help me out. I was determined to continue to lose weight or at least keep it consistent. No sweets, soda, mayonnaise and ranch. These were just a few items that my mom instructed me to steer clear of. It was extremely difficult and I also made myself walk the entire neighborhood everyday, which was about 3 miles. Nothing strenuous, just enough to keep me going but not so much to make me wanna give up.
   July came and the surgery was a success but my weight was still the main project. It took about 3 months of healing till I was given to OK to participate in physical activity. This was around the same time I met Josh, he showed me how to use the machines at the gym and we decided to go to the gym every other day. It was then at the age of 19 that I first completed running an entire mile, I could complete push ups the correct way and I felt great.
   Currently, I stay health conscious with the things that we eat. I love sweets but we created a rule that we can have one dessert a week and I throughly enjoy it. We have a gym membership but do not go very often. I have an exercise ball in the house to complete quick simple ab and core workouts. Now that the weather is better we will be enjoying more outdoor activities, we always go to the parks and partake in geocaching.

Are you ready for the gasp moment?

yep, thats me on the right

the summer before surgery, with my mom

3 days after surgery

3 weeks after surgery

almost a full year since surgery

this past December

Thanks for letting me brag about myself!:)