TGWLP

Ok today's post is total vanity but I have to share. This morning when we came back from church TH complimented me that I was really looking good in my dress, a dress I bought 3 years ago for my grandmother's funeral and at that time it just barely fit. Now the same dress is almost 2 sizes too big. I looked at the date today and realized that I have been on The Great Weight Loss Plan of 2007-2008 for almost a year!! I started right after J's birthday last year when I looked at these pictures (yeah I got brave and threw in a swimsuit picture for your horror):

Holy crap look at the size of those thighs!!

Wearing a 2-piece no less, I'm one of those big girls who shows it proudly LOL

Not that I looked terrible but that was definitely a heavy point for me. I've had a gym membership out here for going on 4 years, but while I was pregnant and throughout J's first year of life I basically paid every month to say I had a gym membership. I didn't work out at all. Partially out of paranoia following miscarriage, partially out of exhaustion from my then-60-hour-a-week job, and partially just basking in being pregnant. I lucked out in that without much effort I only gained 25 pounds with J, and thanks to round-the-clock breastfeeding I lost all the baby weight within 6 weeks. Which is actually sad, considering that those pictures are of me at my pre-pregnancy weight. That's right, I was fat before I ever got pregnant, and I was happy to get back to that weight.

Sooo, right after J's first birthday last year I finally got my act together and started a real attempt at weight loss. I didn't hire a trainer, I didn't join Weight Watchers or Jenny Craig or anything else that costs money, I didn't start on a fad diet like Atkins or South Beach. I did it all by myself, with only a couple of "rules":

1. Stop stuffing my face.


2. Get off my ass.


3. Give it a year instead of wanting results in a month.

That's it. Of course there are more details but that's what it comes down to. As of this morning, 51 weeks later, I have lost (drumroll, please).....22 pounds. It may not sound like alot but that's the most weight I've ever lost. Ever. I also can say that I started running in the last year, even going so far as to do a 5K (which I plan to do again pretty soon). So. Here are a couple of pics we took after church this morning. I know I'm not "skinny" by any standards but in my eyes this is a HUGE improvement. Also note the ripped arms in the last picture from faithful Body Pump classes 2-3 times a week. (Do you want tickets to the GUN SHOW?? LOL).

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