50...

Ok, so, of course I really wanted to write this post because it is super awesome, I feel great and I am very proud of myself.  (It goes without saying that I am also very proud of mom and Jasey but I don't see it as my privilege to write about their accomplishments)  To write this post I knew that I had to show who I was only a few short months ago.  How can you do justice to yourself if you aren't willing to share everything?  I wasn't sure which I would have more of a personal issue with, telling the numbers or posting the picture.  Oddly enough I think it's posting the picture, even though anyone could have seen me any old time while I was as big as I was, to post it now is a bit embarrassing to me.  Not that I am completely ok with writing down my numbers either but, gotta share it all, right?  I have no problem saying "I've lost 50 pounds" but to actually see it, ugh, totally different.  Oh well, even if I don't have to share, I'm going to anyway.

I'm gonna go a little 'Joy Fit Club' for a minute.  I of course knew I was getting a lot bigger then I used to be but I had been able to kind of brush it off.  I was getting older and didn't dance anymore, I'd just had a baby.  Then about 4 months after Ryan was born I was still thinking well I just had another baby, I have time, then I saw a video of myself.  Well at first I didn't know it was me, it wasn't until I recognized my shirt that I realized that I was looking at myself.  That was a horrid feeling, and you would think that something like that would really whip me into shape, well it kinda did.  I of course convinced myself it was still early, I still had a lot of pain and swelling from my c-section.  Which was all true, but not to the point that I gave myself credit for.  I started walking and could tell I was losing some weight but I wasn't really concerned about it and have no clue what I weighed at that point.  I thought for sure that I would do something soon, then a whole freaking year went by.

You know that thing where if you ask someone to draw a picture of themselves most everyone will draw themselves at least 10 pounds heavier then they really are?  It's how they see themselves.  Yeah, I was the complete opposite, it's like I was in denial, I still had a vision in my head of the young dancing, cheerleading Andrea.  Every picture of the late 20's and 30 year old, post babies Andrea shocked the crap out of me.  Although all the pictures had me knowing I had to do something I kept telling myself oh it's not too bad I could be this or that, it could always be worse.  One of those things was the number on the scale.  I am a 'oh it's just a number' person, so I figured as long as my number still had a '1' in front of it I was ok and it wouldn't be hard to bring the two numbers that followed it down.  Then within about a 6 week time period my number continued to climb and next thing I knew...

I weighed 216 pounds and had to go buy myself a pair of size 18 pants, every shirt I owned had an XL on the tag and some of those were still a little uncomfortable.  It's hard to find pictures of myself even now, because I'm always the one taking them but here you go (it took a lot to put this up and I'm still doubting my decision)

I couldn't believe it 216 pounds!  I couldn't pretend anymore, not when Ryan was 18 months old, I was far from being considered postpartum.  The first thing I changed was simple I stopped snacking out of boredom and instead had a glass of water.  I drank a lot of water anyway but a little more isn't going to hurt you.  Even though I was eating pretty healthy snacks, it was still extra food that I didn't need.  Just with that small change in about a months time I had lost almost 10 pounds.  Then mom, Jasey and I as a trio decided to make a change, so we all started out on our endeavor together.  We compared numbers almost every morning, congratulating and encouraging each other.  Six months later we are all healthier, happier and much smaller.  This is the most recent picture I could find of myself and it's from over a month ago.

And because I like this picture so much, here it is again  :)

When these pictures were taken I had lost around 40 pounds and I am down another 10 pounds since then.

So my latest count (so you don't have to do that math) I weigh 166 pounds, I am now buying size 10 pants and am making a collection of shirts with an 'M' on the tag.

I have thought about a tummy tuck many times since I still have some unpleasant stuff from the c-sections and I believe I would be down another pants size maybe even 2 if I did get one.  But it's money, another surgery and a big risk so I'm still up in the air about it.  I am much smaller than I was before I got pregnant with either of the kids and I am also (and I think this is super cool)  20 pounds under what I was when Jasey and I got married!

For the record mom has lost 30 pounds and Jasey has lost 60 pounds.  Together we have lost a total of 140 pounds, an entire person!  They both look great and I am so proud of them!

I didn't start out with any goals and I still don't have any.  I wouldn't mind losing some more but if I stay where I am for a little while I am very happy with that.  It would be nice to give my clothing a little chance to wear in a bit before I have to go buy more, again.

So there you have it the old me and new me and the brave me behind the scenes still not sure if I should kick myself for posting that picture.  If I get a better more recent picture of myself I'll be sure to share it with you.




 - Today I am thankful for the lovely weather we have been having the past few days, the windows and doors are open and the A/Cs have been off!  Also for the rain we are supposed to get because I know the garden would really enjoy it!  -