From 169 to 130 (with pics, hopefully)

Edit: having trouble with pics, but hopefully they're working now.

Ok I have been very nervous to put these photos out there, so be kind. :P

I started out after I saw some unflattering photos of me. I have a lot of health issues (lupus, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrom, chronic migraine) that left me feeling pretty lousy most of the time. I couldn't do a lot physically, so most of what I did has been focused on diet. I did start walking though right off the bat.

My husband and I had been planning our wedding but circumstances dictated that we needed to go ahead and get married on paper right away (for the Navy). So we went to a minister who married us on a weekday morning with very little fuss. She had a friend of ours take some photos and when I saw them I realized just how big I had gotten. Later that week my doctor's office weighed me at 169 pounds (I'm 5'4"). This is actually the most flattering of those photos, because I deleted the rest.



I came to MFP a couple of weeks later. This was two years ago. It's taken me a long time to get where I am because I took a couple of long breaks. So I lost about 20 lbs before our actual wedding ceremony.



After the wedding I meant to lose more but I had a long plateau. It was about 3 months of logging with no progress. I just gained and lost the same 2 pounds over and over. That's when Helloitsdan told me about full diet breaks, and I decided to take one. I ended up taking a longer break than I intended, but it was good for me. I didn't lose any progress. When I came back I lost another 10 lbs. In May 2012 my husband took this picture. I actually thought I might be done at this point.



I took another break while we spent 3 weeks moving from Connecticut to southern Georgia. My husband deployed a couple of weeks later. While he was gone I decided to try to get a little leaner. I was feeling a lot better physically at this point so I added more exercise. Still not a lot, but I started doing pilates and going for long walks. A few weeks ago I hit 130 pounds. I bought size 6 jeans for the first time in my life.



So this is where I am right now. I'm not totally happy with where I am, but when I compare to where I was two years ago I'm proud of my progress.

So, in summary, be patient with yourself. It's true that it took me 2 years to lose nearly 40 lbs, but I have friends who have lost that much and have already gained it back in the same amount of time. My motto has always been not to change anything unless I could do it forever, and that has worked for me.