From 323-174 in 2 yrs

It was 2 yrs ago today that I sent my husband to Walmart to find me some jeans because I didn't own anything that fit except for these huge tent like dresses I had ordered from a specialty mega plus sized catalog. I didn't go with him, because I was so ashamed of my weight that I only left the house for church (and only because I was the children's pastor at the time) and to take my son with cerebral palsy to his many dr and therapy appts.

He came home with size 26 jeans and a 3 or 4x sweater...the largest sizes that walmart carried. And neither fit. I could button the jeans if I laid down, but my stomach hung over them and they cut into me till I was bleeding. The sweater could stretch to button around me, but it looked horrible.

I got on the scale and saw 323 and felt hopeless.

I decided to try working out and bought 30DS. I couldn't even make it through the warm up jumping jacks before my vision went blurry and I was scared I might be having a stroke. Instead of letting that discourage me, I scaled back and did what I could, which was 10 minutes on the wii fit.

I was faithful to that 10 minutes a day and kept adding to it as I was capable of more. 13 months ago I got a treadmill and started running...at first even 1 minute of running was a challenge, but now I can do 13 miles if I push for it and 11 of that is running.

I'm now down to 174 (size 10/12) thanks to a low carb diet and exercise. My life is so dramatically changed...I went from never working out, to starting my own fitness group and being hired to teach a class at another group. I workout 3 hrs a day, 5-6 days a week and am no longer a prisoner in this body.

I used to look at my sweet disabled son (in my ticker) and be so angry with myself for wasting a body that worked when he had to fight for even the mobility to roll over. He and I have come a long ways in this 2 yrs...his physical therapists think now that he may even walk by the end of this year!

Anyways, I know everyone likes pics, so here are a few:

This is me at my heaviest, I think. The shirt was from Cato's (which I think are pretty vanity sized) and it was a size 30 I believe.



me at 302, May 2011. The first time I would get in front of the camera and really face the truth



This was me back in the fall 2012 in Woman's World magazine



and me this morning showing off my "fat pants" at one of the workout groups



and me today, not hiding behind giant pants.