NSV, and perhaps my biggest victory! Pics.

This weekend has been eye opening for me. I started this journey after having my second son in September and topped out at 198 lbs during pregnancy. I'm 5'5 so... YIKES! Since then I have lost a total of 46 lbs though I started using MFP after having already lost the 20 lbs I gained during pregnancy and am currently counting my weight loss from my normal pre pregnancy weight of 177 lbs which I was never happy with. I've worked hard and have experienced several ups and downs trying to figure out how to eat properly and achieve the body I want. At first the weight came off quickly and I was beside myself with joy but as I zeroed in on my goal weight, progress began to slow and then unfortunately stopped all together a couple months ago at 155 lbs. PLATEAU! NOOOOOOOOOO. Try as I might to continue eating well, changing my workouts up, eating at my TDEE as suggested to me by others or even lowering my calories a bit, Nothing has worked until recently when I lost a couple lbs from being sick. I don't know yet if my weight loss is back on track yet or if I'm still stuck but that's not really the point of this post. Those couple of lbs aren't my NSV.

The problem has been that I haven't been giving myself enough credit for how far I have come. I've been so hard on myself! So upset about the lack of progress lately that I've lost sight of all the little successes I have already achieved and I have let it get me down and discourage me. I have fallen into a cycle of dismissing these 46 lbs already lost and thinking that it's not good enough. I'm not where I want to be and that I can do better. A few years ago I would have been kicking myself in the *kitten* for being so ungrateful to weigh 155 lbs for the first time since high school. Fat me would have traded anything to be where I am now. I suppose I got carried away in searching for perfection?

So enough rambling. "Get to the point and show us the pictures! Whats your NSV?" Ok, Ok. I went shopping for a new outfit to wear to a big BBQ with ALL my friends this weekend. I wanted something to go with these gorgeous pair of heels I bought a few days prior and hadn't gotten to wear yet. You see, I'm more of a jeans and tennis shoes type of girl but I wanted to step outside my comfort zone. I REALLY wanted to look nice but was in a bit of a hurry so I didn't have time to try anything on in the store which is important because it's always been very hard to find clothes that fit my body type in a flattering way. Besides, I'm a little unsure of my new clothing sizes since having lost weight. So anyway I ended up having to take a chance and grab something off the rack, hoping that it would fit when I got home. This method of shopping hasn't worked for me since my skinny high school days before I had children. So I get home, I have an hour to get ready before we have to be out the door and the moment of truth comes... was this outfit a mistake?

I could hardly believe my eyes when I stepped in front of the mirror. Was that really ME????? Since when did I look like THAT? That's not the girl I have been so harshly criticizing in the mirror every day... That girl is chubby, frumpy and saggy. Nothing like the girl I saw in the mirror this time though. I could have cried right then and there. I've come so far, how could I have not seen it before now? And when I made my big reveal to my boyfriend and all our friends? Jaws hit the floor and I felt like a movie star! Needless to say I was floating on clouds the rest of the night. I was confident and happy and never once did I waste even a minute of my wonderful night worrying about how I looked or feeling awkward in such figure tight clothing. And guess what? I've seen that girl again in the mirror since then!

Ok,so here was you all came so see. Whats the silly thing she saw in the mirror that has her carrying on about feeling like a movie star and such? Well we have to start with the before... UGH> I tried to get the pics the right size. We'll see if it worked.

Two years ago and my oldest sons Birthday party around 175- 180?


This was 7 months ago. I was 9 months pregnant and 198lbs.


And this....





...was the girl I saw in the mirror this weekend! 155 lbs.


And I saw her again! Who IS that?