Getting out of my comfort zone (pics)

Wow! Thanks everyone, your words of encouragement and support are a tremendous help!

@ phyl303 - thank you so much for the visual comparisons. It's funny to imagine myself carrying around a basset hound :laugh:

@ Greywalk - it was actually very intentional to be an example and lesson to my son. My grandfather had diabetes, my dad has diabetes, and I have it...that puts my son in a very high-risk category to get it. I do not want to continue that family legacy if I can help it, so when I was diagnosed with it I knew I had to change or I would be helping send my son to that terrible place. What mother could consciously do that? He is my whole world, and while I am doing this for my own health, I am also doing this for him.

A bit of my "story" - I lost the weight pretty much entirely by eating less. I lost 30 lbs in 3 months, then stalled for over a year and a half. I was lost as to why. I had NO IDEA how much (calories) I was actually eating. Plus I sit on my *kitten* all day at work and rarely move any other time because I'm just so worn out hauling all this weight around. I found the group Eat, Train, Progress. Sara and SideSteel (and loads of other people in that group) have a very logical approach to health and fitness that is based on study and actual science, not the fad of the day. I poured over all the information they have to share and discovered the food scale. Once i started weighing my food I realized how completely off I was at estimating and I had no clue what a real portion was supposed to look like. A portion to a fat person is NOT the same as a portion to a thin person.

I started integrating all the new information and started losing again...another 30 lbs. Through ETP I learned that all cardio isn't going to do anything for my strength, and I am sooooo weak! You would think I would be stronger considering how much weight I have to carry around, but I am not. I am still struggling with this part, but I know now that I need to do weight training. I cannot afford to go to the gym anymore, but while I was there for a few short weeks, the one good thing my trainer taught me was bodyweight exercises. In 6 weeks of doing them 2-3 times a week, I lost 8 inches (that I'd measured) - 6 from my tummy and 2 from my hips. I am still working on incorporating that more into my daily activity.

I never thought I would be an inspiration to anyone. Thank you everyone for applauding my successes and sharing in my journey. It really means a lot.

:flowerforyou: