I finally got the courage to look at before pictures!

I have intentionally kept from looking at before pictures until last night. If you click my profile picture you will see my before ...and during picture. When I saw these pictures side by side I cried for 10 minutes. I have no idea why it affected me so bad, but it did. In a happy kind of way though.

It has been a little over 5 months since I started my journey of a better me. I am 5 ft 2 and weighed in at 229. My starting BMI was 41.7%. To date I have lost 41.6 pounds.

I was diagnosed with PCOS and insulin resistance a while back. I had these issues for a long time but I could not get a dr to take me serious until a few years ago. Before Christmas, exactly Dec 17th I made up my mind I had to do something. I was so tired of being sick and tired. I used all kinds of excuses to keep from being more active. For one it hurt like heck to even walk or get out of the bed in the morning.

I had fallen off a roof a in 2004( that is when the weight started really piling on) and my leg got hung in a rung on the way down. I fell 12 ft to the concrete below.. When I landed my right leg was shattered and my foot was literally pointing backwards. Now, after surgery I have enough metal in my leg to set off a metal detector a mile away. I was down for the count a long time. When that healed I dislocated my knee on my right leg after a dog clipped me from behind. It was similar to an injury a football player would have. I know I sound like a walking disaster but Once that healed I fell in Walmart on some water that was the result of melting ice because their ice cooler was messed up. I chipped my knee cap on the right knee just shortly after it healed from being dislocated. Just trying to explain why I really do hurt pretty darn bad...but again that was an excuse.

Right before Thanksgiving last year I fell on my porch and landed on that knee again and it forced me to go to an Orthopedic/joint dr. When I walked it sounded like gravel crunching. I knew I had messed something up really bad. After extensive xrays my Dr concluded that I had severe arthritis in my that knee( I have it bad on my left leg that was broken). My knee cap was off center and moved off sight about 2 1/2 inches. I lie you not my cap was almost to the side of my knee. So, I was ordered to do physical therapy to strengthen the muscles around the knee cap so it would pull the cap back in place. I have to wear a knee brace and was ordered to do cortisone shots in my knee. So....that was the last straw. I had to make a change and fast.

I have lost over 41.6 pounds. It still hurts like heck to walk but I can tell you it hurts a lot less being lighter. The weight loss has helped my blood sugar as well. When I went to my general Dr in Oct my A1C was 6.7. When I went on March only after dropping a little over 20 pounds at that point my A1C had dropped to 6.2. My bad cholesterol went from being high to being normal the same for my triglycerides. I go back the 24th of this month. I am excited to see how my labs have changed since the last 3 months. I also noticed other changes to. My cycles have actually became regular for the first time in my life and hormone levels have evened out. Some of the aspects of PCOS have improved A LOT. Due to having PCOS in my earlier years that was undiagnosed I was never able to have children due to it.

I have lost 4 pant sizes . I put off buying some new clothes until last month. I had to. I put on a pair of my shorts from last summer and I swear to you they fell to the floor buttoned up lol. That was the best feeling ever and a good problem to have I suppose.

I got a long road ahead of me. This is a commitment I am prepared to accept for the remainder of my life. So far it has been hard, but I am a stubborn and very determined woman. My husband got on the band wagon yesterday. He has committed to join me in my battle to learn how to be healthy. I am so thankful to have his support.