I'm so glad I found this website. :D

Seriously, I probably wouldn't be were I am today without it.

I started working on my weight in 2012. I was 260lbs and had just had my first child (c-section). I had no clue what I was doing so I cut out just about everything. Chicken and lettuce with raspberry vinaigrette were staples of my diet for a good 6 months or so. I'm sure you can imagine how not only boring but unsustainable that plan was. At the time however, I couldn't imagine myself calorie counting. Somehow I had decided that counting calories would be crazy restrictive (yes I somehow convinced myself that it would be worse than what I was already doing) and that I wouldn't be able to eat much of anything. Well, I'm sure some of you out there probably have a good idea of how well this went. For those who don't, I crashed and burned. Sure I lost a decent chunk of the weight I needed to lose, but I gained back almost half of what I had lost. I wish I would have taken a starting picture, but at the time I thought cameras were the ultimate evil device.


Around Nov, 2012 I discovered MFP. I created an account and played around with it a bit, but didn't actually start using it until mid March 2013. At the end of March, I convinced myself that it was about time I started taking progress pictures. So, I plugged in my information and started working with what I was given. It didn't take me long to wonder into the forums and start reading. I read a lot. It only took a week or so, for me to decide that I wanted to be as accurate as possible. I really wanted to decrease the amount of guess work involved. I hadn't stalled in weight loss or anything of that nature. It was one of those moments where I just decided that if I'm going to do this, I might as well go all the way. So in April, I bought a HRM and my husband gave me a Fitbit Zip. In June, I bought a kitchen scale. I haven't regretted any of my purchases. I loved the path I had found on MFP. I was able to enjoy the foods I loved and lose weight. I mean who wouldn't love that. Obviously, I had to make sure to stick within my calorie goals, but that just meant smaller portions. So 2013, went fairly well as far as weight loss is concerned up until Fall. Fall was a tiny bump that took about 9 months to become a boulder. Of course for me, this meant I had to stop tracking calories. I did however continue to use my Fitbit to try and help me stay active.

I had another c-section at the end of May 2014 and another wonderful little boy. Recovery took a little bit longer than the first c-section. I started watching what I was eating almost immediately, but didn't start working out until September 11, 2014. I did whatever I had to to make sure I had time to get in a workout. It sucked and often meant my sleep was lacking, but I made it happen. I don't regret it. I get a bit more sleep now that we have a membership to our local YMCA. Definitely a lifesaver for me. I get 2 hrs of daycare while I workout everyday but Sunday. With 2 little ones, this means that I get my workout and I get to nap when they are napping if I need to. Plus both the boys love it. My oldest typically doesn't want to leave.

Now for those who just skimmed over the text, looking for pictures:

I won't leave you hanging though.

Dec 2011 - 2 days after my c-section (approx 260lbs)


Side comparison, starting with the first picture I took for comparisons:


Face comparison (Jan 2012 - 260lbs to March 2015):