41 pounds lost -- before and during pictures!

My weight loss story begins the summer of 2010 when I got home from studying abroad in Florence, Italy. I was at my heaviest weight ever, 214 pounds. I felt miserable about myself, how I looked, and how I felt. August 2010 I started dieting and working out and lost around 25-30 pounds. However, I only treated it as a diet, not a lifestyle change. After a move to a new run-down apartment (college girl trying to save money) I no longer had a kitchen I could cook healthy meals in. Therefore, the "diet" portion of my journey stopped. I stayed pretty consistently between 184-187 pounds. After getting engaged this past October I decided it was time to finish what I had started a year ago. I started this new "lifestyle change" the day after Christmas at 188 pounds. So far I've lost 15 pounds and am weighing in at 173. I feel the best I've ever felt about myself. This time around has been much easier because I'm not constantly thinking about what I can and cannot eat. I have much better control over portions and knowing that everyone slips up from time to time (like I did yesterday). This time around I feel so much more confident that I WILL reach my final goal of 155 pounds-- 18 pounds to go! I cannot wait to reach my end results!

The first two pictures are me at 215ish pounds at the Isle of Capris in Italy. The second two are me today wearing a pair of capris I haven't been able to wear since I was 16 years old! At 173ish pounds! Woop Woop!