Ha! For the conclusion of my birthday extravaganza, I sat on my duff and searched through some old photos to find pictures of me at my heaviest. Seriously? There aren’t many. I avoided cameras like the plague. Looking at these pictures, I amaze myself with the progress!
May 2005, at my heaviest, 223 pounds. That poor piano bench!
(That’s Teen Daughter#2)
May 2006 – At this point, I had started working on my health, just a little bit.
Christmas 2006. I found out earlier this year that I have Type II Diabetes, and had finally gotten very serious about exercising and watching what I ate.
(That’s Mr. Pea with me, not some random stranger I met a the office Christmas Party.)
Now…there’s a long gap in the timeline here without any pictures because a) the camera bit the dust; and b) by the end of the gap, I was fat again! I worked my way down to 159 pounds by the summer of 2007 and held it there for a little over a year. By January of 2009, I was up to about 165. By December of 2009, I was all the way back to 185. Right after Christmas, spurred on by a well-intentioned but still hurtful comment from Mr. Pea and still reeling from the aftereffects of my stroke, I had a major discussion with myself.
Me: “Self? You do know you can’t go on like this, right?”
Self: “Uh, yeah. I’m tired of feeling tired. I’m really tired of looking at you and seeing rolls.”
Me: “What do you mean your’re tired of seeing rolls!? You have no right to criticize!”
Self: “Yeah? So what are you going to do about this?”
I joined Weight Watchers. I forced myself to move. I started running, then picked up speedwalking.
May 2010, 179 pounds – On my way. Thank you exercise! Thank you healthy food choices!
Today. Yes, I know I’m cutting a cake for crying out loud!
Not the best example for healthy eating, but it IS my birthday today, and my children made this cake for me, from scratch; they even make those tasty truffles decorating it.
Truth be told? I only ate a tiny piece. Teen sons will polish this cake off tomorrow after bike riding and football practice. They can do that eating cake thing. I choose not to.
Keeping the Faith 
Great pictures and progress. So proud of you!
Well Happy Birthday! And congratulations on the weight loss! You look great. I have a friend with Diabetes, her mom has it as well. It can be horrible if you don't take care of your self! SO glad you decided to take your health seriously.
Just been reading through – I've missed so many posts! Wow and Wow. Firstly happy belated birthday and LOOK at you. You look amazing.You are so inspirational to me – I love reading your posts. Keep 'em coming 🙂