Before and after pictures, as per Coyote and yorkiemalts request...

[pope1982]

Some of these are from my photobucket, others i have stored in my computer...

Before, 2 summers ago, at my grandmothers wake.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/pope1982/Family%20and%20friends%20/beckyFAT.jpg

After, last fall. On the left again, my visit back home.. brother doing what he does best. And his fiancee' on the right.
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v636/pope1982/Family%20and%20friends%20/BeckyKevinDenise.jpg

Some of the strangest things getting used to, has to be people referring to me as "skinny", or people who haven't seen me in a while not recognizing me. Body image is still a daily struggle, and from what I can find in researching it, there is a good chance it will always be. Just take it a day at a time!

[CoyoteQueen]

you look wonderful Becky!

[Serene]

No way that is you in the before pics. You should be very proud of your accomplishment. You are a beautiful young lady. And yes... Your skinny!!! LOL

[pope1982]

lol thank you ladies, yes, that was me :o
I honestly never thought or felt I was "that big"... :eek: You know what they say about denial!

[Gwen]

Bec, I'm so proud of you girl! *hugs* You've done so well! You need to give me some of that motivation! I'm really big into outdoorsy stuff, so I've never really had a problem working out. We're always hiking and doing stuff. But my problem is eating. I love food! Lol And I've been so lazy lately. I don't know if it's the winter and snow and cold, but I've just been so blah and it's not like me. I'm not really gaining weight, but I feel like I'm getting out of shape, ya know? What did you do food wise? I know you did calories, but what kinds of foods?

[pope1982]

Special K cereal... milk is important. I usually don't drink my calories, I save them for food but I make an exception for milk. No soda.
Tons of water, and white meat. If I ate seafood, I would be eating tons of that. Little to no carbs. Small portion of brown rice, if you crave rice. Finding new ways to make veggies a major portion, and keep them exciting. Fruit as snacks, cereal bars or granola bars.

I also walk a lot, cannot wait until I have my treadmill! I do yoga/pilates/bellydancing in my own living room lol If you are an outdoorsy girl, hiking is a great way to get your heart rate up and use those muscles!

I used to keep a detailed journal (honest one) of every calorie I ate. Planned out meals and snacks...

[pearl]

bellydancing! i LOOOOVE bellydancing!!!

[Janet]

You did great!!! What an accomplishment. I know all about body image...mine sucks!!...lol...I know that I'm fat...no denial here. Hopefully this time next year I'll be 100 lbs lighter with WeightWatchers and this time I'll keep it off!

[Dobie]

OMG Becky - you're an inspiration to all of us that have to lose weight!!

[yorkiemalt]

wow....what a change! You've worked hard Becky and you should be proud of yourself. You're gorgeous!

[Marilyn]

Becky, that is quite an accomplishment and you did it the natural way, no surgery. You are quite an inspiration!!! If you could do that, those of us who need to shed 20 or so pounds and are otherwise healthy have not excuse!!!

Go girl!!

[DianaB]

Wow, Becky!! What a change!!!! Yep, you're "skinny"!!!!!!

[pope1982]

Thank you everyone, it would be an honor to be considered inspirational ;)

learp, here is one of my favorite performances from my bellydancing DVD set
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJWdPAGWOf8

[pope1982]

My "instructor" lol

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0nIKBQ5ozZU

[Gwen]

I bought some Special K today! :)

Janet, I wish you lots of luck girl! My SIL did WW and swears by it :)

[pope1982]

I like Fruit & Yogurt best, then Red Berries ;)

I usually keep a measuring cup and spoon handy, and eat exactly 3/4 a cup (depending on which kind 110- 130 if you read the side of the box?) and 4 oz of skim milk (40 calories) with maybe a half a tspn of sugar (8 calories). Finish off with fruit or a slice of low cal bread with fruit spread (35 calories a slice, and about 20 calories a half a tblspn for Smuckers red raspberry fruit spread) :)

http://www.calorie-count.com/calories/search.php?search_type=&searchpro=fruit

Another important thing to look for on the side of the box when buying cereal, is how many grams of sugar :thumbdwn:

[Gwen]

My biggest issue is dinner. When I actually get into it and eat healthy, this is my typical type of meals I alternate between:

Breakfasts:
1 Egg sunny side up cooked in a pan with pam and not butter since it has no calories. A piece of whole wheat toast without butter and one low fat 90 calorie yogart

cheerios, mini wheats, raisin bran or grape nuts cereal measured out like you do it with measured out fat free skim milk

Instant oatmeal and a peice of fruit

Lunches:
Progresso low sodium soups (I like Italian Style Wedding or Chicken Dumpling)

turkey breast on whole wheat bread with mustard, lettuce, tomato but NO mayo or cheese

Salad with grilled chicken

Snacks:
String cheese, fruit, cucumber slices, carrot sticks, almonds

Non water drinks:
Diet green tea

Dinner: And this is where I get tripped up!
I have a hard time making meals where I can figure out the calorie count. So usually, I just make whatever I usually do, but I portion mine out so I'm only eating like half of it. If we have burritos, I have half a burrito. If we have spaghetti, I have a serving the size of my fist. But I have a lot of problems with getting a lot of 'healthy' dinner recipes, even though I look on the web for them all the time.

But my biggest thing lately is that I do wonderful the first three days. And then, by the fourth I feel like I'm starving all the time! Doesn't help that I can't eat dinner until 7-8 because my husband doesn't get home until then. So by 5pm I am starving, and that's usually when I mess up. Even if I try to stave it off with a piece of fruit or something. And then, if I do give in and mess up, I get frustrated and REALLY mess up. I can't just mess up in moderation, lol.

[HeatherMaran]

Dang Becky! What a change! You look great!

I totally need to make some changes. I'm like you and don't think I look "that bad" or "that fat". The other day my friend Andrew forwarded me the pictures from his wedding reception, and I look freaking disgusting. I almost cried. I have never been skinny, and can't imagine myself that way, but I know I've looked way better than that. And to think, I thought I looked really cute that day. So that is definitely motivation to make some change.

Then, I was in the drive-thru the other day. I was behind this lady in a mini-van. I hope I don't offend anyone here, but this lady was seriously fat! Like her right side was all the way in the passenger seat. She was so big that she couldn't even reach far enough to get her two bags of food and humongo sized drink. Her car was bouncing all over the place every time she moved. I was just sitting there thinking, OMG...that's where I'm headed. So a bit more motivation. I wish I would have taken a picture so I could have more than just a mental picture.

So yeah, its time to make some changes. I usually eat pretty healthy. I love fruits and veggies. I work right by Pikes Place Market, and they have some of the most yummiest fruits there. I don't really like a lot of sweets. But, I am a major Coke addict. I've given it up before and dropped 25 pounds. But then I think, ok, I'm just gonna have one with pizza. And before you know it, I'm drinking 3, 4, 5, 6 a day. I also need to eat breakfast.

I don't eat any artificial sweeteners, they do more harm than good and cause diabetes. I try to stay away from foods with preservatives. And I eat natural and organic when possible. And I absolutely hate milk!

Anyway, you look great! Hopefully I'll be doing some before and after pics soon!

[pope1982]

Gwen, I recommend ahead of time making a large batch of chicken breast. You can do different things with this every night getting creative...
Like I would do like a chicken parm with no pasta and a little fresh cheese (dairy is a good thing, and you can find it in reduced fat) and a garden salad one night, stir fry another night, home made chicken soup...
(I also found a little weight watchers scale at a thrift store for like a dollar :) )

I always try to stick to my diet no matter what I make that night for Brad. Some nights I eat something completely different. And I also love frozen dinners & desserts, you can find them really cheap at Walmart and Target. If you need a list of brands and meals worth trying, let me know :yelrotflmao:

It sounds like you really have a good idea of what you are doing, great job.

Heather, in my adult life, at 5'4" I have never been a size 3 @ 125. Those before pictures were my lowest, my heaviest and probably my most miserable.
If I can find the motivation and the time for myself to do something like this, (and yes ladies, I am insinuating you need to take a moment to love yourself enough and do this for YOU) I know any healthy average woman can!
:hug: And that is for that moment you felt that way seeing yourself in pictures. I completely relate :o

[Gwen]

Dude, I think you're getting me all motivated. I'm going to start tomorrow! Lol. But seriously, I do better if I start on a Monday. Already had a bunch of girl scout cookies today anyway! :D

But can I email you when I'm about to do bad, and you can kick my bum to stay with it? lol

I actually might not need the encouragement until Thursday. 4 is my magic day for when I start to crave sweets and feel like I'm starving all the time. If I could muscle past a week, I do fine.

[pope1982]

Of course you can depend on me Gwen! But I must warn you, I knock the crap out of excuses lol

Think of trying to pull one over on or argue with Jillian from the Biggest Loser ;)

[Gwen]

Lol! Cool! :) Which reminds me though, I have tried to email you a few times lately and it doesn't go through? I get a failure message back.

[judy]

WAHOO pope1982!

You are an inspiration, and you look beautiful and skinny.

Good for you!

[HeatherMaran]

Of course you can depend on me Gwen! But I must warn you, I knock the crap out of excuses lol

Think of trying to pull one over on or argue with Jillian from the Biggest Loser ;)

I think I need you too!

[Gwen]

Okay little miss Becky, I've been doing good all day so far! This reminds me, we should have a thread where we can talk about our days and hold each other accountable :) Maybe I'll start one and post my day today in there!

[Gina]

Wow!! Becky you look beautiful.. What an inspiration to all and no surgery. You go girl!

[pope1982]

Thank you everyone :o , okay last couple:

Spring 06, the hair cut I got on vacation
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e372/Bpope1982/Foxwoods%20spring%2006%20trip/haircut.jpg

Fall 07 my brother made me pose on the Harley he won in a drawing when we were a little wasted in his garage
http://i43.photobucket.com/albums/e372/Bpope1982/Foxwoods%20and%20MA%20trip%20October%2007/Massachusetts/motorcycle.jpg

Weird Gwen, you sure it was my correct address? pope1982_@hotmail.com

[Gwen]

Ah, there's my problem! I didn't have the underscore! Lol. But that's weird, because that's the one I've always had for you (minus the underscore)

[catlover]

First of all, I can't believe your brother won a Harley! How lucky is that?!!!

And that's a really cute picture of you on the bike! You look so thin there-were you already down to your lowest weight?

[pope1982]

Nearly my lowest. I was about a size 5 there, a year after I started the diet. (also before I cut all that hair that took so long to grow off :eek: ) That is my "thing", go through a big event, chop my hair off and curse the time it takes to grow lol

The first picture was probably my heaviest weight and just looking at my head makes me tired. I don't know how I held it up, and there I was thinking I was all cute with my expensive hair cut :yelrotflmao:

[HeatherMaran]

I love the pic of you on the bike! I really like your hair dark too! I may be partial though! I have decided that, despite what everyone else says, I like my hair being black! So I'm dying it black again this weekend! (sorry Coyote)

[CoyoteQueen]

heather, I am speechless!!!!

[catlover]

Yotes, those young'ns today just don't show any respect to their seniors!!! (hastily adds...not that you're that much older!!!) :laugh:

[CoyoteQueen]

geez catlover, I gasped when I read that and my teeth slipped out!

[Jess36]

Wow, what a change Becky. You should be so proud of yourself for being able to do that. You are beautiful either way though.

[HeatherMaran]

I'm sorry Coyote! You know I have the utmost respect for you, my elder :D , but Kelly is younger and she agreed! Black hair keeps me a little punk rock!

[1hotmomma]

woo hoo becky you sexy thang.. Im so proud of you. body image is something I to strugle with it maybe we can help eachother
:)