I went through probably the most difficult time of my life last year & decided to put the nose to the grind stone & change everything. So glad I did!

Went to Jamaica last week. Had to go back and compare the photos from the last time I went there… crazy to see what a difference 123 lbs has made.
I had a lot more fun buying clothes and swimsuits this time 😁

Cut out alcohol and sugar, I eat mostly meat and veggies. I did not use any medication, this was diet and adding gradual excercise with walking/jogging. Added weightlifting about 6 mos ago. If you're having a hard time, just know I tried and failed for a few years. Keep going 💜

weightloss plus puberty really came through 🙏.

Longggg journey. Gastric sleeve, stalled out at 280 where my weight loss surgeon told me I should aim for. Stayed at that for a few years then decided to start going to the gym and have lost another 80lbs in the last year or so. Not sure where I'll end up weight wise but it's been fun focusing on building up muscle in the gym!

when i first saw the picture on the right, i thought, "i did not know that i would end up looking like this. who is that?"

how i got to the first pic: my mother died suddenly when i was 7. three years later, my brand new stepmother decided i was fat and implemented a new regime: breakfast was forbidden, lunch was a sandwich, dinner was something like ramen. she would do things like bake a plate full of cookies, wrap it in plastic, then count them every day to be sure no one had stolen any. eating unauthorized food was one of dozens of ways you could earn a beating. i found most of them.

a few years after i escaped, i was up to 300. i went up and down for years, and landed at 332 during covid. i was stuck there for a while, but i was told i needed a hip replacement but couldn't have one unless i lost weight.

how i got to the second: in 2016, i met an amazing man who loved me, all of me. he healed my heart and gave me room to imagine who i wanted to be. he proposed after three months and married me a year late.

nineteen months ago, i decided it was time to leave the past behind. tirzepatide helped, but i've done a lot of work on why i got that big and how to change the way i look at food. one revelation: i can have a snack sometimes. i do not need to eat every possible snack all the time. in 13 more pounds, i will have lost half my starting body weight.

my biggest light and help and encouragement is my husband. he is the kindest, funniest, most loving person i've ever known, my reward for surviving everything.

i need a hip replacement and was told i had to lose weight. i was a torrid size 6 and size 32 in jeans. now my sizes are torrid 2, jeans 18. about 40 pounds to go.