OMG, I found my "before" pic top, size 30/32! Trying it on..with other clothes from then on me NOW! Lotsa Pics!

I gave a yelp! Did you hear it?

I was going through tubs of old, stored clothes. I filled up two and half lawn and leaf bags worth--those 39 gallon capacity ones--of clothes to toss, and filled one bag with clothes to give away (ie, in good condition or still had tags on).

Then I found... THAT shirt. The black embroidered tunic top that I wear in the pic you see as my before/highest-weight shot. (It's both in the upper left sidebar and in the the Progress Pics page). Well, here is that old pic:

And here is the shirt on me TODAY, with a 121 lb difference:

I tried to turn to the angle in the 2004 pic.
I gathered up the shirt to show body difference.

I can fit a teen in here with me!

And that's not all. I found a workout top from Junonia I used to love cause it's my "signature" colors --ie, black and red. Junonia was the place I had to go to for 4x and 3x workout-wear way back when. Here I am in that top at 278 lbs in Jan of 2009 at a local state park, racoon in background:

I'd been doing Pilates for 6 months and
felt BETTER, but obviously...just getting
started on my mojo. Food not under control!

And the same top today, found in the tub along with others from my "biggest" periods:

Loads of SPACE.
You can see my piles of
sorting mess on the bed!

Side view to compare with side view above.

And here is my favest red top from my highest weight time, size 30/32, both wide and gathered:

This used to be snug in the chest/belly

I love this color and print and fabric
and style combo--and so comfy--
that I hesitate even now to toss it. Sigh...

I tried some other stuff from the "biggest periods" clothes:

These used to be my GO TO fave pants.
These are 3x, as I don't have any 4x ones left.
I threw those out. I can hide in these during
a hurricane. ; ) They did used to sit at my waist.

These next, are NOT stretch pants. These were dress pants, zipper and button type, that were at my highest size: 28. I'm 14 now. Half that size. I buttoned and zipped them, and still had this much space. Remember, these ain't stretch!!!~~

I did find a top from my 4x highest weight period. This is a workout top, another from Junonia:

And now a skirt:

After all that, I got dressed for my walk. Seeing my progress--SEEING it and FEELING it--makes me not want to ever go back there again:

Determined NOT to go back to that!

Be well.

1998 pic of hubby and me...compared to Hatsume 2011...and then compared to Hatsume 2012...with some "Princess Dances" pics...

I had hubby scan some old photos I found. I hardly took pics back then (camera avoider even in my younger and skinnier days), but these weren't even at my biggest. I got 50 pounds BIGGER than in these:

Us in 1998, both fat, me very fat, like 250 or so

around 1999

Christmas Eve 1998 in a long kimono to
cover my 250 lbs or so of bulk...

March 2011, the spring festival at Morikami Gardens ("Hatsume"), hubby and I. I'm 220 lbs here:

Hubby and I in 2012 at Hatsume. I'm 182 lbs:

Me and 2 super nice cosplayers:
L: a character from Zone 00 manga
R: Byakuran (a villain) from HITMAN REBORN --
looks good, right?

Kicking up my heels to DJ HeavyGrinder--she's the cute gal in the background:

House/Electronica/Tech/Trance Music be da bombdiggiest!

The fat old dame loves to dance! I was
really sweaty in the full sun for 30 mins,
so I moved to the shade,  but even there,
after an hour, my shirt was kinda soaked!

I got so into it I grabbed the hand of a young cosplayer next to me and just did some salsa moves with her. Tried to get the folks to get up and dance, but really, not a very dancey crowd there. Too bad. DJs ought not go to waste. One fair-goer said to me afterwards, "Wow, you danced a lot."  I said, "Yeah, you should have joined in with your gal." He said she tried to get him to get up and dance, cause she didn't wanna dance alone.

Shoot. I'll dance all by my lonesome as long as the music is good. :D

So, like the song says, "I hope you dance."

Okay, my vlog finally got sent via iPhone (like the 7th try!!!!) and I hope Youtube processes it soon so I can do a retro update for the previous post.

Nite, y'all!

Before and After....since I finally found a "Before/Highest Weight" Photo!

I had mentioned in a post a few days ago how I found a pic of me at 299 lbs. Of course, I never weighed in at exactly 199.0, but I did make it to 198.8 Sunday (was 198.2 today). So, my commemorative 100 lbs lost pic never got taken. Boohoo.

I updated my PROGRESS PICS page to add the new photos.

Anyway, for now, the after photo is the one from last Saturday, and at 199.8, that's good enough to count for visual documentation. It's not like .8 of a pound (as Allan would say, a good couple pees or a poo's worth) would change my body configuration noticeably. Hah.

So, here it is, BEFORE and AFTER a 100 pound loss:

Before: 299 lbs at age 44

After (for now): 199 lbs at age 51

After

BTW, that lil round gut next to me in the before pic was hubby's tummy. He's lost 45 or so pounds since back then...but I'm STILL heavier than he is. Sheesh. (But I will get to be smaller again and "liftable" like I was in our newlywed days. I miss being LIFTED and carried by my man's manly arms.)

I still have more afters to go, until I get to goal weight (160 lbs). But I've come a long way and am very pleased about the progress. So glad I found that before pic. It will be my constant reminder of where I can end up again (or worse) if I do not make this commitment to healthful eating and movement a PERMANENT lifestyle change.

Happy progress to you all who fight the fat and hunt after health.....

Then....Now...To Go... some Pics and Motivational Rah-Rah-ing on Day 66 (or whatever) of Phase 5...cause Seeing Where You've Been and Where You Are Keeps You Pumped Up For Where You're Going...

Then:

278 lbs,  21 lbs less than highest weight (2008)

Now:

212 lbs (a few days ago)

Today: 211.2
To go: 51.2 lbs. Looking forward to a whole new "NOW"  when I hit goal.

My original target date for goal weight achievement was September 3, 2012. I'm feeling confident I'll make it BEFORE that date. My heart wants it to be by Christmas, so I can wear a killer holiday outfit (with a lot of Spanx to control that saggy, empty skin).

My new motto for 2011:

Eyes on the prize, heart on the target, soul on the goal!

When temptation hits today, eyes...heart...soul....GOAL.....let's NOT waver...