Starting Point - Amy

Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. I did pretty well. I only indulged on Thanksgiving instead of the whole week. I am still up 2-3 lbs but it should flush out soon.

Tonight I go to the gym to sign up. I am not looking forward to the 4:30 am workouts, but I am looking forward to seeing how strong I can get.

Here is a pic of me from Thanksgiving - not too bad for a girl who lost over 100 pounds.... I hate the tattoo, but it's half way done with laser removal, so I am working on getting rid of it!

Here is a pic from the same week looking a little less washed out.....


For anyone out there who might actually read this, here's a little history of my struggle with weight.....

I totally grew up as the fat kid. I was normal/thin till about 3rd/4th grade when I started getting chubby. By middle school I was fat. By high school - huge! Senior year I weighed 240 pounds.

No one really ever told me I was fat. Well, the kids at school made fun of me and the girls in middle school were viscous. Adults though, no. They told me I was beautiful....... I knew I really wasn't, but I lived in a house with two very overweight parents and eating bad food and too much bad food was normal. It wasn't till right before I got married in early 2000 that I started a diet. It wasn't actually for my wedding. I went for an OBGYN checkup and the doctor was brutally honest about my weight. I remember going home and crying my eyes out. But her honesty was my wake-up call.

I started reading all kinds of diet books and Dr. Atkin's book really hit home with me. I also found great support on a low-carb site (see links).

On our honeymoon, already down to 200 - I don't have pics of myself at 240.

A year later, I was down 80 lbs. I was a normal-sized woman. Not skinny, but normal. Then, I started watching my calories and fat and working out - woosh down to 140 and a size 4/6 a few months later.... I even went on the Montel Show and was in FIRST.... Then came the babies and baby weight. I did pretty good with my son, but I had a really hard time getting the weight off after my daughter. Along with a cross-country move that didn't sit well with me, I packed on about 50 pounds. Stuck somewhere in between thin and fat, I found Slim 4 Life... It appealed to my lowcarb beliefs and gave me a WW type accountability due to the weekly weigh-ins. I started in March 2010. Now I am at 135 and a size 4. So now comes the fitness journey. It's time to tone up and get lean.