i used to be rather overweight in my teen years. i also used to drink soda, and eat fast food, and lots of snacks with no restraint. and also no exercise. when i started college, i slowly began to change my ways, one thing at a time. i've lost some weight over the past 10 years, but at such a snail's pace, sometimes i don't even realize it.

in january 2008, i joined my first gym. i may not have my gym membership anymore, but... since january 2008, i've managed to successfully incorporate some daily exercise into my life on a consistent basis.

now, i'll be honest, i still enjoy beer/wine on a weekly basis. i still eat snacks that aren't healthy, mostly i still battle with the unstoppable force of binge eating. and i still fight with myself constantly over why i can't just be skinny already. and it's frustrating and exhausting. but unfortunately, i am not capable of being as strict as i need to be in order to get a perfect body that i think i need.

with that said... i noticed a picture of me from new year's eve right before my exercise started against one taken last week. needless to say, i was rather surprised. when did my stomach not hang over my pants so much anymore. here are the results:

january 2008


may 2009

What a fantastic difference And you are such a beautiful girl.

Slow and steady wins the race; you look great!

You are doing great! It is so good that you are handling this now while you are young. Losing 10 or 12 pounds a year works well. So many of us gained 10 or 12 pounds a year and that starts adding up as you age.

Keep going!

thanks for all the words of encouragement. i have such a hard time dealing with my body image. the weight loss is so slow that i dont even see it. until something like this happens

I was/am a turtle when it comes to weight loss. Slow and steady is a GREAT way to go!

You look GREAT!!!

Keep it up!!!

I think you are just precious! You look healthy and happy---beautiful to boot.

You are gorgeous, great job!

You look amazing!