300 lbs GONE FOREVER!!!

I have finally reached the goal of losing 300 lbs. since first starting my weight loss journey in February 2014. It's amazing what 2 1/2 years can do for a person. It also makes me sad for what I missed out on when I was that heavy. I never wanted to be in pictures, in fact the oldest one I could find of myself, full body and/or selfie, is from May of 2015.

 These are from May of 2015

Now? I LOVE being in pictures, and selfies. It may be because it's still so hard to believe that the person I see in these pictures is me! And you can tell, just from the pictures how much happier and more comfortable I am with my body now.

 This is from July 2016

I never thought, 2 years + ago that I would be where I am today. I'm SO happy with where I am and what I did to better my life, I just didn't think I would actually like myself. I've had body image issues for most of my life. I've always been heavy. A fact the kids at school never failed to point out. Really, it wasn't until the end of my junior year that I finally made the decision to try to not to care so much about what people thought, and to just enjoy the moment. My senior year was the best year of school for me because of that attitude, and because of the amazing friends that I had. I can never thank them enough.

So, I've written out before, but I'll write it out again. Here are my numbers (as far as weight goes), and where I want to be by the end.

(02/2014) Highest Weight: 522 lbs
(10/2015) Surgery Weight: 397 lbs
(07/2016) Current Weight: 222 lbs
Goal Weight: 140 lbs

I've learned that there are a lot of reasons that go into someone getting up to 522 lbs., more than just overeating. For me, I just had emotional drama that I kept escaping from, with the help of food. I've mentioned it before, but food is my addiction, my heroin if you will. Which is incredibly hard, as you kinda have to eat to LIVE. So, I've been figuring out when to eat, and to make sure I'm only eating for sustenance, and not for any other reason. It's so much harder than I thought it would be, but on the flip side, it's so much more rewarding. Now I know that if my stress levels get to 110%, I don't NEED to go to food to cope through it, there's nothing better. Because I don't go to food to cope with it, I end up doing something more productive, whether that's cleaning or going for a walk, I do something ACTIVE, but I am also able to think through my problem and come up with solutions. I cannot describe the amount of accomplishment I get from being productive, and actually coming up with a solution to a problem, rather than just sitting and wallowing in my issue. I'm proud of what I've accomplished. I can't wait to get to my goal. (Only 82 lbs left).

So, to put this a bit in perspective for everyone, the amount of weight I lost is equivalent to these two,

My twin sisters. :)

 

 and my black lab combined. I've literally lost two people and a dog. Haha. It's funny when I phrase it like that, but it's completely true. It's so liberating to have that weight off now, and to be able to just be the person I think I was always meant to be all along.. I just got a little lost.

Thank you to everyone that is encouraging me and inspiring me, and keeping me going to my goal. You'll never know what your kind words have meant to me. I'm almost there! :) 

Here's a few comparisons.. 

The above photos are our family photos we took in October, two weeks before I had surgery.

 

These are some of the family photos we took 2 weeks ago. I love how much happier and more comfortable I look in them. :)