Don't Lose Weight to Look Better

So many times when I've posted progress pictures on my personal Facebook I've gotten comments on how great I look. That's awesome! And I have to admit that I do look better than when I weighed 375 pounds. But that's not the reason I'm on this mission.

My health had gotten pretty bad. I was in the early stages of heart disease, I was borderline diabetic, my cholesterol was high and I just felt like poop. And the icing on the cake is that I was only 38 years old. I wasn't ready to die.

I was always tired. I never felt like playing with my kids. My biggest goal for the each day was to get stuff done for the day so I could do my favorite activity: sleep. 

But that's not living- that's dying. 

So I started this journey. And not at one time, even though I was embarrassed by my outward appearance, was my looks the goal of this.

Excess weight puts a strain on every organ, joint and bone. Imagine how hard my heart had to work to pump blood through my 375 pound, 5' 4" body. I'm really surprised that my knees didn't just give me a two week notice. 

Now that I've lost 146 lbs, I can climb stairs and not have to stop to catch my breath. I can sit in the floor without having problems getting back up. I can even jump on the trampoline with my kids. Also, I'm no longer borderline diabetic! The list goes on and on.

Yes, I do look better but I think it's because of the new healthy me glowing from the inside out and that's just a bonus of better health.

Beauty is only skin deep!

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Today's bonus tip: don't use the scales as your only measure of success. Take measurements of your neck, chest, waist and hips and retake them monthly.