I'm beginning my journey with a single step...

It's so hard to put yourself, your story out for the whole world to see. I, however, need the accountability which is why I chose to join in Bonnie's size 10 project. I've never been a size 10- NEVER. Growing up I was always the fat kid. Yes, I dealt with the teasing, the bullying and the ridicule but I also had (and still keep in touch with) some of the most amazing friends. The day I graduated from high school I was 5'4" and 232 pounds. For the next ten years I continued to pack on the weight until my highest recorded weight surpassed 350 lbs. I had tried every diet on the market - lose ten pounds and gain back 20-- so it went for years. I began researching gastric bypass surgery and after four years of intense research, thought, prayer, soul searching and pleading with my insurance, I was finally approved. I managed to lose over 150 lbs in the course of several years.

In 2008 I got married and became instant-mom to 3 beautiful children from my husband's first marriage as he was a widower. Shortly thereafter he was laid off from his job and we moved cross country. Again the emotional and stress eating took over and I saw the weight start to creep back on and I had soon added another 30 lbs.

2010 brought a welcome surprise when I found out I was pregnant with the child we'd been trying for for more than two years and whom doctors had told us was virtually inconcievable without medical intervention but at the end of my pregnancy in May 2011 I weighed in at 250 lbs. I knew I had to do something. I began moving more and just watching a little more closely what I ate and the pounds started dropping off. I plateaued at about 215 in January. I was a size 16/18 and even some of those were still tight. I started counting calories with LoseIt!. It's an app available on both Iphone & Android. I lost another 25 lbs between January and March and again plateaued at about 185 and a size 12/14. So I bought a fitbit activity tracker. It's an amazing device that tracks your movements and converts them to calories burned, tracks your sleep and works as a pedometer counting your steps and floors climbed in a day. I'm using my fitbit to keep me even more motivated and moving to get to that size 10!

 Pre-Surgery 2007

 7 months pregnant 2011

This is one of my absolute favorite pictures. It's from my honeymoon. I was a size 12 in this pic but well on my way to a size 10 until I allowed life and emotional eating to get in the way. This time I have a goal, I have a destination and I'm taking it one bite, one day, one step at a time!