Five months ago I looked in the mirror and wondered how the heck a 'fat' version of my mom got in there! I was a size 22 and now I'm a 12 thanks to a whole lot of discipline and a whole lot of determination.

It's funny, when I look in the mirror now I can't stop smiling and wondering where the heck 'I' was for the last 20 years! I haven't weighed in the 160's since I got pregnant with my youngest son 21 years ago... at my highest weight I was a morbidly obese 235 pounds. (God bless all my friends and family who still said, "You look great!"... but pictures say otherwise!)

My oldest son's marriage celebration inspired me to drop a few pounds but not nearly enough and I regained all but 18 pounds of it in the five and a half years since their wedding. When I seriously decided to jumpstart my metabolism on October 28th, 2011, I was 217 pounds - still officially obese - and to add to the challenge I literally only had one leg to stand on - I had lost my entire right leg, including my hip and pelvis to bone cancer in 1988.
Being overweight was tough on my ego but even tougher on the joints in my one remaining leg.

It's appropriate that I am one of the co-authors of 'Choosing to Smile' because that is what I do EVERY day as a cancer survivor but also what I DID as a fat person as well. Now I don't care who tries to convince me when they say, "I'm fat and happy!" because I know it's not entirely true. Having 'been there' I know that nothing compares to the feeling you get of LIKING how you LOOK in the mirrror - of LIKING how you look in photos - of LIKING who you are for succeeding at such a difficult challenge as losing unwanted pounds!

I do a lot of speaking and workshops - it's important for me to be able to convey the image of the healthy person I'm promoting. How did I achieve this? By eliminating (and I mean ELIMINATING) potatoes, rice, and pasta from my diet. I wasn't metabolizing carbohydrates and they went straight to FAT on me! I now limit my carbs to two slices of low carb bread a day (less than 20grams) and I NEVER snack between meals - not even a stick of gum! I joined 'Sure Slim' and they taught me how to eat REAL food - not shakes or pills or patches - and how to actually eat in order to rev my metabolism so I'm not just burning muscle or starving myself. Their slogan is, "It's not you, it's your metabolism!" and I never would have believed it if I hadn't experienced it for myself.

Do I feel better? You bet! Do I look better? Heck yes! I still have 15 pounds to go to get to my goal weight but that seems entirely doable after having lost 70 pounds already from my heaviest weight of 235. I'm actually looking forward to wearing less clothes this summer for the first time in 20 years! My wardrobe has changed - I'm wearing fitted tops, MUCH smaller bras and sassy skirts - and 'cute' shoes are back in my closet (well technically I wear a cute 'SHOE' because I don't wear an artificial leg!). The blessings from losing the extra weight are many - normal cholesterol, normal blood pressure, normal uric acid level, normal glucose levels, normal liver function, less joint pain, more energy, and an added bonus is that my husband seems to have even more sex drive for some reason! It's funny what happens now that I actually 'look' more like the girl he married 29 years ago - albeit minus a few body parts - and my sex drive has increased too which is just plain exciting all around! (sorry if my kids are reading this - now they really WILL be traumatized - or maybe just happy to be out of the house and on their own!)

I can't say enough about how wonderful it is to feel good again - and to 'recognize' the woman in the mirror as who you really are! If you're struggling with your weight, if you think you can't do it, if you think you've tried everything then I really want to encourage you to examine your habits and recognize what your 'weaknesses' are. You need to believe that your strengths are greater - and they will be the very instant you decide you really need them to be. As for me, I'm going to be blogging about my weight loss success journey for a LONG time and sharing my story with anyone who needs encouragement with their own weight challenge.

Every day I repeat my mantra: Nothing tastes as good as being HEALTHY feels!

I'll have to attach some of my before, during, and after photos along the way... The girls at SureSlim have been taking monthly photos of my progress -I just have to figure out how to put them in here!

Keep Smiling - I know I am!