I was trying out a new program called “This Life” by Shutterfly that takes all your pictures from different social media links and groups them all together by date, person, location, etc. I really enjoyed looking thru older pictures-ones I haven’t seen in a long time.
I was amazed when I saw some pictures of myself before and after my pregnancy, and decided to share them here on my blog. My hope in sharing these pictures is to inspire anyone who is struggling with their weight. Who feel they may be too large to start exercising. Who may be discouraged because their progress has stalled, etc. As you will see further down-I’m not perfect. I’ve lost and gained weight. Its a journey that has taken me years and will continue to take me years!
These pictures are just showing my weight loss-not my inches lost, gaining muscle, or my improvement in my health. (That can be another blog post)
7/25/2009
Right before I got married and pregnant with baby number 2.
5/16/2010
About 5 weeks away from delivery.
I stopped weighing myself around this point when I reached 250 lbs
at this point I gained about 75 pounds.
10/17/2010
4 months after baby #2 is born (6/25/2010)
I think I was around 230 pounds at this point.
12/25/2010
Exactly 6 months after baby was born.
6/25/2011
Baby #2 first birthday.
I was still having alot of gallbladder attacks (didn’t know it at the time)
so still had not lost any weight at this point. I was constantly
in pain which made working, sleeping, moving
very hard for me.
10/14/2011
As you can see I’ve been blessed with a larger bottom/hips area.
Had started losing a little weight by this time.
Had my gallbladder removed in June or July.
12/25/2011
Lost more weight and exercising at this point.
Had bought a new christmas dress to wear!
I started with walking 10-15 minutes every day
and then working up from there.
6/24/2012
6 months later-still losing weight!
8/4/2012
9/13/2012
10/21/12
Started doing 5k races and virtual races.
11/26/2012
2/19/2013
The smallest I’ve ever been!!
size 10, size medium tops, 151 pounds.
Almost reached the 100 pounds weight loss but could not seem to get under 150!
At this point I had done alot of programs like Leslie Sansone, Chris Freytag,
TurboJam, Turbofire, BodyPump
4/9/2013
9/14/2013
Trained for months for my first half marathon.
12/10/2013
Starting gaining weight after race training in fall 2013.
Dealt with injuries, my third miscarriage,
eliminated strength training because of focusing on running,
death in the family-all by December.
3/15/2014
Gained a little over 20 pounds over winter/spring 2014 and
got up to almost 175 lbs again 🙁
I was still exercising and logging my food but just kept
having health problems related to food and digestion.
Back in size 12 jeans and size large tops.
5/28/2014
6/1/2014
Getting my weight back down to 165.
15 more pounds to go to get back to my weight last year.
Ideally I would like to weigh 140-145 ish.
As I was going thru these pictures yesterday I had alot of mixed feelings. First, proud that I’ve come so far and amazed at my weight loss journey. Then discouraged because my 2014 year of fitness and health has not been very good in my opinion. I need to get my weight back down so I’m not considered “overweight” and so I don’t have cholesterol or sugar problems that run in my family. I also never want to get my weight back up that high again-whether pregnant or not. It was so hard on me emotionally, for my marriage, for my kids, and for my body.
I’ve been doing allergy treatments, going to the chiropractor, and eating mostly dairy-free and gluten-free because of all the stomach discomfort and digestion issues I’ve had for several months. My weight is finally coming back down as I continue to do the best I can with my workouts and eating. It’s a VERY slow process for me with losing weight (will lose 1-2 lbs per month) which at times is very discouraging, but over the years I’ve found that if I stay consistent no matter what, I will see results!
If you have any advice for me let me know!
How do you deal with weight loss discouragement?
⬇️80lbs. since 2011. Fitness, Family & Book blogger Certified Group Fitness Instructor, Active Aging and Silver Sneakers Coach. Walking Coach. Certified Nutrition Coach. Teaching fitness classes for all levels of fitness and ages since 2015. I blog to share ideas & to empower & inspire women to make healthier choices for themselves & their families. ✨Empower & Inspire✨ You can email me at rdevaughnfamily at yahoo dot com.
Hey there! Found you via the Messy Beautiful Love launch team. Enjoying check out your site. Your pictures and journey are such an inspiration to many!!! Will keep following for sure! 🙂
It was nice to see your journey in pictures! You have come so far and you’ll get back to where you want to be! Just be patient and like you said stay consistent. Keep it up! You’re awesome!
Your journey is amazing! You should be so proud of what you have done over the years – sometimes health complications are out of our control and you can only do so much! Keep up the hard work – you are inspiring!