In the beginning...starting my weight loss journey

I began to get serious about losing weight and getting in shape at the beginning of November 2009. I saw a picture of myself from my brother's 30th birthday party in August 2009 and I was mortified with what I saw! Yes this was me and I looked at myself in the mirror everyday but I didn't realize how big I had gotten! It was a major slap in the face. In the summer of 2009 I was at the heaviest weight I have ever been...a whopping 275!!!! Imagine my horror when I stepped off of the scale after seeing that number pop up! It was a sick and nauseating feeling and I remember thinking that there was no way I could redeem myself at that point. I had all but given up.

I began walking a few days a week in the summer but did little else to change my habits. I have never been a "junk food" person but I ate way too much of other things. I always ate seconds at dinner and sometimes even thirds...CRAZY!! By September I had fallen off of the wagon and stopped walking altogether.

I received a phone call in early November from a family member telling me my auntie Desiree (a very dear friend of my mother) was in the last stages of stomach cancer and that if I wanted to see her I'd better go soon. It took me a few days to make it to her house but nothing could have prepared me for what I saw. My beautiful auntie at the age of 43 had withered away to skin and bones. The last time I saw her was at my brother's party and we all thought that she was getting better. Seeing her go from being perfectly healthy a year prior to fighting for her life woke me up, seeing her that way changed me. I made a promise to her and myself on that day that I would get healthy and lose the excess weight I was carrying around. On December 19, 2009 she lost her battle with stomach cancer.

I'm glad that I have this picture with her to remind me of why I keep going. In her memory I am proud to say I've been able to keep my promise to her and myself. As of today I've lost 70 pounds since August 2009.