Our "Before" Pictures

We learned that just because you feel okay doesn't mean you're healthy.  We've become more aware that "Father Time" is catching up with us.  (The pictures of our faces really tell the story better than I can write it.)  We have truly been through an extraordinary educational process about how to lose weight and keep it off.  We know that what we put in our bodies will eventually show up on the outside.  Hence, my insistence for my children to eat their greens.  We understand the importance of excercise and are committed to both what we eat and how we excercise.  We are wearing our "I commit" bracelets until we reach our goals.  We were challenged to check out our BMI (body mass index) and discovered that Steve and I both are obese!  That's when we both found out what the term "shock and awe" really meant.  You know those annoying little insurance charts that tell you what you're supposed to weigh, well they are still the normal weight limits for everyone.  I kept hearing on the news that the average woman in America is a size 14 and so I didn't feel so bad because that's what I am, (or sometimes even a 16-I can't believe I'm telling you this--where is my pride?!!!)  I mean, I think we've known that we've been overweight for a very long while but it was hard to look at it and realize that we can't keep going this way.  It's easy to say, "well, I'm just getting older" or "it runs in my family".

These photos showed us just how far we have to go. No "sucking it in", just the real deal. Steve said his eye was droopy and my cheeks look like bulldog jowls! We won't even talk about my saddlebag syndrome!