1/2 a year

• 1/2 a year ago David and I started our weight-loss journey.  
• 1/2 a year ago I looked like the picture on the left.  
• 1/2 a year ago I was 4 sizes bigger in the top, 6 sizes bigger in pants and 71 pounds heavier.  
• 1/2 a year ago I was cranky, tired and my back ached a lot of the time.  
• 1/2 a year ago I didn't deal with stress well, felt very frustrated with a lot of things, and was overwhelmed with many many things (not just the weight).  
• 1/2 a year ago I was  addicted to sugar.  
• 1/2 a year ago I was also probably addicted to wheat products (which were causing a bevvy of symptoms I was quickly able to eliminate).
• 1/2 a year ago I was terrified of failure (again) but determined to give this weight-loss thing one more try
• 1/2 a year ago I didn't think I could do it, but decided "what the heck."

My what a difference 1/2 a year makes.

I don't think I look like the same person any more.  I don't recognize myself as I looked 1/2 a year ago and I don't recognize myself as I look today.  I'm clearly somewhere in the middle, or not....maybe I simply don't know what I look like any more.

What I do know is that:

• I now look like the picture on the right (even if I don't see it)
• I'm now shopping in the regular sized store for both pants and tops
• I don't feel cranky anymore and my back no longer aches.  (I am tired a lot still, but I think that's the result of few calories.  It will go away once I'm in maintenance)
• I'm dealing with stress very well.  Things don't seem to faze me anymore.  I'm still a little stunned by this development.
• I cringe at the thought of eating sugar.  My addiction is gone and I'll never eat sugary things again.
• I have decided to stay away from wheat products too.  After getting genetic testing and knowing that I have the markers to develop Celiac, I have decided that this is one food group I can live without.
• I know I'm going to succeed...probably by the end of the year if not the beginning of 2014 I'll be at my ideal maintainable weight (still wondering what that will be).  And I KNOW it's going to happen.
• I'm grateful every single day (EVERY single day) that I decided "what the heck" and plunged into this journey.

Honestly, I don't promote programs or companies on my blog.  My business here is to share my thoughts about arts and crafts and a few personal things along the way.  But Ideal Protein has opened my eyes to what was going on with my body and its reactions to sugar and starches.  I can now see that I wasn't weak or hopeless--just misguided.  I'm so happy to be in the place that I am and to be succeeding.  I can't tell you what it feels like.  When people say "don't you feel great?"  I always answer yes...but for so many reasons that someone who has never been significantly overweight can understand.  I feel great because everything in my body seems to be working right, not fighting the constant fluctuations in blood sugar.  I'm happy, at peace and in general coping well with everything that's going on around me (just take a quick peek at the past 6 months in my blog...LOTS has been going on around me).

1/2 a year.  It's life-changing when you think about it.