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My husband suggested that I post the following before and after pictures. So . . . here we go.

We started in January this year, but the pictures on left were taken in July of 2016. We were the same size when we started the plan in January. We’ve lost a combined total of 100+ lbs. All of you ladies have been super encouraging, and I hope to be an encouragement to others on their journey.

Because Trim Healthy Mama has been a big part of my journey and I know many of you sometimes feel hopeless yet recognize the power of God in your life, I would like to share a testimony on my 5th year Trimmiversary.

My daughter jokingly told me not to eat her candy on her way out to school this morning. At least I hope it was a joke, as I think she knows candy binging is not on my list of feel good activities anymore. But it did remind me that 5 years ago it was my favorite mind numbing drug of choice along with any other processed carb in my fridge or pantry. So cheap, so accessible, even socially acceptable. But that day after Halloween as I perused the candy bowl unhappily, God looked down on me wallowing in emotional and physical confusion and whispered that He was beginning a new work in me. And what did I do! I figured it was fantasy, a day-dream, but I took a picture because the day felt memorable. If God could change my mess, I wanted to document it.

And while I fully embrace the empowering culture of self esteem and well being at whatever size you find yourself, I also must tell my story and not negate my truth. That weight was an outward sign of chaos in my life. It stole my confidence, my goals and my joy. It even began to threaten my life. I fully believe you can be happy at whatever weight is right for your particular body, but I can also attest that my body was never intended to carry around those 100 extra pounds. The powers of darkness used my compulsive eating to imprison me. But the Spirit of God set me free.

Change, even in the hands of God, is slow. It took 14 months to lose the weight healthfully, It took 3 years to find my fitness mojo. It takes living each day to continue to make wise choices, gain new insight and try to encourage others without being a pain in the butt. I am thankful for this journey and, trust me, sweet daughter, no candy bowl is turning me back!