Before and After Pictures

While I believe my body will always be in a state of change. The bulk of the weight loss is done. I am down to taking off the last few pounds of fat, piling on some muscle and lamenting the leftover skin.

Some days, like everyone, I struggle to eat right or be truly motivated for my cardio. Usually on those days I am also deflated by the fact that - though I have been busting my butt (literally) for the past almost 21 months - I still do not look like a model.

Now common sense girl knows better. I will never look like a model, my body simply isn't made to be that willowy, lightly muscled waif thing. 9.9 out of every 10 days, I am glad. Hell, I like my breasts and my curves. It's taken me a long time to come to respect them and now that I do, I don't want to give them up. It's just every once in a while I get down on myself and think I have not come far enough.

That's why I am glad, when I was looking for inspiration on Sunday, I bumped across Jessica's blog. On there is a software tool that allows you to put in your before and after weight and get computer generated pictures. It even allows you to adjust hair, skin, nose size and more so it better resembles you.

Since I don't really have actual before and after pics, much to everyone's disdain (including mine) this is a nice alternative. Besides, you wouldn't have caught me dead in a swimsuit when I actually weighed 260 pounds!

So here you go - me at 260 in July 2006 and me now at 150 in 2008.






You can do yours at Prevention Magazine.

From now on, when I think I need to be more perfect, I will look at this post as a reminder of how far I have come and give respect where it is due.

Yours in (mental) health, Kate

Pictures of Me - Part 3

I don't have them to show you - yet. But yesterday I did indeed have my pictures taken by Arturo Fernandez, the photo editor at Juice. Possibly one will appear in Juice next Wednesday as we encourage last minute registration for the 801 Grand Power Climb.

He took pics of me on the stair-climber at Fitness World West. I commented to Art that I could appreciate what models go through on some of their shoots. I spent 20 straight minutes marching those stairs - basically climbing to the 801 Grand twice. I'm not complaining, it's good for me.

I can't stress how surreal it is that anyone would want to take my picture. I didn't even want to take my picture until recently. When the magazine hits stands next Wednesday I will put up a link - for more pictures of me.

Yours in fitness, Kate

Pictures of Me - Christmas Edition

I got a surprise in my e-mail yesterday. My sister-in-law Annette sent my a copy of a picture from this Christmas and one from last Christmas. She titled the e-mail "What a difference". Man was she right.

I looked it up, Christmas 2006 I weighed 213 pounds, or about my half way point in this journey. This Christmas, 151 pounds. It is only a difference of 62 pounds and it looks like so much more. I am stunned. In fact very often I am stunned by pictures I see of me, because there are so few.

But these pictures, while they make me feel a little sad from what I did to myself; they also make me feel empowered. They let me know how far I have come. And if I have made such great progress thus far, I can definitely finish the transformation and maintain my body in a proper way for the rest of my life. Because the other thing seeing these pictures does is solidify my resolve - I will NEVER go back.

So, here they are:



Yours in health, Kate

Dish #3 & Pictures of me

I met with trainer Traci at Fitness World West today. After my nice hard workout, I lent her a hand with her new brochure. She is looking for new clients in the new year and after everything she's done for me, I was glad to knock out a quick testimonial. However, she also wanted new pictures - of me. We took them with no protest from me, but it got me thinking.

I've mentioned before that the second most asked question of me is a request for my "before" pictures. I have also mentioned, I can't find any. That's because no one wanted to take my picture before. People weren't trying to exclude me or be mean, it just wasn't a priority for anyone, including me. Especially me.

I had let myself become someone I did not recognize, nor particularly like. Neck-up mirrors were plenty for me and only necessary if I had to adjust my hair. The idea of putting what I was seeing into a permanent record of film or megabytes was simply too much to consider.

It was one of the things that led me to photography as a hobby - I could control the image, I was behind the camera. The number of times I have been able to insist, "No, you get in the picture..." and send someone else before the lens is innumerable and yes, sad. Photographically there are years missing in my life. Times I might now like to recall with pictures to help me suss out the details of the memory. They're gone.

Gone, like the times I had to not climb that hill because I couldn't breath or my knees hurt. Gone, like the times I missed chasing Caelen as a toddler because I couldn't keep up. Gone, like the friendships I missed having because I was too closed off to start a simple conversation.

Yet now, like the sun squeezing through the clouds after a storm, all of that is gone as well. The pain, the self-retribution, the lack of confidence - G-O-N-E. And like the 109 pounds I have lost so far, those negative things that held me back are gone and I will never let them come back.

So, take my picture, I want to remember this moment.

Now, on to the recipe of the day. Healthified side dishes being our theme, nothing vexes more people than stuffing or more to the point, dressing. I say dressing, because the chances you are actually going to bury your broken bread in a fowl's behind are slim. I like to avoid salmonella as a general rule anyway.

Dressing with Cranberries

Ingredients:
1 cup low-sodium chicken broth
1 cup chopped celery
1/2 cup chopped onion
10 slices whole-wheat bread, toasted and cut into cubes
1/4 cup chopped parsley
1 teaspoon dried tarragon
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/8 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 cup chopped fresh cranberries
1 cup whole water chestnuts
1 cup chopped apple

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Lightly coat a 2-quart baking dish with cooking spray.

In a large skillet, heat the chicken broth over medium heat. Add the celery and onion and saute until the vegetables are tender, about 5 minutes. Remove from heat.

In a large bowl, combine the bread cubes, parsley, tarragon, paprika, nutmeg, cranberries, water chestnuts and chopped apples. Add the onion and celery mixture. Stir to mix evenly.

Spoon stuffing into the prepared baking dish. Cover with aluminum foil and bake for 20 minutes. Uncover and bake 10 more minutes. Serve immediately.

Nutrition: (Makes 6 servings)
Serving size: 1/2 cup
Calories-147; Total fat-2 g;Saturated fat-0.5 g; Monounsaturated fat-1 g; Cholesterol-1 mg; Sodium-263 mg; Carbohydrate-29 g; Fiber-5 g; Protein-5 g; Potassium-256 mg; Calcium-51 mg.

Yours in health, Kate

A picture is worth a thousand words - part 2

I have just passed the 15 month anniversary of my lifestyle change. I am healthier than I ever believed I could be. I eat right, I run, I have more life in me, it's wonderful.

In the beginning (July 18, 2006) there was 260 pounds of me on a 5' 4" frame. Now there is 155 pounds on that same frame, pretty amazing. And I can tell you right now, I am never going back.

Instead I am going to lose a few more pounds, tighten things up and pack on muscle. That's why I am at Fitness World West . After losing so much weight, I needed that next thing. For me that is becoming more lean and athletic, but it's different for everyone.

However, that's one of the things that made trainer Traci and I click so well from the beginning. She asked my goals and I said I didn't care how much I ended up weighing, (within reason) I just wanted to be athletic. She assured me I had the right attitude and we moved forward with this in mind.

It's working, I am getting leaner. You can see my 'guns' (biceps and triceps) growing. My thighs have definition and my waist is leaner, just to name a few of the areas improved. That's in just 2.5 months!

Though you have to count me out for 12 days during that time due to strep throat. One bout took me out for 10 days and landed me in the hospital, so pay attention to your bodies people!

So I thought I would show you some pictures of what I looked like at the beginning of training with Traci at Fitness World West. This will give you an idea of where I started what I consider my final push to fitness. These pics are from August 13, 2007.

I will have more pics along the way. But if you look back at the one "before" I was able to find and look at these, you can see how far I have come.

I still have a ways to go, but with Traci and FWW, I will get where I want to be for the rest of my life.

Yours in fitness, Kate