This was a tough one to do. I’ve had these photos on my desktop for months and never really had the courage to put them up on the Internet. I’ve had this post drafted all weekend and about 15 minutes ago, I started thinking of scrapping the whole thing. It’s hard to explain… why am I so anxious about this?! Ugh. But anyway, I’m going to bite the bullet and despite my insecurities, this post is now published and I hope it serves the purpose of motivating a few (even just 1 or 2 people would make me the happiest!) Ok, let’s get on it then:
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Remember in this post where I talked about keeping a “before” photo of yourself handy? Well these are mine.
Both of these “before” pictures are actually 2 of the better-looking photos of myself during this time. I thought of putting terribly unflattering photos for the “before” just to emphasize the difference in my “during”, but I didn’t think that was fair. (The only difference in the first photo is that I’m wearing false lashes in my 2011 shot and I don’t have a tan – in the before photo, I had just gotten back from being in the Philippines for 9 weeks so I was quite dark).
I’ll give you a minute to look at these…
I looked like that. I really did. I was looking at old photos with my siblings some time ago and we were in shock at how I looked just a little over 2 years ago. Like I said, these are actually flattering compared to the others we found! (In the before picture below… that was me “sucking it in”! What theee.) It doesn’t even look like me! It’s a different type of strange to look at a photo and not recognize yourself. Anyone who’s gone through a physical transformation knows what I’m talking about. I looked (and acted) like a totally different type of person.
But I did that. I accomplished that in only 2 years. I know it wasn’t a short period of time, but it was something. Changing your lifestyle takes time. And that’s what this was for me — I changed the way I lived my life in a thousand different ways. The weight-loss was a welcome by-product and was not my overall goal. Like I mentioned before… I’ve never wanted to be skinny. But I have always wanted to be strong. (And I think I’m getting there! :))
Hope this helps motivate you! Looking at these still motivate me!
Reflective Question: Think 2 years ahead. What type of person do you want to be in 2014? What is stopping you now from being that person?
I truly appreciate you reading + leaving sweet comments and emails. Thank you!
Anonymous
February 27, 2012Maria, it takes real bravery to put yourself out there and you did it so wonderfully in this post. Congratulations on all of your success. This is truly an inspiring post. x
Maria
February 27, 2012Thank you, Crystal!!! This comment means so much to me. I’m so glad you find it inspiring.
Alexis Valerie
February 27, 2012I love this post. Thanks for being such an inspiration + constant motivation Nona!
Maria
February 27, 2012Thanks Alexis!! I’m so glad 🙂
Graham
February 27, 2012Nice job Maria! That is quite an accomplishment!
Maria
February 27, 2012Thank you, Graham! I appreciate it very much.