Here’s the story: We have eight kids. For reasons I still don’t fully undertand, I gain a ton of weight with each pregancy. The least I’ve ever gained was 45 pounds. The most was 70. I even ran through the entire pregnancy with our last four kids and still gained a ton. And I’m not one of those who loses the weight easily after I have the baby. I also don’t have big babies, so I don’t get much of a break there either.

One day last year I was very frustrated with how slowly I was losing the weight after our last baby.  I complained to my husband about it and explained how frustrating it is to have to lose so much weight each time even though I work so hard to keep the weight gain minimal.  That’s when I mentally added up my total weight loss.  I was shocked at the total……a whopping 300 pounds!  And I’d kept that weight off between pregnancies.  My perspective changed.  I realized I was a weight loss success story and I didn’t even realize it.  I’d already lost 300 pounds!

In the last year I’ve continued my weight loss journey.  Last year at this time, I had just had our eighth baby and I weighed 50 pounds more than I do now. It wasn’t easy. I had to work for every pound that came off. But I did it one pound at a time with no shakes, pills, potions, cleanses, gimicks, or expensive programs. I still have a few pounds to go, but I’m getting there little by little.