Before and [Almost] After

If there's one thing people love to see on blogs about weight loss, it's before and after photos. I've got lots of during photos, and a fair number of almost-after photos, but before photos? Not so much. The thing is, when you're morbidly obese, you've got a tendency to be a little camera shy ...yeah, there I go again with the sweeping generalizations. And if I actually had a reader following, I'd probably get hate mail from morbidly obese women who are happy with their bodies and love to chronicle their life in pictures. Good for you! I'll rephrase... if you're morbidly obese and unhappy with your body, you've probably got a tendency to be a little camera shy. Better?

One day, I'll put together a pictorial to show the progression - from the neck down 'cause let's face it, that's what people want to see but for now, because I'm lazy, and slapping a couple of head shots together is easy, I'll offer the photo below. The one on the left was taken in the summer 2007, and I am cleverly hiding my multiple chins & neck (who am I kidding?) behind a paint roller. That's asking an awful lot of that paint roller, no? The pic on the right was taken mid-December 2012, and about 10 lbs heavier than I am now. There's a little more than 110 lbs lost between the two. ...And lookie, lookie... I do have a neck.

And so an obvious question - and I'm not talking about The Secret -- is why am I posting an after picture that's actually a during picture and not a now picture? Well good question... you know, you can lose close to half yourself, and still find you hate most pictures taken! But perhaps a more positive way of looking at it is this: you won't have to wait until you're "done" to start appreciating the changes you've made. Don't believe me? Go take some pictures and see for yourself!