It was taken spring break 2001. I was 19 and my husband and I had just started dating. Seeing this picture and what my body use to look like sent me into a shame spiral. I thought to myself, How did this girl who's diet consisted of frozen waffles, pop-tarts, bagels, and ice cream look like this? Yes I know that she hadn't given birth or entered her 20's let alone be almost through them, but I still somehow deluded myself into believing that I still looked like that. Well... to be honest I thought I was pretty close to looking like that again. Just a few more crunches......
You must be thinking that I'm a vain and shallow person who only cares about looks, but that just isn't true. What I care about is feeling good. Being healthy and in shape. The kind of shape that will keep everything in your body functioning to it's best and to live a very long vital life. And when your body starts to ooze out of the top of your pants you just don't feel your best. On the plus side, today I'm eating more vegetables than ever before. I can run a couple of miles without stopping, something that 19 year old girl never would have attempted.
I don't know if I'll ever even look remotely close to that girl again, but I sure as hell am not going to give up on creating my best body so that I can live my best life!