Before and After Pictures

I knew this day would eventually come. The day when I post "before" and "after" pictures. I have been reluctant to do so for a few reasons. #1) How vain! #2) I don't advocate this way of eating to lose weight, simply as the next fad diet. It's a long-term commitment (for life), or at least should be, and really it's a lifestyle, a paradigm shift. It's about taking care of your body, achieving wellness and health; losing and then maintaining your ideal weight just happen to be icing on the cake, a fringe benefit.

That said, a few people have been curious as to what I looked like before I changed my diet.

I was never overweight, although close to it. I had a BMI of 25, now it's around 19-20. I'm 5'9"ish so losing 40 lbs. doesn't have the same impact as for someone who is 5'3".

I want to make it clear I did not set out to lose weight. Initially I began to transition to a plant-based diet for health reasons (I didn't want to get high blood pressure during my 2nd pregnancy and read some research that it could be prevented with a plant-based diet). And to be honest, I really thought I could not lose any more weight (when I weighed around 170 lbs.). I had tried to lose weight, and was always health conscious and an avid exerciser, but the weight I had gained during my college years just didn't seem to want to come off. Until I switched to a low-fat whole foods vegan diet.

The picture where I'm wearing curlers....yikes! Granted, I'm pregnant at the time, wearing no make-up, but seriously, don't let me out of the house looking like this!

The first picture is more typical of how I used to look--size 12, 170 lbs.

Not obese, or even overweight necessarily...but now I feel that I'm at the weight I am supposed to be. The weight at which I feel best. I'm now somewhere between 135-140 lbs., depending on the day, and a size 4, for the most part. I don't tell you this to brag, just stating it as a fact, and again, as I said before, my intention was never to become a size 4 (I didn't actually think that was possible!), it just happened.

I can move better...I'm lighter. My legs don't rub together when a walk. I can go buy clothes and not feel like all the clothes are wretched because they make my butt look big (when in actuality my butt really WAS big).

This picture was taken about 6 months after my 3rd child. Nice to be thinner than I was in high school after having 3 babies in 4 years. Now way could I have done this through "dieting."

I don't count calories or tabulate protein or carbs. I simply eat when I'm hungry and don't eat when I'm not. I eat an abundance of varied foods. My diet consists of primarily starches with as much green leafies and other vegetables I can manage to fit in. Fruits & legumes acts as condiments and occasionally I'll have nuts/seeds. I don't consume oils, stay away from refined sugars, and processed foods. That's it. And I don't have to worry about my weight fluctuating. I never thought I'd be one of those "skinny" girls, and I still feel the same as I did when I was 35-40 lbs. heavier, but my body seems to be happier at this weight.

I'm not thin because I starve myself or have extreme self-control and can eat small portions (quite the opposite). I'm now much leaner than I used to be because I changed the composition of my foods. That's really what it comes down to. And I don't continue to eat this way only because I'm able to stay slim. There are so many other ways of eating that could meet this goal. I continue to eat this way, because it makes me feel good. I like the way I eat and I feel great. I would not ever go back to constantly feeling bloated, constipated, ect.

So hopefully that's enough to satisfy your curiosity (that is assuming you were curious in the first place)...