There is too much to my story to start at the beginning… so let me start from today, and work backwards. My coach tells me that I need to get her my pictures – you know my before and after pictures. Well, the first problem with that is that I didn't take a "before" picture.

This is me.The me I always wanted to be! The me I knew was inside but seemed so hard to find. As a child (6 or 7) I remember a friend's pool party- everyone was wearing cute bathing suits. All of a sudden, the modest bikini I had worn felt like it was calling all attention to me because I was the little chubby kid and after all, even if you were a child you still needed to be 'skinny' to wear one of THOSE.  So began my lifelong battle with food, emotional eating and my continuous weight battle.

As a little girl, I remember dreaming of what life would be like all grown up. I loved those moments of pure innocence and far stretches of the imagination where I could dream everything in life was beautiful and happy. Those childhood dreams and fantasies became my happy place as my life was in a downhill spiral spinning out of control throughout my entire childhood and well into my adult years. I didn't want to be obese, or even overweight! I grew to hate that word!

I've been over weight ever since fifth grade and things just got out of hand when my husband and I dealt with infertility issues, the loss of our foster daughter and possible adoptions. I remember always surveying the room to see if I was the fattest girl there. I remember finding the biggest baggiest hoodie sweatshirt that I could wear or the nearest pillow to hide behind on the couch. I remember going to the swimming pool or the beach covering my swimsuit with a t-shirt and shorts ...

On the fence about joining Grace & Strength?? See what our clients are saying about us as they go through this Christian diet program/lifestyle change! Each week, coaches get the chance to meet up with their groups through an online chat called Go To Meeting. We can usually see each other, chat and learn from one another. Sometimes, if people don't have webcam availability, they join over the phone and can participate that way! It is a wonderful way to build a cohesive group...