I’ve lost over a hundred and fifty pounds.  I’m not at goal but I’m close.

People that have known me for years, and maybe haven’t seen me in a while, sometimes don’t recognize me. And others just act plain shocked when they see me. It’s been quite a transformation.

Here’s a part I struggled to understand post weight loss, but once I did, is probably the biggest reason for this blog: people tell me I inspire them.

Yep, me.

I questioned this. Why would anyone be inspired by my becoming normal looking? It’s not extraordinary to look a normal size. One day my husband and I were at a store and we ran into an old friend. This friend kept going on about what an inspiration I was. Later, The Hubs and I talked about it. I told him I didn’t understand the “inspiration” part. Knowing my journey, he asked me what I did when I needed to lose weight.

Um, I went on blogs and YouTube and found women I could relate to that had lost a massive amount of weight–and I followed them.

And they inspired me…paying it forward.

~Mari