I debated whether to actually place these photos in a public place or not and finally decided to throw caution to the wind. I figure if my horrible bloated figure 30 pounds ago could motivate someone else to make a change in their lives then it would be worth it. So, without further ado, I will post my before picture as well as a picture at my current weight. I am by no means at my ideal weight, but I am on my way and there has been definite improvement.

Before: (Yes, it was really bad!)

Current: 



What did I so to lose weight?

I woke up one day with the mindset that it would be impossible to fail. I can't really explain it, but something in my way of looking at the situation suddenly changed and I just knew that it was something that I could and would do.

I started by cutting my calories. On a daily basis, I visit Livstrong: My Plate, where I am able to list all the foods I have eaten or will eat for the day and come up with a final count on calories, fat content, etc. They also have a great application that tells you how much you should be eating in order to lose or gain a certain amount each day and it keep track of your progress using charts on a daily, weekly or monthly level.

In addition to keeping my online food diary to ensure that I never go over my allotted calories, I joined a natural weight loss forum, which is full of information and caring people who give me advice on how to lose weight through diet and exercise. I have a weight loss diary on there if you would like to read it as well. If you are trying to lose weight naturally, you should definitely check out the Weight-loss.fitness.com forum. The information is always free and there are tons of success stories everywhere you look.