How I Lost 80lbs.!

Ok, so I've been playing tug-of-war with myself since I started my blog about whether or not to share my weight loss secret. It is not because I don't want others to know, I just don't want anyone to think I am bragging. Well, the last few days I've been thinking about it and to be honest, I feel like God is telling me that I should post it, so here goes. I'll give you a little background first so you know where I'm coming from. I was always a chubby kid and got thin around the 9th grade and stayed pretty slim until college where I gained the famous freshman 15 plus some. I got married right out of college and got pregnant right after our 1st anniversary. I gained (be ready for your jaw to drop) 90lbs. during my pregnancy. I know, I gained like an entire person. When I had E I got an infection in my c-section incision and it blew open all the way. They sent me home with an open incision and a home health care nurse that came twice a day to clean and pack the wounds. I was instructed to do as little as possible for the next few months. By the time I could get around well again I weighed 236 lbs. I was a big girl! After 3 years I finally lost 70 lbs. and immediately got pregnant again. Funny how that works. I only gained 40 lbs. with my second pregnancy and gave birth to my baby boy R. After R's birth everything went much smoother but I just couldn't get below 180. I yo-yo ed between 180 and 205 for 5 1/2 years. Talk about frustrating. I tried everything! I've taken every pill, been on every program, tried every fad. One night, while saying my nightly prayer I gave it to God. I completely gave it to Him. I very distinctly remember that prayer and how desperate I was. I prayed, "Lord, I can't do it. I can't take this weight off. Take it off of me because I can't do it." You know God answers all prayers but that doesn't mean He always answers "yes", sometimes He answers "no" and sometimes His answer is "wait a while". This time He answered "yes" the very next day! The date was October 1, 2007. I went to school that morning and just didn't feel right. My head was spinning and I felt very faint. One of my parents commented on how red my face looked and I told her about the way I felt. I went and had my blood pressure checked and it was 165/110. I immediately went to the doctor. He put me on a blood pressure medicine (obviously) and an anti-depressant. I didn't think I was depressed but he assured me that I was exhibiting some classic signs. I started taking my meds and for 2 weeks it killed my appetite. I mean it killed it. That 2 weeks with no appetite shrunk my stomach to the point that I couldn't eat but about half what I normally could at one time. I started eating smaller portions and eating about 6 times a day. The weight started dropping off like crazy. It took about 10 months to reach my current weight and I know God did it. I pray every night and thank Him for taking it off of me and pray that He will continue to keep it off. I am still so awestruck that I've lost this weight. I went from a size 20 to a size 4. I take no pride in it because the glory does not belong to me, it belongs to my Holy Father. This is part of my testimony and I am so thankful that I can share it with you. Here are some before and after pictures. The round woman in the pink,white, and brown bathing suit is me and the in the bowling shot, I'm the one in camo capris. Oh, and sorry for the cheesy "after" picture. Have a great Monday!