I've come a long way...

I need to remember that sometimes. When I got all frustrated the other day with my little bit of weight gain that I've put on over the past 6-7 months or so, I kind of freaked out for a second. I had visions of me going back to where I was about 4-5 years ago, before I lost all the weight. I panicked that I was on track to gain it all back. In fact, I felt like I HAD gained it all back, when actually I hadn't even put on 1/3 of what I lost.  I guess the greatest fear for someone who has lost a lot of weight is gaining it all back.  

Perhaps I needed that little bit of reality check. I needed to be reminded how important it is to eat healthy because it can be so easy to reverse it all. But in that moment, I forgot about how far I had come. I forgot that I'm not the Amy of the past, even if my diet hasn't been the greatest in several months. I have a different sense of purpose in my life and just because I went back a few steps, it doesn't mean that I can't move forward again.  I decided to do something I never like to do.  I looked through old photos, specifically the ones of me at my heaviest several years ago.  And I was blown away again.  I don't even know that girl anymore.  And I sure don't look like her now, even with my few extra pounds. 

Here's some reference pictures.  These photos are taken almost 4 years apart to the day...I know this because they were taken either on or near my birthday.  I weighed my heaviest ever in 2007.  The picture in April 2011 is about what I weigh now.  And although I'm not at my thinnest, I know I still feel and look happier than what I used to.