Monday, April 7, 2008

before and after

i had a very nice weekend. on friday i just chilled with my boyfriend at home. saturday i went for a run in the morning (6 miles! longest run yet!), then we went to this swing dancing class in the afternoon. a new dance studio opened in my neighbourhood and it was an open house weekend with free classes. yesterday i got my bike out of storage, put air in the tires, and rode to a used bookstore downtown to get the newest book for my book club suite francaise which i will start today as i have only a few pages left of eat pray love which definitely redeemed itself and i definitely recommend picking it up if you haven't done that before.

in other news, i picked up steel cut oats for the first time and made a batch last night and i'm not really sold. they are chewy which is nice, but kind of slimyish. slimy... not so good. and they are completely flavourless. i added some splenda, vanilla, and cinnamon but they are still kind of bland. does anyone have any cooking tips?

some of you wanted to see some before pictures. at first (months ago) i wasn't into posting pics of myself at my higher weights, because a) i'm vain (so what...? ;o), and b) i don't even feel like i am the same person anymore. actually i've always thought of myself as a skinny person in a chubby girl's body... but pictures don't lie! but if it's going to motivate anyone, then i'm all for it. i mean, i'm just a regular person (although by no means ordinary...) so if i can do it, so can you (although it's hard work). and i've come so far... it really is quite a transformation. so let's take a trip down memory lane.

i wasn't always chubby. my weight went up and down a lot. for example, for most of high school i looked like this:


sort of gothy haha. here is another one from high school. i am very tanned because i was a lifeguard at an outdoor pool.


in university i slimmed down again, to about 135-140 pounds:


but then gained some more weight:



and then this is my highest weight, of 156 pounds:


and this is now:


when i used to try and lose weight, i would just eat less (much less) so obviously any changes were only temporary. now i know how to read nutrition labels, and how to see food as fuel instead of as the enemy. i also understand the importance of exercise in maintaining a healthy weight, and i can definitely say that i will never be a not-active person again.

16 comments:

Anonymous said...

you are beautiful and always have been. You look like a tall girl. Not super tall but like 5'7ish. Do you mind if I ask how tall you are?

Unknown said...

You are gorgeous! You were gorgeous in all your pictures, but I see more happiness and confidence in your eyes now :-)

And wow, 6 miles!! I hope to be there soon!

eurydice said...

shannon - i'm 5'6"

Jaime said...

And would you just look at the calves on you now! :)

Excellent work girl. You worked it out in your head and are a perfect example of how that can translate into your body and lifestyle.

Sarah said...

Wow, I agree with the others, you look great in all the pictures, but the latest one IS like you've transformed! Totally diffent look, and you look a lot more confident and gutsy!

Way to go!!

Amy said...

Look at you, hot legs! Love that outfit! Nicely done. You've always been a beauty from what I can see, but you look much, much happier!

katieo said...

Wow. Thanks for posting these, it's really fun to see such a transformation. Love your smile! :)

Amy said...

You are gooooorgeous!

Anne said...

You look amazing! All your hard work certainly has paid off!

Lex said...

i have to say you are so cute!!
i love the pics!! quite a transformation!

the most recent pic definitely shows a new you with much more confidence and a twinkle in your eye.

thx for sharing!

P.O.M. said...

Yeah for 6 miles. Way to go.

You're so adorable. I went thru a goth phase. But I wasn't very good at it. You look incredible.

How was the swing class? One of my dreams is to take swing class with a boyfriend. Now I'm back to square one and need to find a boyfriend again. wah!

eurydice said...

thanks everybody! it took some effort to post these (some of them) so it's nice to have a positive reaction.

and pom: the swing class was fun. except they made us change partners (to mix it up a little) and i was fine with it but my boyfriend got an "ugly meryll streep with clammy hands and food in her teeth" haha and then refused to switch at all after that hahaha. it was a bit awkward but funny. but they stressed that you don't have to come with a partner if you don't want to! they just make use of the men that come really well haha.

Jenn said...

I agree with everyone else - you are really pretty!! You definitely look completely different in that last picture that you posted - but you look great!!!

In regards to the steel cut oats - I LOVE them!!! I have been eating mine plain, but I've also enjoyed them with cinnamon and sugar, and peanut butter. I bet you could put banana, flax, dried fruits, nuts, and the whole nine yards into them and they would be great. I'm not sure what to tell you about the slimyness.

Randi said...

Agh you're so cute! It's fun to see transformations like this, not only is size (your max was my max, interesting...) but also in taste, style and confidence. Funny. Thanks for posting!

Mrs Furious said...

It is so interesting how similar our body type is! I looked so much the same in high school, college, etc. Same type of weight shifts. And now that I've realized how important the exercise is... now the thinnest of my life. If only I'd known that then!
So is your mom thin... or your siblings?

Unknown said...

What a beauty!

Obviously you were stunning at your heaviest, but darn it, you're downright jaw-dropping now!! And I have seen you in 'real life' so I know that is NOT just a good picture!

You're fabulous! Congrats on not only the amazing loss, but on learning how to be healthy and keep it off!!

Rock Star!