Before and After, so far

Today I have officially lost over twenty pounds. Here are some before and after photos of my progress so far. Above is June of 2006 in Barcelona. Below is today in my backyard, wearing the same outfit.

Above is earlier that same day in Barcelona, and below is today in my backyard. That pink shirt used to fit close to my body, now it is so baggy that you can't see my shape at all. All of my clothes are too big and baggy. I used to be considered obese, according to my former BMI (body mass index). Now my BMI has me downgraded to overweight. I'm very happy with my progress, and I'm more than halfway towards my goal of a healthy weight. I already have more energy than I've had in years, and I'm eating more nutritiously than ever in my life.

I would have laughed heartily if anyone would have suggested a year ago that I would be writing a blog about cooking. A year ago, I didn't even have a kitchen to cook in. Literally. My kitchen was four walls stripped down to the studs. Pedro and I undertook a massive remodel to expand it, because it was so inadequate that cooking was too big of a challenge to enjoy. We were completely without a kitchen for at least six months. We were able to use our new kitchen by the end of October 2006, and it was mostly finished by the end of December.

And, really that is what started this big change in my life. For the first time in my life, I enjoy cooking. I love being in my kitchen. The next thing that really changed my life was the cooking class I took at Conscious Gourmet. Since then, I have been so much more balanced in my nutrition. That is when the weight started really dropping noticably. I'm not even on a diet. As you can see, I'm still eating lasagna and the occassional cupcake. But, wow, I am steadily losing weight! Pedro is too!