Sweetpea,

You look great. That is something to be proud of!Now come here and we'll get our 2% lattes and walk by the beach.

Wow... you look great! I wish I could make any improvement at all. It is tough, but I hope you learn to love yourself no matter what you look like. I know we do...

and why is your face all blurry?

You have come such a long way!! You're doing great!!!

P.S. I thought I was the only one who bought frosting and ate it that. ;)

I think you're beautiful.

And here's my assvice for the day: Get a copy of the book, Fed Up! by Wendy Oliver-Pyatt. It'll change the way you think. I've had food issues just like yours all my life, and it's making me see things differently.

We are so hard on ourselves. I know that first hand. I too am trying to lose weight and what I can't see others CAN. And I definately can see that you are changing. Keep up the great work! You will get there. You look GREAT!

Damn girlfriend, I know you're all serious and shit but you said 'hard on'. hehe. Hard on.

I know. I need help.

Love ya!

Me? Serious? What?

WOW! I can't believe you've lost that much already! Well done!

WOW!!
What a difference!! I know it's hard, I loves me some Fritos and bean dip too.
You CAN do it!

Y, you have made tremendous progress and you look FANTASTIC. be easier on yourself ok?

it makes me sad when people tell me i'm pretty and i look in the mirror or at myself in photographs and just don't see it - i look in the mirror and see an ugly old hag. i don't think either one of us is seeing what is really there. *hugs*

I am very proud of you. I wish we lived close by to each other. Then we could make each other walk. But, then again, oh my god, curly fries and ranch dressing.

You look phenomenal. I'd make out with you in the back of a cab!

**Recovering from chronic lurkitis enough to say:
First of all. . .WOW! I think you look great! And really, there's no reason for me to lie, since you and I don't even know each other. Seriously, I've been reading your blog for a while, lured in by your gloriously darling baby, and besides finding you hilarious, entertaining, thought-provoking, and good-hearted, you're absolutely beautiful at any size. When it's time for you to get even smaller, you'll get even smaller (said the lady who is not quite back to her pre-pregnancy weight. . .only 14 years after the birth of her youngest child). I wish you all the best.

13th!!!!

Woman, you look great. My jaw dropped. I was like "wow. wow." and i'm here to tell the internet that Y has an AMAZING voice and she's just as much fun to talk to as she is to read. She may be hard on herself but she is AWESOME.

So now get yourself up and continue on, continue on. Go to those WW meetings and cry cry cry. At least you'll have good blog fodder.

You're looking good. Don't give up.

I live that same negative talk every day of my life. I am in your shoes but have so much farther to go. Y, you look awesome. Just hang in there! Easier said than done, always, but still..we're all here for you.

HOLY SHIT. Girl, you have made A LOT of progress since October. Damn. Look at that ass! What's it like to sit on something perky like that? I wish I knew.

And look at where your nipples are located...they aren't hanging below your elbows yet and you've been nursing. REJOICE!

And about motivation....I've been there. It'll happen for you. Just don't go overboard on the burgers and you'll be fine. You talk about not being motivated to lose weight, yet look at how small you've become since October.

If you are honest about not feeling motivated, then it would appear that you don't need to try very hard to lose weight.

Eat a cheeseburger and take a walk. It'll melt away.

honestly, you look fantastic- such a big difference in such a short time. if that's what you can do AND not be 100% gung ho- well, then with even moderate commitment you'll be a playboy bunny in 6 months. keep up the good work!

You look wonderful and I know you will get to where you want to be. I believe in you, Chica! Plus? You inspire me. Once I give birth to this baby I am going to have to get seriously dilligent about weight loss myself. And I have a long, long way to go as well - longer than you did, even. And I believe in both of us. We can do it!

Holy Shit! You look awesome! Your progress is obvious, you should be proud of yourself!

Hey, you're doing great! I've been struggling to take off pregnancy weight, too, and have finally found success with the Dr. Phil Weight Loss thing... It looks like you're making great progress already, though.

Love your blog, by the way. Cute kids, good writing... what's not to like?

You look wonderful!!

It's all about moderation, hon... don't beat yourself up. It's just not effective in the long run. If you're feeling a craving for something, try a little bit to satiate it. You've come a long way in a little amount of time... just try to remember that!

You do! You look awesome! Keep up the great work!

I don't know you personally, but I wanted to show you something. I made this to compare those 2 pictures, and you should be nothing but immensely proud of yourself for what you've accomplished.

http://www.ariesrising.com/joy.jpg

Look at how much smaller you are everywhere! Really try to look objectively. You did that in 6 short months. If you keep your head in a good place, you'll be where you want to be by the holidays.

My heart aches for you, really. I see myself as a hideous shebeast and I can never just sit back and say "Hey, you accomplished something here." It's always "You suck. You should have lost this many pounds, etc."

People like us will always dwell on the negative, it's ingrained. But from a purely observational perspective, you've come quite a long way and you should be proud.

I hope this doesn't seem stalkerish, I just see so much of myself in you and if I am not in a place to make myself see certain truths about me, I hope I can maybe make you see a little truth about you. The crappy photoshop doesn't lie!

Keep going and don't let the demons drag you down.

Wow, Y, you look fan-f**king-tastic!! And you know, pseudo-stalker-Laura is right (I think she was so sweet to do that for you! I'm not laughing at her in the least!), seeing the truth about yourself is the. hardest. thing. in the world to do. I'm right in that boat with you, just like most of these commenters probably are. You have a very unique support system, Y, and I hope that you will begin to look into that mirror and see the woman you are and will be, instead of the woman you were. *hugs*

I think you look great. What a difference!

i know how you feel. i feel EXACTLY the same way. i've lost close to nothing since i started WW in january. and the wedding, which was my first big goal, is in five weeks. i'm so mad at myself when i think about how much i could have lost if i wouldn't be so damn weak and a FREAK when it comes to food. seriously. sometimes i hate myself for that and then i eat even more. i guess the "why even bother" attitude.

i think you've come really, really far. i wish i would be where you're at already. and the thing is: this is about discipline and watching yourself and you probably need to be hard on yourself. i totally feel like a looser when it comes to that. like, why can't i just eat like a normal person or loose weight like all these other people? i think 'cause i'm compensating frustration with food. which is NOT an excuse. but that's the way i am. i don't like that about me. not at all. but i realize that hating myself doesn't help me a bit. because then i get even more frustrated and.. you get the point.

so i know it's tough at times but you're so much stronger and have come so much further than anyone who has and always had the perfect figure. i started today all motivated again. and i know WE can do this.

Can you see the difference at all Yvonne? It's amazing!! You're doing great babe!

it's possible to eat a burger and still lose weight, you know. we buy extra lean ground beef and whole wheat buns. and if you want cheese, opt for the fat free Kraft singles. we cook them on our Foreman grill so all of the fat drains off. it's good, I swear.

i'm trying to lose my "extra", too. AGAIN. for the 3954694285th time. this time, i decided that i have no excuses. money isn't the problem. time isn't the problem. it's my ass and its lack of motivation. so, i decided that i'm going to rope my mom into it with me. this weekend, we're shopping health clubs/gyms, and, dammit we WILL have ourselves memberships complete with personal trainers come monday. we decided that this is the only way we can really do it. we have to commit to the time together, and the time with a trainer who won't let us justify getting out of it. she's afraid of how much it will cost, but jesus - if i put together all the money we've spent on shit food in the past five years, we could pay for this crap 20 times over.

good luck to you, yvonne. you're not in it alone.

I think we only fail when we quit trying. It doesn't matter if you've tried "239858" times. What matters is that you're still trying. We are all just works in progress anyway.

You look great. I just wish you could see that. xxx

May be hard but I have had good success in low carb lifestyle. Wheither it be Atkins or South beach it is worth a try

I think you are a truly beautiful woman. Inside and out. Absolutely beautiful.

You can do it! You are looking awesome, and I know you can keep it up.
I love the photos you've been putting up lately. I have no idea how to do all that with a camera.

Damn girl, people pay big money for T&A implants to look like you do naturally. You are beautiful, feel proud about the progress you've made, and don't worry too much about the future, just take it one day/meal at a time.

OK, you look fab compared to the pic from October, and I honestly think that your boobs look even hotter now, like, perkier. Not that they weren't hot before, but man, you are lookin' GOOD! Keep it up.

I was trying to take a full body picture for MY before... don't want you to be the only one! Anyway, you HAVE to check out Butterfly's face when she realized what I was doing:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/kristyk/8848910/

oh honey-- i hate to tell you this but... i used to work at starbucks. those iced mochas are probably really really hurting your weight loss goals. the white mocha syrup is just about pure butter fat. try a sugar-free non fat (or soy) iced vanilla latte. if you want sweeter, add a splenda. since you are trying so hard, i hate to see you derailed by the white-mochas. (and don't even think about getting a frappucino, they are even worse. especially the cream based ones. oh, and each time you get whipped cream on anything = 100 calories). sorry to be the bearer of bad news!!

I think you're doing great. I also think that we are always our own worst enemies when it comes to the motivation department. We beat ourselves to a pulp. Especially those of us that are perfectionists. And I know you are one....just look at those beautiful children you worked so diligently to create, nurture and love. Keem is right about Starbucks, but being a Starbucks lover myself...I have learned that it's the whole "going to get" coffee thing that I can't give up. I weened myself off of the more fattening drinks there however. I order the coffee of the day, then I ask for an extra cup. They will give it to you. I then dump half the cup of coffee into the other cup. I add a lot of half and half....(carb free it is it is) and a packet of Splenda. I do this to the both cups I then have in hand. So....I spend half the price, get two cups of coffee and way way less of the fat that drives itself right to one's "cup holder".

It is however hard to make that change. But the feeling of knowing I am conquering the challenge helps motivate me to put down the burger too.

I am a woman that has lost and gained the same 30 lbs too many times. I finally got sick of gaining it back. Lately I've entered college and gained the college 15 and I'm hating myself for it. I cried when I read your one post whereby you drew all over your big pants.....however I think it was catharic for you.

Another thing I have done for myself....buy a new outfit just slightly smaller than will fit you. IE: the button just almost buttons...but not quite. And then I would hang that outfit on my bed frame and let it stare me in the face. I wanted to eventually wear it so bad that I motivated myself. Having a pretty new outfit that you are so "close" to wearing..it helped me.

Lastly...hug yourself. You're a beautiful smart witty wonderful mother happily married woman with lots of love in your life. Those things are hard to attain. Putting down the burger...much easier by far....even though it takes a constant good choice.

Hang in there....go look at yourself in the mirror and tell yourself that you’re worth it because you truly are. We all are.

Keep eating those burgers cause you look great! I see a major difference *hugs*

There is a big difference in those pictures Y! You are doing great. So you took a break. Everyone needs a little break every now and again. Now if I could get off my break lol all would be good.

Oh my God, you look fantastic!! Congrats on all you've accomplished.