Welcome to Saturday night in Carol's Corner. Only going to use just my ensemble picture because I have a special treat for you. I am going to do a very inspirational feature story, which I will get to shortly. The blouse I am wearing here is another of my thrift store finds and I just love the color. The winner of Name My Ensemble for the second day, is Lori Castellino with, “Sparkling Merlot.” I think that is a perfect fit.

Now on to this very special feature story. You will hear the story of Lorrie Tabor in her own words. I am going to start with a couple of her before pictures.

 

Now I will give you Lorrie's story in her own words and after that I will post the rest of her pictures. Here's Lorrie.

I have been overweight as long as I can remember. I honestly can't think of a time when it has not been something I struggled with. The first time I remember trying to diet, I was around 18. That time I think I lost about 30 lbs, my weight plateaued, I stopped losing, so I stopped trying. This same scenario has probably played out 15 times since then. I would try a diet, lose a little, plateau and then give up only to gain back whatever I had lost and almost always gaining more. I was probably 22, when the health issues related to my weight began. Mainly always back problems at that point, until my husband and I started trying to conceive a child. After the doctors ran all of the tests they could, they sent me to yet another specialist who told me that I would need to lose at least 100 pounds before we would be able to conceive. Once again, I tried for awhile, failed and gave up. Thank God, he had other plans. We were able to conceive without me losing the weight but only because God blessed us with a miracle…twice. I gave birth to twin girls in 2010 and then my son in 2014. I didn't have any complications at all after having the girls, but the second pregnancy was a different story. After having 2 c-sections in 3 years, being overweight caused some pretty serious issues, one of which I am still waiting to have surgery for. The doctors told me they could not do the surgery until I've lost the weight, because at my size it would cause more problems. Even when there were a thousand good logical reasons for me to do it, still, I came up with even more excuses.

On Christmas Eve 2010,when my twins were 7 weeks old, one of them was diagnosed with Cystic Fibrosis (a genetic disorder that affects the lungs and pancreas and can affect other things as well.) Soon after he was born, my son was diagnosed also. Since then, I had told my husband a hundred times that we were going to have to start making our health a priority. I am a big believer in leading by example. How could I instill in my children how important it is for them to lead a healthy lifestyle when it was more than obvious that I was not?

So there I was, 36 years old with 3 children under 5, extremely overweight, knowing I had to improve my health, but having no idea how, or the inner motivation to do so. These doctors that are telling me I have to lose this weight are also telling me the absolute only exercise I could do was walk. Nothing else.

In December 2014, my husband came to me and said we needed to talk. He told me he was really worried about me and was scared if I didn't do something about my weight, he was going to end up losing me and and have to raise our children alone. Coming from the man who has never, the entire time we have been together, said anything about my weight; has done everything he could to make me feel beautiful and let me know that he loved me regardless; this was a big deal! This was the wakeup call I needed. I began to pray and basically just told God, “I don't know how to do this. I have so many limitations. I will do everything I can, but please do what I can't.”

January 1st, when I got on that scale, I weighed 303 lbs, more than I ever have before, (and that includes 9 months pregnant with twins). I began my journey that day. I started with counting calories (your weight x 7= daily calorie allotment,) journaling everything I eat, drinking more water (half your body weight in daily ounces,) and walking 1 mile a day with Leslie. Throughout this I have tried several different food plans and have lost weight on them all, but have consistently drank the water and gradually increased my exercise routines. As of today, I have lost 102 lbs, but I have gained so much more! I feel so much better. I am capable of doing things with my body that I never thought I would be able to do. I have been given the opportunity to help and inspire other people who are struggling with the same issues I have. That means so much to me! Most importantly, my daughters (and later my son) are seeing that I am making my health a priority and how important it is for them to do so. They exercise with me. I can RUN and play with them now. My pastor mentioned my weight loss at church last week and one of my daughters hugged me and said, “Mommy, I'm so proud of you for getting healthy.” I cried. All of the excuses are still there. Every morning my alarm goes off at 5:30, (for me to exercise), every one of them run through my head. “I have 3 kids under 5. I'm homeschooling, I don't have time to cook separate meals, healthy food is expensive, I'm tired.” But I won't let this stop me this time.

I still have 71 lbs to reach my goal weight, but I've lost more this time than I ever have before. I know now that I can do this. And I will.

Now for some pictures.

 

 

This first picture is in May 2015 after losing 50 pounds with her purple hair strip for Cystic Fibrosis Awareness.

At church giving a testimony on the importance of getting healthy (also after a 50 pound weight loss.)

The rest of the pictures will be at her current weight and also pictures with her children.

I'll post all the family pictures first.

 

 

 

Now for all those of Lorrie at her current weight.

Lorrie congratulations on all you have achieved to date. I know you will be successful at completing your weight loss journey, but we know that isn't the end of it. Then it just enters a new phase. I wish you continued success and hope you will continue the rest of your story for my readers at a future date. May God continue to bless you and your beautiful family and watch over your children as they continue to go through their own health journeys. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Till next time, God Bless.