If you have been following my blog and see the photos of me, you’ll know I’ve been overweight for a while now.  I guess I’ll just start at the beginning.

I met my husband in Kindergarten, we actually started dating October of 2002, I was 127 pounds.  When he came home from Iraq in March 2004 I was 139 pounds, when we got married in October of 2004 I was 155 pounds, when we got pregnant 6 months later, I was 180 pounds, I was 217 pounds a week after I delivered our son, 3 months later I fluctuated anywhere from 191-198 pounds.  I just stayed there.  I would try diets and nothing seemed to work.  Well it didn’t work because I didn’t really try.  I wanted a magic pill.

All the while, my weight gain was ruining my marriage.  My husband was rightly frustrated that I was not even near the woman that he married.  I was fat, sluggish, uninterested in anything active, hated summer, hated swimsuits, sat with pillows over my lap so people wouldn’t see the giant fat rolls I had, wore larger clothes to “camouflage” my weight.  My husband and I talked about my weight every few months, this always resulted in a big fight and me crying.  My husband is the kind of guy who LOVES to work out, if he needed to lose weight he’d just do it.  It wasn’t that easy for me.  I didn’t want to put forth the effort, I just wanted to wake up skinny or just be fat.  But I didn’t want to work for it.  John was very honest with me about how my weight was effecting him…to be honest I cared that it bothered him, but didn’t care enough to change it.

I didn’t feel THAT fat.

Well in January of this year, John and I went to Maui.  We have these amazing friends who live there, Nate and Jenna.  Jenna is an amazing professional photographer, on one of our last days there she did some beautiful photos of John and I.  Then b/c she is just this sweet, after we got home she sent us this bound album with the photos she took.  As I sat and looked through this album all I could think is, “Who is that fat girl with my husband?”  “Is that really what I look like?”  “What have I done?”

It was a very real realization that I had not only let myself go, but that I had been unbelievably selfish in my over-indulgences.  How unfair to my precious family.  How very unfair.

I promptly called Chemae, who I knew was a health coach with Take Shape for Life.  She got me signed up on the program.  But it took me some time to convince my husband.  You see, I have cut calories and exercised (well I told John I cut calories, I really wasn’t), I’d done Weight Watchers, Jenny Craig, LA Weightloss, Alli, taken Phentramein, taken Hydroxycut, joined gym after gym.  Nothing worked.  Not becuase they aren’t good programs but because i didn’t want to put forth the effort.  For whatever reason, this was different.  Chemae told me that all I had to do was eat the food and I would lose weight…well that made sense to me.

So my husband agreed to let me try this program, I knew if I failed he would be royally mad.  I just decided that this wasn’t optional.  I had to lose the 75 + pounds.  So a week later my food arrived and I started eating every 2-3 hours and after a week I had lost 10 pounds, the next week I lost another 6 pounds, the next week 4 pounds and now I consistently lose 2 pounds per week.  I am 41 pounds down and have 25 more pounds to go, but plan on being done in September.

Thanks to Jenna, Chemae, Take Shape for Life and a willing husband, I am changing my life 2 pounds at a time. I wholeheartedly belive that if I hadn’t done this program, I would be ruining my husband and son’s lives, I would still be miserable.  but instead, I am wearing a size 7/8 jeans, medium shirts, I enjoy the gym, I look forward to my food I get to eat and I am ACTIVE.  My husband is in love with this new me and our marriage is healing from the pain I caused.

If you have struggled with your weight, please talk to me.  I am doing Health Coaching b/c I believe that this program works.  I believe that it can change your life if you let it.  I believe that it is about time we give ourself the hope that we deserve.  It’s time to get healthy friends!

http://www.hopeforthehungry.tsfl.com

503.960.6856
Hopeforthehungry09@gmail.com

This photo was taken at 191 pounds in Maui in January 2009

This photo was taken April 10, 2009, 40 pounds lighter at 151 pounds

Introducing Paige Daelyn!

Each year I plan a memorial walk to honor babies that have passed away. This year we are honoring Ashton Ferber and Owen Birchard. As I get started planning I wanted to make sure everyone knew that the walk will be hosted on July 25, 2009 at Main City Park in Gresham, Or. The cost will be $30 per person who is walking (kids under 12 are free), each paying participant will receive a t-shirt and 100% of the registration fee will be donated to The Greatest Blessing - a non profit organization that makes memory boxes for mommies and daddies who’s babies have gone to heaven.

In order to be able to donate 100% of the registration fee to The Greatest Blessing we are also looking for corporate sponsors to help us pay for the snacks, water, t-shirts and other costs associated with planning the walk. If you know anyone who would be interested in helping with these costs please let me know as soon as possible. My contact information is at the bottom of the page! The cost for corporate sponsors is as follows:

$500 Platinum Sponsors
a banner with their business name and logo on it
a special thank you at the beginning of the memorial walk
a business card logo on the back of the t-shirt that all participants

$250 - Gold Sponsors
A special thank you at the beginning of the memorial walk
a business card logo on the back of the t-shirt that all participants receive

$150 - Silver Sponsors
a business card logo on the back of the t-shirt that all participants receive

$100 - Pearl Sponsors
1 Business name listed on back of t-shirt

Amy Hardesty
Forever In Our Heart Memorial Walk
503.960.6856
Amy@fullofgracephotography.com

If you have friends or family that could benefit from this bring them too, let’s pack my house and change our lives!

I don’t make ANY money off of saying this, but I am asking my health coach to come to my home and talk to a group of my friends about this program. It is working for me and I LOVE IT. If it can work for me, Lord knows it can work for anyone!

There is NO obligation to anything, so if you or ANYONE you know, struggles with their weight and needs to lose 5 pounds or 200 pounds, let me know so we can get a group of people together to meet at my home. It is so worth it, I feel so much better and I am losing weight, this is the first time I have ever believed in myself! Email me at Amy@fullofgracephotography.com or call me at 503.960.6856 or respond to this note.

Seriously, I am not selling anything, but I am so excited that this is working for me that I want to offer you a chance to at least hear about it! I am thinking the meeting will be March 11, 12 or 13.

Hi! My name is Amy and with my husband we own Full of Grace Photography. We have been professionally shooting weddings for 3 years. Our current Premier Wedding Photographer will be leaving in September and we are looking for someone to train with her and then take over. Here is a little more what we are looking for:
THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW ABOUT US:
* Pay 50% of our profit to you for each wedding.
* Do all the editing
* Do all of the advertising
* Have a great reputation for wedding photography and client interactions.

YOU:
* Must own your own professional camera
* Must have wedding photography experience
* Must have a portfolio for us to view (printed or online)
* Must be willing to come to our SE Gresham home for wedding interviews with potential clients up to 2 times per month
* Must be professional
* Must be a people person
* Will have the rights to your photos
* Must be willing to shoot up to 8 weddings from June 2009-October 2009 with no pay with our current Premier Wedding Photographer and/or us (the owners) so that we can see your interaction with people, how you work under the pressure of shooting a wedding etc.
* Will make 50% of our wedding profit
* Will be paid for shooting the weddings and will not be responsible for editing

***You can view our website at http://www.fullofgracephotography.com***

We are looking to hire someone by the middle of May 2009 for this position. Please send us your name, email address, a link to your portfolio (if online), what kind of equipment you use, your experience and why you would like to be a part of our team.