Newborn, Children & Family PhotographyLee Bird Photography

As you know, every month a few of my wonderful photographer friends from around the world and I post a little series of blog posts that pertains to our lives. I have missed the last two because I was just so busy when they came around, but this time I am back inAnd this month I am going to tell you a bit more about me and the journey I have been on in the last 9 months.

You may or may not know this, but a mere 9 months ago I was obese… I was wearing a size 24 and the biggest I had ever been in my life. I was so unhappy within myself and I had tried everything to lose weight without any success. Everything was a chore, photo shoots were a nightmare and I would sweat so much it was disgusting. I couldn’t catch my breath enough to even talk to clients and I could barely even walk up stairs without half dying! I had lamented to my mother that my last hope was surgery but I just couldn’t afford it. My darling mummy realised how unhappy I was and offered to pay for the surgery. That kicked me into action and I started researching, researching and doing some more research.

I discovered that here in Australia the surgery was covered by my private health insurance, as well as the government. So my out of pocket costs weren’t going to be as high as I had first anticipated. So I met with a surgeon, who cemented the fact that this was the best option for me and I scheduled in my surgery for a vertical sleeve gastroscopy (google it). On July 28th 2011 my life was going to change for the better! I won’t bore you with all the details, but lets just say I don’t regret it for even one moment. Not anything about it. I was very lucky and had very few side effects… It has changed my life and here I am, 9 months later. Size 14; 45kgs (99 pounds) lighter; 5kgs from my goal and happier than I’ve been in a long, long time.

Of course, when I was ginormous, I refused to be in photos so family photos were out of the question. Now, I LOVE being in photos and I finally scheduled in a very precious and long-awaited family session with my darling friend Kelly Mack Photography. She captured some beautiful images of my family, which I have been slowly editing. So without further ado, here is one image of me as I am now… 45kgs down and far more confident in myself, despite the saggy skin.

P.S. Don’t forget to scroll down so you can link to the next story in the the chain, the amazingly incredible Azure Marie photography The next life story in this chain is from the incredibly talented Azure Marie Photography in the U.S.