I'll start tomorrow.......

Good evening, all. This whole blogging thing is a veritably new idea for me so bear with me as I work out the kinks of trying to figure out all the trick of the blogosphere trade. My name is Evita Sawyers. I weigh 357 pounds at last count. What is that you say? No, I was not always this way. Let me demonstrate. Exhibit A:


The year: 1999, The location: United Stated Naval Boot Camp, The weight: 195.
I was 17, in shape and a size 11 or 12. I could run a mile and a half in 12 minutes and thirty seconds, do 82 sit-ups in two minutes and I could shop at normal clothing stores (NY&CO, The Gap, Etc.) I was young, I looked good and I was comfortable.

However, as life dragged on, I began a slow descent into obesity. First it was ten pounds, then 20, then 40. I was eating out a lot and eating really late at night. I wasn't making time to exercise. Before I knew it, I weighed 230 lbs.

Presenting Exhibit B:


The year: 2001, The location: Pearl Harbor Naval Base, The weight: 230 lbs.
You know, actually, I don't think I look too bad in this photo. I was on my way to the Persian Gulf and while I wasn't my ideal weight, the extra forty lbs. wasn't all that uncomfortable. But just wait, because if I thought I was fat then I had no idea that I was going to learn the true meaning of fat soon enough......

Presenting Exhibit C:


The year: 2003, The place: USS Boxer, The weight: 305 lbs
Yeah, for those of you wondering, I am big hunk of chocolate marshmallow fluff on the far left. I will never forget that fateful day when I had to weigh in for our annual Physical Readiness test and I tipped the scales at a whopping 305 lbs. Wow, a far cry off from the 195 lbs girl I knew just 2 short years before. I couldn't wear any of my uniforms. I actually had to buy a completely different kind of pant to wear and people began to make fun of me in my division. Something other than my pants buttons had to give.......

Presenting Exhibit D:


The year: 2003, The place: my church, The weight: 255 lbs.
After gaining another 5 lbs. boosting my weight to 310, I began to take control of the situation. I took the bull by the horns (or the heifer by the udder) and started working out two hours a day, six days a week. I stayed away from ALL junk food and drank NOTHING but water. And for the most part it was easy. I was on deplyoment on my ship at the time and so as long as I stayed away from the snack bar while it was open, walk quickly past the dessert and juice bar in the galley, and went to the gym (which wasn't hard cause I had oodles of time on my hands), I did good. Plus I had some friends to keep me going so I was set. I lost 65 lbs in three months and I felt really good. I spent a small fortune on a new wardrobe and I had a new leash on life. This is when I met my husband..........

Presenting Exhibit E:


The year: 2003, The place: J Street Marina, The weight: Unbelievably still 255
We fell in love and the rest is history. We decided to get married and I found my dress for cheap. I vowed to maintain this new found self-control and make it to my goal weight. But as wedding stresses built up so did my trips to the drive-thru by the time I got married I could barely get into my dress.....

Presenting Exhibit F:


The year: 2004, The place: J Street Marina, The weight: 270 lbs
Even with the extra 20 lbs it was a beautiful day. I tried after we got married to get back on track. I went to Weight Watchers and everything but by the year 2005 I had gained all my weight back that I had lost with interest. I was weighing in at 325 lbs. We went through a particularly rough patch in our marriage and once we got through it, I went down to Tijuana, Mexico and began to start this new diet craze that all my friends had been trying. It made the weight melt off. I had lost almost 40 lbs. in six weeks. But little did I know that something else was going on in my belly. You know that old rhyme "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes Evita with the baby carriage"? Well I was pregnant and (GASP!) it was twins! We were so stoked. I naturally couldn't think about my weight now, I had not one, but two babies to feed. And feed them I did. I gained a whopping 120 lbs from the time I found out I was pregnant to the time I delivered.

Presenting Exhibit G:


The year: 2006, The place: Kaiser Zion Hospital, The weight: Somewhere around 400 lbs
Yeah, this pic pretty much speaks for itself. G is for gargantuan. I was this huge, black, swollen walrus. It was awful. The majority of my weight came off after having the kids but that doesn't say much since I was overweight to begin with. I began to try to lose weight and was able to get down to about 309. This next phot is actually a photo of me while I was losing. It still ain't pretty, but I was on the pathway....

Exhibit H:


The year: 2006, The place: Church Christmas banquet, The weight: 325
There is that magic number again. 325. I look like a man in this photo. It's like mother and son, not husband and wife. It is so weird going from keeping that photo in a desk drawer so no one can see it to putting it on the internet. I wish I weighed 325 now. I am actually 357. I have got to get a grip. My life is slipping away from me and I didn't want to spent the better part of my 20's fat. I want to see my kids grow up and be a part of that. I want my husband to look at me the way he used to. I want to look at me the way I used to. I will post a picture of myself now and track my progress as I go. Maybe having some accountability to you folks out there will keep me going. I have got to shake the idea that somewhere out there, there is this pain-free, sacrifice-fee, quick fix to my problem. I didn't gain it overnight and I sure as heck ain't losing it overnight. Well, au revoir for now. It's getting late and tomorrow is a new day.