This is not any easy subject matter to address by any means, all of my life I went up and down in weight. When my weight dropped my self esteem would sky-rocket, when I gained weight I felt like crawling into a black hole. When I started High school I was by no means a healthy eater, I did not regularly exercise and my idea of a snack was a few cheeseburgers or a bowl of heavily buttered Ramen noodles. So, when my childlike figure expanded I thought it was “no biggie”
As my high school years went on, I gained 50 lbs, and I hated my reflection, I ate out of stress, and boredom. I dated wretched guys who treated me like rubbish, so I treated myself like rubbish. Food was the center of my life, I ate many more meals then necessary and stayed up late only to scarf down mid-night taco bell, or Ben & Jerrys.
When I went away to college my Freshman year, I finally confronted myself. I was gaining weight rapidly (I was 170lbs on a 5’2′ frame!) I had stretch marks, and in terms of BMI I was edging towards “Obese.” I had to begin taking care of myself, so I went to the Campus Clinic and enrolled in a free weight loss monitoring program. I befriended fit, confident people who guided me along the way. I walked from my dorm to the gym on the daily, getting 30-60 minutes of cardio. I ate at the Vegetarian food court, and tried my best to eat lean meals, that were protein, and vitamin rich.
From August to December 2012, I dropped 35 lbs. I was around 130 and by all means healthier and happier.
My lifestyle reformation led me to continue my exercise and by the time July 2013 rolled around, I was at 120 lbs.
I still consider my body a work in progress, I try to tone, sculpt and nourish my body properly every day.
In the winter of 2013, I decided to rejoin a gym and restart my fitness routine, and low and behold I am now 105 lbs (some may consider this too low however I am very small by nature)
As I lost weight, I gained control over my interpersonal relationships, body image, and confidence. I met my wonderfully supportive, educated and my I add handsome boyfriend. I love(d) myself and the good vibes followed.
I consider myself now a fit person, for the first time in my life. My doctor sure is happy in fact he has m before/after photo in his office.
I have had slip-ups, and I cheat often enough, but no longer is my life controlled by my desire for saturated fat. My skin has improved quite a bit, my hair as well and my depression/anxiety are almost non-existent.
It took a lot for me to share this publicly, and if this can help one individual I would be thrilled. No matter what weight you are, no matter what obstacles keep you from reaching your goals – remember you can make small steps over a long period of time to get where you would like to be.
Here are some photos of me: Before/During/Current:
This photo was taken in September 2009, during my Sophomoric year of H.S. I was a reasonably healthy weight, probably around 115lbs, this is before the serious weight gain ensued.
I am on the far left here, It was before Prom in May 2010, also in my Sophomore years.. here you can see I gained 25 lbs or so, I weighed around 140 lbs here, I hated all of these photos.
Here I am with my Grandmother, who has since passed (RIP) in 2011, before Homecoming in September now probably around 150lbs, and entirely busting out of my size 14 dress, super self conscious.
Here I am in Florence, Italy during Spring break (May) of 2012 – my senior year. I was around 155lbs here, and was so uncomfortable putting on anything but loose blouses and sweaters.
Here I am October 2012, after losing a considerable amount of weight.. probably around 130 lbs here and feeling fierce.
This is me during this past summer, around August 2013 weighing in at about 115lbs give o take.
Here I am in fairly recent times, winter/Early spring 2014 at 105lbs give or take.