Hi, I’m Jaime. I’m 28 and live in southeastern Virginia with my fiance and my two old man cats.
I’ve been overweight since I was a kid, I’ve never known “normal.” I’ve been chasing “normal” since I got to college and realized that not only did I have a weight problem, but that I was totally able to change it on my own. All my attempts have been unsuccessful so far, however.
A brief history of time (spent dieting):
1983-1998: too young to really have a sense of my weight issues.
1999: have friends who start dieting, watch them lose weigh successfully on WW. I don’t think I need to lose weight, however, so I don’t try. This is the first time I really feel aware of the process of losing weight and deciding to be unhappy with your body.
2002: entering college, I finally get the sense that I would like to lose weight and be active and healthy. This happens after I am convinced I can join the crew team at my 200lb, out of shape state. I fail all the tests miserably and do not make it. However, I didn’t do anything other than exercise once every week and try to eat kind of healthier… kind of. I think I lost 4lb.
Summer 2002: back home for the summer, decide to get serious. I go online and order diet patches and some sort of weird elixir made of horse hooves that is supposed to help burn fat. Snake oil, people, snake oil. The only thing that ended up lighter was my wallet.
2003: First organized weight loss attempt. Joined Weight Watchers online, told no one. Lost 15lb very easily. It gradually became harder as I became less strict. Gained the weight back by end of year, was in upper 190s.
2004-2006: Various half-hearted attempts at losing weight made via WW. Would go through periods of consistent exercise and eating well, just enough to make sure I dipped back below 200, then would stop around 192-196. Would always tell myself I was never going back to 200.
2007: Year of stress and grad school and pigging out. Reached highest weight of 216.
2008: Began WW meetings for the first time and loved them. Had good success for a while, and I was always motivated at a basic level to keep going even when I didn’t lose. By August I had lost 25lb, which is a dang slow rate of loss, but I was down to low 190s and high 180s and thrilled. Maintained through the rest of the year.
2009: 5-year relationship goes down the tube; I stop eating, I reach low 180s. Lowest adult weight. Achieved through emotional distress. I stop going to WW. I maintain my 180s, enjoy the new single life, get sufficient male attention that I am pretty comfortable at this weight. Meet amazing new boy later in the year; get comfortable. Dun-dun-dun. Up to 203 by the end of the year.
2010: Start the year at 203. End the year at 209. Motherf*#$er. Spent the year halfheartedly trying to lose it again; got down to 196 during the summer for a friend’s wedding. Tried WW a few months and couldn’t wrap my brain around it again, so I stopped.
2011: (present) Started Atkins on January 2nd, in hopes that curbing my carb addiction will help me control the vicious weight cycle.
And that is where I am today!