[bandit bear]

I'm no stranger to weight loss. I've slowly been gaining since I was about 20, about a year before I was diagnosed with thyroid cancer. I was diagnosed when I was 21, two months before my 22nd birthday. Combined with an unhealthy college lifestyle and the undiagnosed and untreated thyroid cancer caused a 25 weight gain in a school year. Then my weight somewhat stabilized for about a year until I was unemployed for 8 months and moved in with my boyfriend, and we both gained. My highest then was 214, and when I finally moved to Sacramento, I lost and got down to 190. I was thrilled! My wedding was a year away and I was actually controlling my weight for once. Unfortunately unemployment came again and I started to gain again, and I was 204 this time last year. My weight just kept creeping up and up, and to the point where my once too big wedding gown was now too tight and I had to have it taken out. Needless to say, I was crushed. But I kept gaining a pound here and there. I just couldn't stop myself. My wedding day came and went, and I am currently at my highest ever, and seeing 220 on the scale freaked me out. I hadn't weighed myself in over 2 months when I used to weigh myself every day (I know some people say that's a bad habit, but it helps keep me in check and see if my thyroid medication is working).

I joined Weight Watchers online on New Years Day and vowed to compete in the 2012 Disneyland half marathon on Sept 2nd. I actually like running and love the high that comes with it, so I'm slowly trying to change my horrible habits into good ones. I once had great habits when I moved to Sac a year and a half ago. I'm not getting any younger and I would love to start a family in a couple of years. Oh and my 10 year high school reunion is October 2013. I had to buy jeans in a size bigger (16) and I'm not happy about it. Luckily I work in retain so I didn't pay that much for them, but still. I got down to a 12 when I was 190, and started to fit into my old clothes, and now 190 is 30 lbs away instead of 20. I'm here and on Weight Watchers because I just need a change. I'm sick of letting food control me and my habits control me. I would love to be around 145, and the lowest I remember being is 135 in high school. It's sad that I can't remember what it's like to be thin.

Here's to a new year!