Hello!
My story isn't too special, and I'm not very brave compared to all the people here, but I still feel compelled to share it, just so I could try and make the first few steps to becoming a part of this community
...
I was quite slim in my teens and up to my early 20s (48-50kg), during the last part of my military service I became vegetarian and after I finished my service I gained what I considered a lot of weight (13kg), I've always struggled with very low self esteem (due to my body structure and how I looked, I used to be quite chubby as a child and was bullied quite a lot because of that and it left a mark) so that gain was devastating to me. I went vegan (out of ideological motives) half a month after my service ended and I've stayed mainly at that weight for years until recently when I found out my weight is climbed to nearly 70kg (after 3.5 years of veganism).
I felt kind of hopeless, during these years I tried several things and with no success, at some point I went down to eating only one meal a day (and it was more often than not a fat-free salad), I was sick and tired all of the time, having either headaches or dizziness and it was harming my work and my relationship. Every once in a while I pulled myself together and made myself count calories and exercise, at one point I managed to get to 58kg but counting calories was so emotionally draining I eventually gave up and gained it all back. It just was
easier eating less than 1000 calories and sitting around all day.
Every time I tried to fix the problem I got to these articles about making sure you burn more a day than you eat,
that's how the body works! if you burn 3500 calories you'll lose 1lb! It's science! 80% of weight loss is diet! Every time I saw those articles I got frustrated with myself, I felt broken, why was I gaining weight while eating so little?! Every bite of food that entered my body was "clean", I don't eat sugar, I don't consume coffee, what is wrong with me?!
A couple of months back I decided to quit my job because of the stress, my boyfriend told me he'd support me financially and I decided that I'll take a few months off to get healthy for good.
I started taking my B12 and working on raising my ferritin and vitamin D levels (I have 4 ng/ml) as well as eating at least 3 times a day, I've lost a few kilos without any exercise and my headaches are completely gone! Now I do light weight exercise until my back completely heals (I had costochondritis for months) and I have so much energy I wake up naturally very early in the morning
One other thing I started doing is
standing, yes, standing! I'm a programmer and in my profession you get to sit 10 hours a day, besides the fact you're super sedentary (which inhibits weight loss), it's not really healthy for your back. Standing around the house made me naturally move more and I think that it really contributed to my weight loss and energy levels.
I don't know yet if this journey will be a successful one but I'm hopeful and doing my best to make sure it does (I even set up an appointment to a dietitian who specializes in veganism).
I guess this shows how someone's health can affect weight loss,
it doesn't matter how much you eat - if your body is malnourished you may not lose any weight at all 
Sorry for the wall of text
New here
