New and saying hello!!! :)
 

Hello! I'm new to these threads. My name is Julie. I'm 27 and originally from Ohio!! Woot woot! The past year has been quite amazing for me. I've been teaching English to 1-3 year olds in Beijing, China. Crazy! I've had quite a bit of a roller coaster ride with weight throughout my life. Well, not too bad, I suppose, but not steady, that's for sure! I plan on ending that right now. I've always had issues with food and dieting for as long as I can remember. I don't I was ever really fat. I just thought I was at the time. Silly. But I got serious about losing weight and getting healthy in 1999. From 1999-2001, I did weight watchers and started running a lot. I went from 169 to 130, but I was pretty extreme when I was at 130. In 2004, I gained weight cause of some stress I was going through and got up to about 190. That was a horrible time for me. I just couldn't get a grip on my mental and emotional state of being. I stayed around 175-180 till the beginning of this year. I kept trying Weight Watchers, but really think I was just so burnt out from it. I needed a change. Points was so annoying to me and a dead end. It just wasn't for me anymore. I moved to China in February and hit a pretty low point here before I decided it was time to take control and do something about my life. If I didn't, I was only going to get bigger and more depressed. So I started doing something I'd never done before. I started doing everything I could to love myself at that very moment in time. I didn't focus on weight. I focused on myself and having friends and being happy. At the same time, I started working out more. I've always been a runner, but I started doing it consistently. I also started really watching what I ate. By October, I got down to 145. I am the happiest I've been since I can remember. But it's because I did it the right way. In October/November, however, I got mono and that seems to really have taken a toll on me. I haven't gained any weight, but I just feel like a slug. I'm better now. I'm able to work out and run about 50 minutes, 4-5 days a week. So I'm about back on par with the working out. However, I've been battling some binging. I don't know why. I have had problems with binging in the past and had a bout with binge/purge crap. But I'm mentally and emotionally healthy now and I know I can work through this and learn how to deal with it. I'm not going to let it get me back to the point I was before I started being healthy. I'm just not going to let that happen. So, I'm starting over. Right now. I'm going to act like I'm starting for the first time. It's exciting when it's new, so I'm going to act like it's new. Trying new recipes, doing new workouts. It's been a bit of a challenge since I'm in China to make things to eat that are healthy and I really love. I've been learning though, so it's getting easier. I just know that I love myself far too much and am way too proud of the progress I've made to let it all go. It's not worth it. So here I am. That's a little intro to me. I did post in the newbie thread and what not, but I wanted to post a separate hello and intro just so everyone is sure to see there is someone new here! I've got a lot of energy and I'm ready to make more positive changes in my life. I'm here for support and to give support. :) I look forward to getting to know everyone.

Hugs!

Julie ( Jules)

Welcome to the board! I'm sure you'll love it here.

How cool is it that you live in CHINA?!?!?!


Congrats on all your hard work that's really paid off! :)

I said hi to you before but I guess I have more to say about losing weight in a foreign country. :D

My friend moved to China in 2004 for ESL and ended up staying there. She lost about 40 lbs without trying and now is actually trying to lose 10-15 more. She's the skinniest I've ever seen her and I think it's because she doesn't live the Western lifestyle of cars, processed foods and snacking.

I was excited to move to Korea thinking the weight would just fall off. BUT I actually GAINED a few lbs during my first two months here. I'm a vegetarian and I just ate junk and fast food when I got here. I don't like Korean food much, it's very meat-heavy, and so I just ate what was easiest to get my hands on: lots of ramen and Pringles!

Losing weight in Korea is proving to be easier AND harder than it was in the States. The easy part is I am pretty isolated here, I don't have a lot of friends yet and I have a lot of free time. All the excuses I had for being unable to lose weight before, like no time, wanting to socialize, etc, aren't really big issues anymore. But it's harder because the ways I know how to lose weight--eating whole grains / whole foods, going walking & running, etc., aren't easy to do here. People just don't run for exercise here and the healthy foods I am used to are not available.

I started calorie counting and was surprised how much nutritional information I could find on Korean dishes when I actually looked. I have been to about 7 different grocery stores all over the city looking for foods that I will like and that will be healthy. I joined the gym across the street (with a pocket dictionary and a lot of charades) and I've even succumbed to one of my least favorite forms of exercise--work out videos! And actually, they're not that bad, especially Jillian Michaels 30 Day Shred.

Anyways, it seems you don't have much more to lose, congratulations on getting this far! I hope after my year in Korea to be at my goal weight but also I hope to use this time to work on other parts of myself. I already do a lot more self-reflection here than I have in many years and I hope that makes some permanent positive changes in me, like weight loss and otherwise.

Welcome, by the way! I guess I didn't really mention the real reason I have been able to lose the weight I have so far--this site! Everyone here is so kind and supportive and we're all in the same boat. I've failed many times trying to lose weight alone and the support here seems like the "magic pill" that's finally getting me somewhere. :)

Hello welcome!!

Hello!! Welcome aboard! You will find this site awesome! The support here is incredible!