Hi everybody, I'm Amanda! I'm a college sophomore but I have been struggling with my weight since high school.

I was always a very thin and small-framed girl. In middle school, I started thinking I needed to lose weight and was borderline anorexic. Thankfully I was able to get treated and gained back weight I had lost. However, I continued to gain and gain, not realizing I needed to stop. Toward the end of high school I was starting to become overweight.

At the beginning of college, I lost some weight initially because of nerves and constant walking around campus. I had a bout of mono and lost more weight and felt I looked great. When I started dating someone 2nd semester freshman year, I started gaining weight again. I got up to around 165 by the end of last semester.

Mid December, I decided I absolutely needed to lose weight once and for all. It has been 3 months and I've lost around 26 pounds through calorie counting and exercise. I'm looking to lose 9 more! I recently ended my relationship and my healthy lifestyle has really helped me cope with the stress of everything.

One thing I will always struggle with is bingeing on food. I have had a few binges since I've started losing weight, but I've learned that instead of letting those small mistakes mess up my entire progress, I can instead move forward.

My weight has been an up and down battle the past few years. I've lost a fair amount, then regained some. Currently just re-losing those last few! I'm pretty glad I was able to maintain what I did, but am still learning to tweak my habits so they don't creep up again. I like biking & running, but have yet to make them regular habits.

looking for a plan
 

At 17 graduating high school, 118 lbs. 5'4" At 32 with three kids and escaping a horribly abusive husand 108 lbs. A few years later back around 120 I began the climb, about a pound a year to the present of 150-155 lbs.at 66 years of age. Always had 116 to 118 as blood pressure until about five years ago. Now BP up in 130's usually, sometimes higher. Tired, achy, have the belly flopover started. Not feeling good or good about myself. Got an ad in the mail for the Miracle Metabolism book by Diane Kless and I fit the Metabolism B profile with most of the items on the list.

Has anyone used this method of weight loss? If so what do you recommend?

I joined the site in April '11 at 149lbs, was feeling bloaty, chunky and not very lovely...my weight had always fluctuated during my adult life between 125-140 but I had piled on so much and was ready to change.

I've been vegetarian most of my life. Have a bit of a fondness for wine, which is clearly sabotaging me at every turn!

So with very little exercise and turning vegan I got down to 129 by late June...stayed there til January but then started eating the dreaded dairy again...so here I am. 145lbs and pretty much back where I started!!!

From today I am back on the vegan wagon. Cutting WAAAAAY back on the vino. Joining the gym today to get started on some cardio and weight training. Will be aiming to eat 50-70% raw...so we shall see. I will weigh every Monday and keep you guys updated!

When I was one year old, I had a really bad reaction to sulfa (which is found in most vaccines) and it kind of screwed me over. I started gaining weight like crazy over the next couple of years and my parents had be see dietitians and doctors out the wazoo!

Some of the plans worked, some didn't, but eventually I would just stop.

In 2009, I did a round of HCG and lost 22/23 pounds, which brought be from 202lbs to 180. I didn't really do the maintenance so I eventually gained it all back. I did another round of HCG in the spring of 2010 and I lost between 15 and 20 pounds. Once again, gained it all back.

In 2010, I had my gallbladder removed because I started having gallbladder attacks. I lost a lot of weight after that. But I gained it back during my senior year of high school.

My weight really doesn't change too much (somehow, I'm one of those girls who can't seem to really lose weight but I don't gain a lot of weight either).

My goal is to lose 30 pounds by August 20th. I've already lost 4 in the last 3 weeks or so. I've been walking/fast walking 1.6 miles for 30 minutes 5 times a week, and I have cut out most junk food (but I am not dieting... just making wiser choices!)

My featherweight life
 

I never thought about my weight at all until high school. I had grown up an active, healthy kid, and so I was a thin teenager. I th9nk I weighed about 100 pounds. I was proud of my body and liked being petite. It became my identity, and I felt that I had an invincible ability to eat whatever I wanted and never gain. I would go to Wendy's every day for lunch and wolf down chicken nuggets, a huge fries, a giant coke, and sometimes an ice cream as well.

I got away with this until I was in my twenties, and college food consisted of pizza and soda. I remember stomping on the scale and crying when it said 120. I started riding my bike to campus and dropped back down into the low teens.

Fast forward to adult life, post college and I have been up and down a couple of times from 138 to 118. I was 118 a year ago, and then I got pregnant. Now my baby is 5 months old and I am 130 pounds, and losing slowly.

Being a young female in today's society, weight is a topic on everyone's mind. Everyone expects people to be slim and healthy and in fact everyone is different! There are people out there with all types of body shapes and sizes, heights and weights. I'm always been self conscious about my weight, especially as a teenager. After I finished secondary school, while I was still self conscious, I probably wasn't as conscious. But lately, I've become very obsessed with weight loss and wanting to change.

Last September/October I would have been around 152-154lbs. I went to the doctors in February this year and I was 142lbs. It gave me a lot of motivation to get my act together because I wasn't even watching what I was eating and I wasn't exercising! In April, I started walking more regularly and sort of watching what I was eating. Now, I'm getting stricter about what I'm eating and exercising as much as I can. June 1st, I started my journey and I'm hoping I'll be my target weight of 119lbs (or there about) by the time I return to college for my 4th and final year in mid September. I have a final target of 112lbs but I want to get to 119 first and then lose the last 7 lbs.

And that is pretty much my story. :)

Hi everyone!

I'm 24 and freshly on my own. I moved out of my parent's place into my own apartment last month, and I'm taking the opportunity to get a handle on my life. A few years ago, I dropped about fifty pounds over a year (I was hungry all the freaking time, but the weight was really bothering me).

Right now, I'm 126 pounds, and I'd really like to be 110-115, ideally with low body fat and significant muscle mass. I don't want to be thin. I want to be ripped. I know I can do this - I've dropped larger amounts of weight, without gaining it back, in the past.

Right now, I'm counting calories (playing with The Hacker's Diet and Excel spreadsheets to keep track of what I'm eating) and working out a few times a week.

Hey everyone!!

I have been struggling with my weight both physically and emotionally for the last year. I am married with 3 children. I made it through TWO pregnancies and bounced back to my original weight of 110 lbs right away. Then came #3....my son and my little monster ;) He was my only breastfed baby and I thought for sure I had the postpartum weight loss thing down...I was just going to be blessed forever right?? WRONG! I was 152 pounds the day I had my son and 140 lbs 6 weeks later....and after a year of breastfeeding....STILL 140 lbs! I know what my problems are-not eating breakfast and then massively eating and drinking pop at night combined with making excuses why not to exercise- but I cant get motivated to stay on track for the life of me! It's always oh I am tired today...Ill start tomorrow...or crap I screwed up...I'll start tomorrow. And then oh geeze it's already Wednesday..I'll just start next Monday, but this HAS to stop! I can't do this to myself anymore. I am lucky that I am not way larger than what I am with the way I overeat at night and it has to stop NOW!! I can't be a poor influence to my children and I can't be unhappy with myself any longer. I have a trip in February planned with my hubby and I can't go on another trip with him where I duck and dodge swimming in the beautiful Caribbean waters to avoid wearing a bathing suit....so here I am...hoping that I can see others overcoming the same challenges with success and for the first time in a long time....I actually feel motivated. I CAN do this. I HAVE to do this!! *Ash* (

I have always thought that I was fat, look looking back I realize that before this year I have never been overweight, but I definitely felt like it. Whenever I thought about my weight I got so upset that I just wanted to eat comfort food. I would eat because I was upset, because I was mad, or because I was bored.
When I was a sophomore in high school I started getting interested in boys, and I was convinced that boys would only like me if I was thinner. I started throwing out my breakfast after I left the house, not eating lunch, and only eating about 300 calories during dinner (I had to eat dinner because it was the only time my family ate together and I didn’t want them to think anything was wrong). I liked the fact that I was hungry, it made me feel special. I don’t know how much I weighed before this, but in one or two months I dropped down to about 115 lbs. I wanted to drop below this, but I couldn’t risk it because my parents were starting to notice and I REALLY did not want them to find out.

Over the past couple of years I have gained all the weight back and at 18 I now weigh an astounding total of 154 lbs making me officially overweight. I get so mad at myself when I think of how much I weigh, and I feel ashamed. I want to lose weight again, this time doing it the HEALTHY way. I am switching from red meat to chicken and fish, and trying to eat more vegetables and less carbs. I am also trying to cut pizza cold turkey out of my diet (which is hard because I love cheese). I want to start exercising but I am in really bad shape and I don’t know where to start. Any suggestions would be welcome!

I remeber sucking in my long and lean underweight stomach when at the doctors... from when I was 5. Throughout my life, I've been tall and skinny, blessed with a high metabolism and grew fast. However, being thin wasnt enough for me.. I liked to be the skinniest girl in the room... I ate like mad though. I remeber just sitting down and eating a whole bag of spicy chex mix EVREYDAY for a SNACK after school.. I wasnt super active as a kid, and were looking at like 4,000 calories a day. However I still was underweight, and ate constantly (except at my dads, would starve myself when with him from like 10 on up) At 11 I became best friend with a slightly chubby model, whos agency had her on a strick diet. She felt so bad about her body she started calling me out on my "bug butt" and "chubby thighs" That was my first diet ever (prob lasted like 4 days :).) This total overeating kept going and going until I was 12, and during PE, I found out I was officiall 5'7 and 128 pounds... To me that was huge. I started eating only dinner of chicken and rice pilaf (turns out a lot of it) that summer, binged a lot near the end of it, came home and did a low carb diet for a week, bringing me down to 120. The second the scale said 120, I stuffed myself, and gained 4 pounds back.. ate myself back to my original weight by the time school started... welcome to the yo-yo dieting cycle. I would stop eating and then when I wasnt dieting, I would specifically shove as many calories into my mouth as possible, if i wanted them or not. (I LOVE diet soda, but if I'm not dieting, I specifically drink regular soda) The after school snacking was intense. Evreytime I would lose the weight, i'd end up binging, and gaining the weight and more back... with this cycle, my weight slowly creeped up. I never told anyone about all this, becuase i knew I would fail, and they would pity me. The summers were borderline annorexic. Fast forward to 14/15, I now decide I'm done with dieting. I started skipping breakfast and lunch (wasnt hungry) and pigging out as soon as I got back from school and on weekends. My weight stayed at a solid 134, which I loved, but I started getting chest cramps from too much caffine/sugar not enough food in the mornings, and my parents grew concerned of diabetes. That didnt bug me, but when we moved near the middle of the year, we moved to a place that served fast food, cookie sandwhiches filled with frosting, healthy things too.. but the problem is they also allowed parents to see if your kid bough lunch or not. Thus I had to eat lunch. And breakfast. And I pigged out.... the last day of school, the PE teacher took our weight measurments... and I was in shock. I hit my all time high on 141. I felt sick.. I had always vowed to never get that high.
When summer started, I stopped eating agian... I tried to force myself but it wasnt working. I knew I could healthily lose ten pounds in two months, but I would reather starve myself and loose the same ten pounds in the same time. Of course I rebounded, and have probrally gained it all back... but thats not my goal anymore....
My main goal is to get out of the cycle :) right now I'm exercising a ton still (volleyball tryouts) but I'm trying to maintian my weight, and learn how to not binge :) Once I get a handle on that, I'll try to loose my 5-15 the HEALTHY way, and learn how to maintian, not gorge myself until it hurts. Looking to be a healthy girl.. Not nessisarly a skinny one.. but those pesky pounds are going down (love the ring of that :D )
~cheers and good luck :D

I don't typically like to talk about my weigh struggles (except here I guess) but I have been struggling with my weight since middle school. I wasn't fat AT ALL back then, I was super thin but I was slightly bigger than my 00 friends, I guess. Back when I was in 9th grade I would have killed to fit in a size 0 (no other size would have sufficed). It turns out have have larger hips and regardless of what I weight I will never go down from a size 4-5 in pants...Anyways, when I was in 9th grade I enrolled in a gym and became obsessed and it wasn't about losing weight, it was about being fit. I would go to the gym everyday after school for 2 hours, then I would run 2-3 miles or mountain bike for an hour...I went down to around 112lbs. My comfort zone and what I was always at was 130-135lbs. At 5'6'' that is an ideal weight for me, however, I always thought I was fat so I always tried to lose weight but didn't put too much into it and just ate and ate and ate. I literally ate around 4,000cals/day of junk food. Slowly gained weight after I started seeing my first boyfriend at 16-17 and after starting college, during my 3rd year, I was my heaviest at 160. That summer, I went to a different state for an internship and lost 10 lbs. I lost an extra 15lbs eating soup and regained all back so the next summer, I lost 15 lbs and then after school started again I lost another 5 lbs.
Then I meet my current bf (ex?) and I have gained in 3 yrs 50-effing-pounds (it disgusts me to even say that...). It has all been a mixture of a cheating fiance (yeah, the same one that is currently my bf-ex - it's a long, long story), new job in a new city with no friends and overall being depressed and eating myself away. I never weighted myself and just bought new clothes when I outgrew the smaller ones. My family visited me after not seeing me for about 7 months and were surprised at how much weight I had gained...that's when I realized I weighted 185lbs...I started dieting in June and have lost 10 lbs so far. I have really taken dieting seriously a few days ago as before my mindset was "diet during the week, have fun in the weekends" and that clearly was not helping, so after a 2 week hiatus I came back into dieting this past Friday 8/11 and I am feeling great.
My target is to get back to 130lbs and see how things go from there. This time, I know what I need to maintain: first, I NEED to weigh myself every day. I need to see when I am starting to slip away so I can take action immediately. For me, it's not bad to be obsessed with the scale. Second, I NEED to create a habit of exercising. and third, I NEED to better my relationship with food and exercise portion control.

Overall, I will not put myself in this position ever again. I am 26 now and it has never been this hard for me to lose weight (which is why I guess I never cared too much or payed too much attention...). I can't wait until I am 130lbs and I get to giveaway all my fat clothes...

pretty simple really. starting in my teens, i became indolent, preferred to sit and go on the computer rather than get up and exercise, and ate whatever i wanted. got up to 150 lbs, and after many (MANY) attempts at taking responsibility for my body, i finally began to whip myself into shape last year. my weight has been declining at last, but it has come with a price: i'm a little more obsessed with food and fitness than i'd like to be. :(

Hi everyone, so inspiring reading your stories and how far you guys had come. Keep up the good work!

Me, I've always battled my weights for years since Junior High. I tried many many diets even those stupid diet pills. My weights went up and down so much and at my heaviest I was 176lbs.

I started working out by going to the gym last April, it was a spur of a moment thing because I passed by a small gym and saw their advertisement. When I started in April I was 147lbs. I then pretty much broke myself paying a personal trainer for 25 sessions package and started working out. I'm in love with it, with lifting weights, trying to get lean and building muscles. But as my session ended and I can't afford him, I decided to start working out from home using Chalean Extreme and once in awhile my friends and I will do some HIIT workout together. Today I'm weighing in at 136lbs. Still have a few more to go, the last stubborn weights.

Best of luck to you all :)

Nana22
 

Hello Everyone!!!!! I am a newbie and just started the I Deal Protein Diet last week!!!! So far so good, weigh in tomorrow!!!! The only set back, I over did it on the veggies. Instead of 2 cups I weighed veggies on scale too 16oz. I was wondering why I had to eat so many veggies!!!!!:dizzy: and I have been following it to the letter!!!!

I have a recipe I cooked yesterday in my slow cooker, but first I have to check with my ID rep and make sure it is okay. My husband LOVED it but I will not eat it until I get the okay. It was really good for not cooking with butter etc. It is a Pork Tenderloin with veggies in a slow cooker!!!!

I will share when I get the okay!!!!

Looking forward to the new adventure!!!!!

Hey everyone :) basically I've on and off dieted over the years... I was obese when I was a kid and then lost some weight and was fine. Not overweight, not skinny, not toned; unhappy with my body.

This time I want to be serious about weight loss and stick with it! I am in the low 140s right now (it ranges from 140.8 - 142 lately). My highest was 152 I think last summer, and I was 150 when I came back from college this past June. I lost 10 pounds over the summer because I didn't drink as much/ate way healthier (home cooked food vs take out).

I want to be around the 115-120 mark (i am 5'6 I believe) so that's healthy enough :) I just want to be toned! Looking at pics from last year when I was at my heaviest inspires me :)

Best of luck everyone!

It's great that there is this forum, thanks everyone for sharing your stories,

I've been overweight since I was 10, not very overweight but chubby. It started with a few long courses of cortisone for asthma, coupled with some new freedom and pocket money for sweets. I was the fat child in the family, with four children and many relatives visiting all the time. My weight was often the topic of conversation or the reason for mocking "hey thunderthighs!" or "you'd be pretty if you lost weight" or "it's just puppy fat" I was very ashamed but reacted by not really wanting to be a girl. I became a tomboy and would act like I didn't care that I wasn't as pretty as my sisters. I think this was when I started to build a self esteem completely separate from my appearance, which has served me quite well. I started playing soccer when I was 14 which is an unusual choice of sport for girls in South Africa and that saved me from my poor body image. My body felt powerful and capable. I also got a lot of attention from men from this point on and met my husband after finishing high school so I guess I found my sexy girly side along the way too.

This feeling carried me through university where my weight swung between 150 and 160 pounds but aside from the occasional fat day, or shaming from team mates or relatives, I didn't much mind. I also had no concept of dieting during this time, and would just train more and lose weight without even checking the scale. When I started work I had money for the first time and it actually helped me to eat healthier food. I was still playing soccer and exercising regularly so felt good.

Then in 2007 I started to get back pain, which was eventually diagnosed as Ankylosing Spondilitis an inflammatory arthritic condition. It took 4 years for this diagnosis though. In the meantime I just had crippling pain and didn't know why. My body went from feeling strong and tackling people on the field, to barely being able to walk. I no longer had my strength to bolster my body image and started to feel bad about myself. During this time I got married and moved with my husband to a foreign country. In pain and lonely I became depressed and medicated with chocolate. Having gone from 12 hours of soccer a week to about 5 hours cycling, walking and swimming must have had an impact too and I reached my heaviest weight at 165.

It was in 2009 that I realised my diet needed to change so I started calorie counting, we moved back to South Africa and I started at a gym too doing more resistance training. I quickly got down to 147 then hovered around there until a holiday put me up to 152 (probably my average adult weight) and then lots of work trips coupled with a cancer scare for my mom, then my husband4 months later put me back up to 160.
Despite the setbacks, I have learned to love my body again with arthritis, it's far from perfect but I've come to terms with it. I'm on this journey to eat better and get stronger as an act of kindness to myself to see if it will relieve some of my pain, and to find a way of eating that will keep me at a healthy weight for a lifetime and reduce my inflammation. My first goal is to get used to clean eating (for me this means mostly plants) then to get below 25% body fat and build some more muscle to support these feeble joints of mine. It's going well so far but I do expect some challenges along the way. Which is where I hope being in this community will help.

Hi!:wave:

I, for one, never thought I'd ever be in the category of being considered a "Featherweight". But life has its way of dishing out those surprises!

My weight loss journey began in my early teens, as I was always struggling with keeping my weight down. But it wasn't until I became pregnant, in 1985, at the age of 23, that my weight REALLY took a turn UPWARDS.

From that time, until I was 45yrs old, I would just yo-yo, constantly. Luckily, I've always been able to take weight off pretty darn quickly, so 50lbs would be gone in about 5 months time. But, at the age of 48, I began to show tiny signs of Peri-Menopause, so I decided it was time to get off the yo-yo ride...for good, and to quit *testing* my metabolism. Other than a few *tiny* stumbles, I've done pretty darn well!

My highest weight was 185lbs. At only 5'3"..that's a LOT of weight to lug around! My *original* weight goal was 130lbs, as I thought this was the lowest my body would ever allow me to drop to..and to keep it off.

Boy..was I wrong!!:eek:

In 2011, I turned my thoughts off of losing *weight* and just focused on losing *fat*. In August, 2011, I had surgery for a fallen bladder, and this was when my real weight/fat loss began to happen. My doctor told me excess weight can be a contributing factor for pelvic floor issues, so I took his advice to heart!

I was 125lbs on Aug 26th, 2011 (surgery morning) and since that time, I've been able to drop an additional 18lbs!! It wasn't a rapid loss, by any means, as its taken 14 months. But I couldn't be more pleased.

I've *finally* learned the art of keeping the weight off, as I'm getting pretty darn close to 3yrs into maintenance, and its been 100% struggle free. I continue to do strength training (modified to be safe, as I'm on a lifetime weight lifting restriction) 3 days a week. No cardio...unless the mood hits me.

Today my weight is holding steady at 107lbs.

I'm toying with the notion of shooting for 105lbs, but it's no biggie if it doesn't happen, as I don't really have much more fat left on my body to lose, so we'll see what happens. Anyway, that's my story....

Shelly :)

Hello! My first post!
As a kid, I was always the "chubby" girl. Never huge, but a size 13 jeans. But by the time I graduated high school I weighed nearly 180 lbs. At this point, I despised the size I was and had nearly accepted the fact that I would always be fat. But right after high school my aunt, who was always a mentor to me, lost 50 lbs through Weight Watchers, and I remember thinking how great she looked and how happy she was after losing the weight. And plus I was envious of all the compliments she was receiving! So I was really motivated by her, and decided to go on my own weight loss journey. Over a year I stuck to 1200 calories a day, and worked out at the gym. The lowest weight I got down to was 124 lbs. However I received some backlash from family saying that I looked emaciated, so I gained some back until I was 130. However over the last year I have put on weight, and now I am 149 lbs. So I am on a mission to get back to 130 lbs. RIght now I am in nursing school, so my life is a little crazy and it is so easy to eat all the wrong things. So heres to losing 20 lbs the old fashion way...diet and exercise!
Good luck to everyone!

I have a history of anorexia and still struggle to let go of the binge/restrict cycle. At one point, I was 94lbs and eating 500-700 calories a day. I would weigh out spinach down to the ounce and things like almond butter down to the gram. I'm /really/ trying to let go of those crazy habits and be more flexible and eat with moderation. I'm much healthier now (even at a heavier weight). I'd like to get back to a weight of 100-105 through moderation and normal exercise. Not any starving or binge eating. I still struggle big time with binge eating (old habits die hard, right?) But I want to kick the habit for good.

Hello! I, too, was an overweight child growing up. I topped at out my max right after college at 205lbs. Soon after college I got married to my wonderful husband (who doesn't have a weight issue). We got pregnant 4 months after we were married. It hit me then that I didn't want to be an overweight Mom. I wanted to be able to run around with my kids. So I went on a diabetic diet when I was pregnant and ended up losing 10 pounds during my pregnancy. We wanted to have more children, so through having four more children (yep! We have 5 kids!) I worked to lose weight by exercise and eating healthy. I got to my lowest weight of 130 after #3. After #5 I have struggled to get back down to that weight.
I have an extremely supportive husband who loved me and thought I was beautiful at my heaviest and who gives me great encouragement to keep working towards my goal. I also believe God gives me strength to get through the hard times (ie, exercise, hunger pains, mental battles, etc.) and that the Bible gives me help to get through them, too.
I am glad to be healthy now ( I was borderline diabetic when I was at 205) and be able to set a good example for my children.

@Aidangm- It is great that you are healthier now. Food doesn't have to control us- either by overeating, purging, or anorexia. I hope we all pursue weights that are healthy and fit our own bodies. I'm glad you joined 3FC!

Brand new here!
 

I guess I have always been a featherweight, always 5 to 20 pounds overweight. Whenever I get near my goal I get lazy and start to eat whatever I want again. I just figure I can lose it later.
Since summer I have been eating horribly and have gained 10+ lbs.
Well this time I am going to reach my goal and break that 125 lb mark!!!

I did weight watchers after my two daughters were born and lost both times but this time I am just counting calories, logging everything I eat and keeping under 1300/day. MY excercise goal is to walk at least 4x/week for at least 40 minutes (lots of hills in my neighborhood).
My reason for weight loss is vanity, I admit it. I want my clothes to look good on me and I want to feel confident in a bathing suit. I'm going on a cruise in Feb with hubby and would like to be near 130 by then...

Hi ladies, I was a very thin girl as a child and all threw high school. I never had weight issues until I got married at 22. It used to be so easy, if I put on few pounds ..I just would diet for a few days and it would melt away. With each passing year I would gain a few more and find it harder and harder to work it off. I then reached the age of 40 and wow I started packing it on, something I had never seen on my body before. I tried to tell myself it wasn't that bad and I'm just getting older and that just made it worse.
Then before christmas I finally got on the scale and was shocked at 157, no more excuses. I started before christmas and count every single calorie going in and try for under 1200 daily. I am doing the walk off the pounds dvds and workout 5 days a week both mornings and afternoon workouts. I feel great and weighed in at 138 this morning :)

I've been loitering around here for awhile, but I'm a natural introvert that prefers to not draw attention to myself so I've always stayed pretty quiet. But at this time I could really use a community of people who are encouraging and understanding...so here goes.

I grew up as a very normal sized Asian child eating healhy homemade food (didnt have my first fast food meal until high school). I was also naturally very active so I ate when I had to and quickly ran off to play outside with my friends. Then in middle school - the kids started to get mean. So did my relatives. The rude comments about "OMG, is your mom even feeding you - you're sooo skinny" "What's wrong with your body...do you have some kind of leech in your stomach?" "Are you not eating? Are you trying to be anorexic?" I realize now that those comments were more of a reflection of the commentor. But back then, to my young 7th grade mind, it meant there must be something wrong with me. I also didn't want people to think my mom was mistreating me so I ate more to prove to them that I was fine. Around this time, I also developed my sweet tooth.

I went from low 110s to 130s in high school. Looking back now, I see that I wasn't fat even then, but my young self-esteem made me feel gi-normouse, especially among my twig-sized Asian peers.

Fast forward to 2nd year of college, I got myself together...started backing off on the sweets and exercising. Went down from 136 to 122 and felt great.

But I graduated right at the start of the economic recession...finding a job was hard and stressful. I rediscovered my sweet tooth and developed stress-eating. The weight came back. When I finally got a job...it was very sedentary compared to my college days of being forced to walk all around campus. The lbs came back and brought a lot more of its friends too. All this happened in 2009.

For the past 3 years I've been yo-yoing....going up and down between 135 and 150lbs...depending on life and circumstances. Its been very physically and mentally exhausting. Two of my close friends are getting married this year and I will be a bridesmaid for both of their weddings. I would really like to be able to enjoy myself and be there for my friends on their special days instead of being constantly self conscious and wondering if I'm "showing my fat" anywhere...or hiding from cameras.

Here's to buckling down and getting rid of this weight for good. Thank you for reading and looking forward to getting to know everyone.

ps. please ignore my ticker. I created it when I first joined. I'll have to update with my current stats later.

I've always been slim. I remember that, all through high school, I weighed about 113 to 117 lbs. In college, I gained weight, and then weighed around 120-125 lbs. My highest ever was 125 lbs. At my height, to be honest, it starts to look ever slightly chubby. Then I got cancer in 2nd year of college, and I looked horrible, I think, because not only was I no longer at a lower weight, I was also bald. I think that's why, when I survived it, I started eating really really well and also started losing weight so that I can look my absolute, utter best, because I wanted to come out of cancer better than I had been even before it happened. It matters SO much to me that this happens, because it would mean that not only did I beat cancer, but I buried it so deep into the ground that I came out not just victorious but got even better...

Hi everyone!

I'm 27, 5'7'', and around 140 lbs at the moment. I've struggled with my weight since middle school, when I was the fattest ballerina in my ballet class (not that I was actually fat, but ballet has a way of causing eating disorders...) I gained a bit of weight in HS and the start of college, but began struggling again with my weight and probably a less severe case of anorexia when I dated an emotionally abusive man for 3 years. My lowest weight in college was around 120, my highest was approximately 154. In law school, I averaged around 135, but was not eating consistently healthy food by any stretch of the imagination. Now I'm getting married in June and want to look toned and fabulous for the wedding! I'm counting calories and would love to be around 135 for the wedding but am more concerned about what my arms look like (strapless dress!). :)

Hello
 

Hi everyone,
Another Newbie here. For the first time in a very long time I feel motivated to lose some of the pounds that have been creeping on slowly but surely! I wanted to be 50 & Fabulous...whoops, missed that goal :( , so I have a new one...51 & Fabulous ;)
Needing support as I have a fit husband who doesn't quite understand how hard it is to get started and to keep going!
Thanks for listening:listen:

Newbie alert
 

I never had to worry about my weight..always "tall and skinny"..at least that's what I was told. Then along came 30 and "helloooo muffin top". Instead of adjusting my habits I just bought bigger clothes. I did join WW a few years ago and lost 12lbs which was perfect for me. I felt great and fit into those skinny jeans! However, it's all crept back on and then some.
I don't own a scale, but just know that from the clothes that hang in my closet that I can't wear that it's time to do something again.
I am turning 40 later this year and want to be fit and fabulous at 40 LOL.
I have increased my activity and now just need the motivation to eat healthier and more often. I would like to lose about 10-15lbs total.
I'm all ears for suggestions and feedback :)

joined last week and already lost 3. seems silly, but im looking forward to getting my tracker!

Hello! I'm new to this site. I'm currently trying to lose the last 10# of pregnancy weight (I have an 8 mo old daughter). My current weight is 142# (5'5.5")and I'm having a hard time being motivated enough to stay consistent enough with dieting to lose it. I'm hoping that this site will help me!
Thanks!

I had always kept track of my weight when I was younger--and went to Jazzercise and really exercised a lot. I never had any problems with my weight and stayed in the 130 to 140 lb. at 5'7" for a couple of decades.

Someone once told me that once you start exercising--you need to do it for the rest of your life. Well I didn't and over a few years of not exercising at all--along with doing too much of the second helping routine I managed to pack on 25 unwanted pounds.

A little over a year ago I went back to my Jazzercise class and started working out hard. I also became mindful of exactly how much was going into my mouth. I took off 15 pounds in about 7 months--and then stayed in a plateau for several months. The scale wouldn't move no matter what I was doing. Finally--I broke through to the last 10 pounds--and now have 7 pounds to go!

It's been a real journey--but at least my BMI is where it needs to be now. My doctor is real happy with me. I am fortunate to come from an entire family that exercises--so I am not at odds with anyone in my family life--and they are my motivation along with all my new friends--YOU.

The most important thing I have "really" learned is it is a lot easier to put on those pounds than it is to take them off. I will never stop exercising again and I will be mindful of how much I am eating. "Eat less--Move more"

Funny I was reading through these post and ran into mine from 3 years ago!!!! Well since then I had slowed way down on exercising,moved gained 30 lbs.......Move on to 2013 I have been running for almost 2 yrs now and mainly do cardio weights and stretching. I have lost the 30 lbs and am below the weight I was when originally posting that. I use to complain about losing weight..I was not tracking and I was not eating enough...duh!!! That what everyone was telling me!Anyway I am in Maitenence which lets face it is a couple hundred more calories than losing. I am now 61.:carrot:

not sure if I qualify as a featherweight...I feel like the pillsbury doughboy
 

(If that makes sense)
Anyway, I'll try to make this short, but it'll probably be long & drawn out. I was mainly pudgy growing up thru my teens. 135 when became pregnant with DD#1 in 1994; 170-176 w/ DD#2 in 1998; 226? w/ DD#3 in 2002. My highest non preg weight was 240. In 2006 I had RNY gastric bypass starting weight 227. A year later I was down to 133. Stayed there for a while. June 2008 I was 140 when I had a miscarriage. I gave birth to #4 @ 167#. Weight leveled off after birth (probably a few wks or mnths) to about 145. I followed Weight Watchers for a month while my teen was doing it & got to 135. Slowly after a yr or so started creeping up. Long story short, I'm struggling now @ 154.4. Yesterday (my start to eating healthier & trying to add exercise) I weighed 157.8. I think that was water too. Anyway, I really suck at exercising, but ordered a fitness hoop & did the dvd yesterday & today. I can only hoop in one direction at the moment. I'm hoping to learn to hoop to my left & then I can do 2 workouts in both directions lol. I also enjoyed Leslie sansone WATP in the past so I may start that too. Although I've had GB, you eventually are able to eat more. my problem is what I consider a 'food addiction' and I graze alot on junk. I've posted on 3FC at different times only to fail in no time. But I feel so pudgy it's driving me crazy. I got down to some 4's & 6's when 133 but mainly 8's felt right. Now I'm a 12. I just don't feel comfortable in my own skin. I am grateful that I'm no larger than 150's, but I've got to get myself under control. Sorry so long & boring.

Hi there!

I hope I'm in the right place...I currently weigh 170lbs and think I have about 30 to lose. Honestly I feel like I've been dieting on and off since I was a teenager and I'm now 24. This is easily the heaviest I've been and I've realised that each time I aim to lose weight the amount I have to lose increases! I used to want to lose half a stone, then a stone and now over 2 stone!

I've done WW in the past - although not attending meetings, just using the materials and it did work well, but I feel having been such a yo-yo dieter I need to just stick to sensible principles of eating healthily and not tracking everything if I want to make a permanent lifestyle change!

It's been really interesting to hear some of your stories and I hope to be on my way to goal soon :)

yes, it does get harder after you hit 40. way harder after you hit 45
 

i joined this forum to get some support and find new friends who are in the same situation. i have been a normal weight all my life, but i have an eating disorder. who hasn't, these days? anyways, i realized that in the last few years my body is changing and it is harder to keep the weight off and eat a healthy diet. apparently women need less calories, the older they get. sigh.

i workout 5-6 times a week, 3 of which are 1 h les mills body pump classes, the rest is cardio.

i tried a lot of stuff already, the last thing was intermittent fasting but i realized that i need breakfast, cannot go without it, it's my fave meal of the day. i am a vegetarian (ovo lacto).

my goal is to live and eat clean and healthy and not gain weight.

Hi everyone, newbie here. I guess I've never been really overweight (quite sure I've never exceeded 140lbs in my 24 years of living) but being petite at 5'2", I certainly am chubby. I hate the way I look, hence the on-and-off dieting over the years. However, it's been mostly talk and no action, and the two times I did lose a good amount of weight, I gained them all back eventually. In the past couple of years, I've been thinking a lot more about my weight and how it's affecting my life in terms of my self-esteem and confidence. Last month, I finally took the first step in changing my life. Since 1st July, I have lost a total of 16lbs so far. Well, hope third time's the charm and I'll finally reach my goal weight and stay that way!

Hello Featherweights!

My story is a complicated one. I have had bulimia for 12 years. I started out weighing 100 pounds for my 5'2"-3" height, but I felt I was too fat and started dieting. I lost weight initially, but with my binges becoming bigger, and probably also as a side effect of taking anti-depressants, I quickly put on weight, going up to 145 (which is quite a bit for my height and my tiny frame). I managed to lose some of that weight after quitting the meds and getting a bit better, but my weight kept fluctuating between 125 and 145. Finally at the age of 24 I have recovered from bulimia: I have not (really) binged and purged for three years now (I had some minor relapses, but overall I am doing fine).

After my recovery I did not care much about my weight. As a matter of fact, I had to become someone who would eat anything they like, and someone who does not care about their weight, in order to become healthy.I weighed around 123-30 pounds, at that point, which is a bit chubby on my frame. However, this year I have decided to get back in shape in a healthy way. I started by taking up exercising again, and then by paying attention to my diet as well. I managed to lose 6 pounds, weighing 119. Now I am back to 121 after a relatively lazy (and boozy) August, but I am ready to get back on track and lose 11 pounds in a healthy way. :)

Hello. I'm brand new to the site. My story isn't that interesting. I've always been between 120 - 140 until now....up to 145 at 56 years old. I just started the IP diet 6 days ago and have lost 4 pounds as of this morning. I know I can get to 130 which is where I'm happy but want to know about the Maintenance Phase for IP. Can anyone tell me if I can go back to eating normally, but healthy, without still using the IP packets/meals and still keep the weight off? I've looked ahead and it looks like you are always dieting in that phase for the rest of your life? That's discouraging!

Hello from a newbie!
 

Hello everyone!

I'm new and thought I might likely be in the Feathers category. I'm 27 and in the last 10 years I've fluctuated between 142 (lowest, about 2-3 years ago) and over 190 (highest in college). Now I'm at 180 pounds. I feel generally comfortable in my body but would like to get healthier, stronger, and slim down a bit. My overall goal is 155. I need some motivation and this forum seems like a fun place to do it!

I'm a vegetarian (I do eat eggs and fish but try to avoid dairy). For awhile I was on a practically no-carbs diet (that was at my lowest weight), but I couldn't sustain that. I never did calorie-counting (that sounds hard!)--I just ate moderate amounts of good foods--green leafy vegetables, avocado, almonds, hummus, and olive oil were my staples.

Unfortunately, as my life has gotten more hectic, I've moved away from that whole foods diet that was working really well for me. I live in NYC--I have a pretty stressful job and am taking a part-time certification course as well. It can be difficult to find time to feed myself healthily, and even more tricky to get exercise in, but that's where the motivation comes in!

Hi Alphagirl, and :welcome:

I've always thought NYC would be a hard place to eat healthfully, because it seems difficult to go grocery shopping! Unless you have a green grocer close to your apartment, it seems that convenience foods and take-out would be much easier. Luckily, New Yorkers also walk more than anyone else -- so that's in your favor!