Hi all, I'm Elle, I'm 23 and live in South Florida. I've always struggled with my weight, for most of the past seven years or so falling in the "overweight" BMI category. I'm 5'7", and at my highest I weighed 170. That was a little over three years ago now. After a bad breakup at that time I lost 10 pounds just from going back to what I would normally eat instead of relationship eating. I also joined weight watchers not long after that and I lost quite a bit of weight, I think around 20 pounds. But I was still unhappy, being thinner didn't really fix or change anything for me, and I decided to just give up. I gained back up to 160 and was there for about a year and a half. Last summer I finally decided that I was going to make an effort to live a healthier and more food conscious lifestyle. For my own reasons I became a pesco-vegetarian, and I started running. I also gave up the idea of doing all this to lose weight. I bought a bunch of new clothes that were nice, gorgeous, and fit me well at the size I was. I wanted to be happy in my own skin. My confidence level went way up.

Slowly but surely though, I did start to lose weight. Now a year later I weigh 125. Somehow over the last year I've become focused on the weight loss aspect of this "healthier" me. I weigh less than I did in middle school now. Every bite I put in my mouth is scrutinized. Also I sometimes feel as if I still look bigger, even though my friends and family assure me this isn't the case. I want to get down to 120 but I am questioning my motivation for doing so. My original goal was 130. It doesn't help that last month I had a bout with depression and gained ten pounds. It came off quickly, and a couple pounds extra to boot, but it still scared me and now I'm wondering how solid this weight loss really is.

I wanted to get feedback from other people (since the last year I've been doing this all on my own) about what is normal, what isn't, and tips for maintaining weight loss. Also I have a few tips and meal ideas of my own to share. Overall I'm really happy with how far I have come, and I feel really self-confident, although not more than I did when I just DECIDED to "fake it til I make it!" I feel like the battle has just begun though and I could use some support.

Hi there ELLE . . . . . . and congratulations on your loss, chickie -- I notice you've found the 20-somethings forum and you might want to take a look at Maintainers as well.