Hello all,

I am a complete noob to this site but not to weight loss. I have never posted to a forum before which is very much part of my nature. I normally keep to myself because of my weight but you guys can't see me so I thought why not, I was due for a change. I know, I'm a real risk taker!

I started my weight loss journey a few weeks ago after having a very serious discussion with the love of my life. My relationship is not traditional, I met my boyfriend online and he lives on the other side of the world, New Zealand to be exact. We have been together for over a year and love each other dearly. It's the most amazing relationship I have ever had and it's hard to believe we are still going strong and even growing closer over all those miles. We've exchanged plenty of pics and he knows I am overweight but he never knew exactly how large I was because I could only get up the courage to give him the shoulder and up shots. He has been begging me to let him come over and visit but I wouldn't do it because I was so ashamed of my appearance. Several weeks ago I decided to take a leap of faith and I finally got up the courage to send a full body picture. I seriously thought it would be the end of our relationship but his reaction blew me away. He loves me just as I am and cannot wait to get here. He booked his flight the very next day and will be here in November. After literally years of rejection and heartbreak I have someone who loves me just as I am and that alone is giving me the motivation to love myself and change.

I am on day 10 with Metabolic Research Center program and I love it. I love the structure of it and I am never hungry. I never feel deprived and I am finding it easy to say no to things not on program. I was a "Starbucks-a-day" girl and I stopped cold turkey and haven't looked back. Fast food was also part of my daily life and I don't miss it at all. I feel like I finally found the right program for me and believe me, I have tried most of them.

I have been reading over posts for the last couple days and it seems like everyone is super supportive here so I am taking a leap of faith again to talk about my journey and support others as well.

Looking forward to getting healthy with all of you!

thanks for sharing your story about you and your sweetheart. it was very touching. i met my significant other online, and have been together 8 years now. you must be so excited!

good luck to you...

Wow, what a wonderful story! And I am a firm believer in taking risks--I'm glad you're adding to my theory that it can pay off. It must have been scary for you to send him the photo, but now you know you can be brave and take a risk and know that he loves you for YOU. I never would have met my husband if I hadn't taken a risk. It's a great way to build confidence. And now, if you want to lose weight, you know you're doing it for YOU, not for him, because he loves you anyway. Congrats! Sounds like you found a great guy. And just think--you'll get to visit NZ someday!
Thanks for sharing.

Thank you all so much for the encouragement and support.

@starryblu - I am so glad to hear of someone else with a successful online relationship, very encouraging!

@GreytGirl33 - I am going to NZ in 2013 and I am scared to death of long flights. Yet another leap of faith, lol.

@SunshineCA - thank you for the kind words =)

Aww, this is so touching!!

I met my SO online as well, and it's the best relationship of my life. Congrats on finding the right program for you as well - that's a toughie for a lot of people!

Ugh--the flight. No way around it, I suppose. I get crazy when I have to fly for longer than 5 hours. See if you can break it up at all--go through Los Angeles and stay overnight or something if you can. I pretty much know I will never see Japan or NZ or OZ because I just couldn't hack the flights! But you know what--you'll probably be so psyched to see your man that you won't even care at that point. And we'll give you excellent book recommendations to help get you through the long hours.
GG33

I too met my SO online and it was really odd because somehow our families knew each other but in all my life I had never met him. I'm happy for you in that you took that step and put yourself out there and I can relate its very scary. I guess that's the way that you live more by trying something new and going out of your comfort zone The best of luck!