[gardner177]

When I was much younger (pre-teens through early teens), I was a bit overweight. At that age, other children can be quite critical and I had a rough time fitting in and feeling accepted. The summer before entering high school I weighed in at 175 lbs (at about 5'8"). I developed some eating issues that summer (i.e. I simply did not eat) and lost quite a bit of weight before high school started in the fall and peopled noticed. I can pinpoint that summer as the start of my body and self confidence issues that still haunt me over 13 years later.

Several years ago, I was working retail where I was on my feet quite a bit, stocking shelves and walking miles back and forth each day. I felt fantastic and could see a difference in my body. I was lean, had definition and felt strong! I weighed about 123 lbs and was thin, but still had that athletic look. That all ended when I changed career paths and ended up with a desk job in 2007. It is now a struggle to maintain my weight and I am not really fit and probably not as healthy as I need to be. I do believe the term is "skinny fat". Any definition I had is gone, and I cannot even do 1 real push up.

This morning, I weighed myself for the first time in a while and the scale said 130 lbs. It feels like I am back at 175 and I feel very flubby and unhealthy. I really want to get back to that place where I am comfortable in clothing without feeling like people are staring at my "muffin top". My problem is that I will do really great for 2 or 3 days, then fall off the wagon. Everyone on this forum seems so supportive and it is the kind of place I want to return to and see how everyone is doing and see how far I have come. Here's to motivation and taking it one day at a time!