Hey everyone, my name is Natasha and I'm 26.

I recently (last year) went down to my goal weight of 135. Stress and a new job came in and I gained 22lb. I now weigh 157. I'm 5'4 so it tends to show a lot to me, not so much to everyone around me.

My parents and friends say I look "healthy" but I can't stop thinking that I'm "fat" or that the person in the mirror is disgusting and huge.

I see everything wrong with me, all the time. My stomach, my legs, my arms, everything has gotten bigger. You think, oh it's just 22lb. But it shows, my God does it show.

I don't know why but it seems so hard for me to get back into a workout routine and diet plan that works because I get weak and give in to temptation way too easily.

A friend of mine referred me to this website and said it helped her get the motivation she needed and loved the people she met on here.

I'm hoping this will help me get going.

I look forward to getting to know you all and hope we can all rely on each other to get through this journey

I'd love to be by my goal weight by Halloween, now I realize that 2.5 months may be too short notice for a 22lb weight loss, but I'll take any progress.

I can't wait to read some of your stories and if you wanna be friends drop me a line and I'd love to make new friends. xoxo

As a smaller girl, I can definitely relate. Even at a lower weight, I always tend to see myself as fat and huge (I swear there's always another girl out there who is fitter, smaller, etc.)--5 lbs is a huge difference for us!

Personally, I think it would be best to choose to work on diet or exercise, 1 at a time especially when starting out. Start making small changes--walking for a few miles, or watching your diet (i.e. paying attention to carbs, sugars, red meat, portion sizes, cutting out extra desserts and snacks). Eventually after you start changing one part of your lifestyle, the other will probably follow suit. After all, if you're exercising, you'll find that eating a bunch of cookies or cake isn't going to give you the energy to move. Likewise, just dieting might make you feel a bit restless and exercising will give you endorphins and pride in your efforts, not to mention give you the body shape that you want (I'm completely serious about that--I started doing some basic strength exercises/lifting this summer after regaining the 10ish lbs I lost last summer and combined with cardio and diet, I think I look much fitter this time around).

Once you start, It'll get easier. It's becoming a habit for me to walk 3-4 miles every day and exercise on a regular basis as well as eat more mindfully. When I cheat on my diet or decide to not exercise, I feel strange.

Regardless of what you end up doing, remember that you've done this before--it's not going to get any easier, but the second time around, you have a better idea of what needs to be done in order to reach your goals.

Good luck to you!

Hi Natasha!! I just wanted to give you some support!! You can do this! You've done it once already, so you know the drill! Like Runnergirl posted, make smaller attainable goals and you will see the results in no time, have no doubt!

It took me just a smidge over 3 months to lose 22 lbs, and my changes were mostly dietary, with only a small-medium amount of exercise added. Even with our body/weight differences, I still think your goal is quite attainable! It just takes willpower, perseverance, and discipline. Don't forget to reward non-scale goals (and even scale goals!) to give you a sense of satisfaction as you work towards your goal weight! I like to do things like buy a new shirt, get my hair done, get my nails done, etc. I try to avoid using food as a reward because I don't want to backslide.

Congratulations on getting back on track!!

<---also, we have dancing carrots! I don't know of any other forum that has dancing carrots as awesome as ours

Welcome and good luck on your journey!!

Welcome Natasha! You will find lots of support here! I'm glad your friend directed you here. Browse around and jump right in! Good luck!

Way to catch yourself now, rather than 40 pounds later....way to go!! (Oh how some of us wish we had done that too)
There is a halloween challenege going on and people have been hopping in late, so you'd be welcome too (it's a pretty active thread so you'll always have something to check in and read whenever you're here) http://www.3fatchicks.com/forum/chic...challenge.html

Welcome!!! We're a pretty supportive fun crew here. Good luck on your adventure!