Hello everyone!
My name is Raven, I'm 27 and currently living in Ohio. I've had several years on the 'weight loss track' and keep falling back to old habits. I need motivation to meet my goals!
When I was a kid I lived with my dad in California and was a muscular active kid. When he died when I was 11, I moved to Minnesota and then Wisconsin with my uber controlling mother. I immediately started packing on the pounds from stress eating, and then had a major accident when I was 13 that impacted my love of being active and I started gaining even more. By the time I was 17 and left for college, I was a whopping 280 lbs.
In College I started going to physical fitness classes, and eventually became inspired enough to start teaching beginner level classes for Step, Yoga, and Beginning Weights. In College I went from 280 to 200 lbs in less than a year!
Unfortunately, my last year of college, I went through the end of a destructive relationship and became severely depressed. I ended up dropping out of college and running half way across the continent to Ohio to start over. My first year out of college I was homeless and often went hungry at night. By the time I had gotten back on my feet, I had a horrible habit of eating until I was stuffed every time food was available.
It's been three years since then and I'm now in a happy place in my life. I have a good job, good friends, and have started going back to school. I've attempted to get back on track a few times since coming to Ohio, but I keep falling back on old habits. I'm roughly 240 lbs now, almost a hundred over my goal weight.
I've joined this forum in hopes it'll inspire me to keep to it this time! I've started cutting carbs and only eating fresh fruits and vegetable after a certain time (Carbs and processed foods before 9am, Fresh fruits and veggies before 3pm, and ONLY fresh vegetables after 3pm but nothing after 9pm). I work 10-12 hours a day, and combined with classes it keeps me way too busy to cook anything other than simple foods.
I've also restarted the C25k routine, and go biking three times a week with my best friend. Three days a week I'll also do body weight training (Pushups, situps, Yoga, etc). My goal is to get to 160 this next year, then get to my goal, 145, by next May. It's going to be hard sticking to my routine, and need all the encouragement and remainders I can get!
I have all the tools I need - I worked for three years as a fitness trainer and know how to burn calories, how to monitor food, etc. I really just need motivation, and would be more than willing to help others who are looking for advice!
