[holisticharmony]

Hi all! My name is Samantha, and although this is my first post from this account, I am in no way a new member of 3 Fat Chicks. In fact, I'd venture a guess I used to be on of the first!

Years ago, even before the internet was in every home across the world, I began my first diet; shortly after, I joined this forum in an attempt to help myself stay accountable on my journey, spending several years getting incredible support and encouragement from the amazing people who write on these pages. It's been a long time since I've been here, and I've been through quite a bit since ... so let's start at the beginning.

My weight loss journey has been a bumpy one, with many ups and downs. I began my first diet at the age of 14 and since then I've tried basically every diet (fad and otherwise) you can imagine to shed the unwanted pounds. Not only did I have a food addiction, but I had a dieting addiction as well. Because of this, I spent my entire young adult life yo-yoing from weight to weight, reaching my lowest weight of ~148 back in early 2011 and my highest weight of 210 pounds back in early 2017. When I reached 210 pounds, not only was I the heaviest I'd ever been, but I was incredibly far into a deep depression which essentially destroyed everything good around me in the blink of an eye. Knowing I needed to put my life back together, I abandoned every single instinct to diet, and ignored my desire to lose weight. However, within the next six months, I was down roughly 25 pounds - without spending a single second thinking about what to eat, how to eat it, or any of the other things my mind had been so consumed with for so many years.

Between then and now, I have gone through an amazing journey of self-discovery, leading me to where I am today: another 30 pounds down (diet-free), and wanting to give back to a community which at one point gave me so much strength when I needed it most!

Although my journey is not quite over (with an end goal of another 20-30 pounds lost), I've realized through this experience that nothing is ever truly over - especially when it comes to the areas of health, wellness, and personal growth.

I hope I can provide the same support, encouragement, and strength to the many users of 3 Fat Chicks that at one time they gave to me - I look forward to meeting all of you!

Be Well <3

[ymarmouch]

thanks