Aloha from a newbie
 

Alright, this is my simplified attempt to find friends to help me accomplish the one thing I have never been able to do for the entire 16 years of my life....lose weight. I am approximately 100+ pounds heavier than the average girl in my school (and that doesn't necessarily include the twig-like social divas that wear size 0 jeans...) and I am at the point that leaves me with few options outside losing pounds or losing all the self-respect i have gained for myself through my academic achievements, etc. For a long time, I told myself weight didn't matter, and then that it was okay for me to fail at this one thing as long as i dedicated myself 110% to everything else, but now all of that has fallen through and here I am. Please help me. Whether it be through advice or just someone to talk to (I am not even sure what to ask for because I have never reached out like this before regarding my weight) I would really appreciate it. Here's to new beginnings and crossed fingers for the future, me

I was heavier than all the chicklets in school too, and continued gaining after graduating. Now I've made it back down to my high school weight, and I plan to continue the downward trend. I did the same thing--used academia as my medium for self-worth, and you're right--eventually it's just not enough.
But I've been here for a while, and will be here for quite some time (no matter how fast I lose this weight). Please Private Message (PM) me--click on my name to the left and it will open a menu--and I can give you my email and/of IM screen name, or join us on the Chicks Up For A Challenge board under Clubs and Groups.

Hope to hear from you soon!
~Elisha

Congrats for starting on your weight loss! I would like to make a suggestion that you start logging all the food you are eating on www.fitday.com this is a great way to keep track of your calories. I was also overweight in high school and know how hard it can be. If you have any questions at all, please feel free to PM me or just respond here and I'll help you out with whatever I can. It can take a while to lose weight the healthy way, but when you do it this way this helps you keep it off for longer. Good luck and I'm here if you need me.