After college I'm hoping to go to South Korea to teach but I refuse to go until I'm under 160 lbs. They are a culture of thin and I'd rather not be the obese American, though I will still be considerably larger, as I am 5'8 and will definitely never be likely to weigh less than 135.

I really want to start my life there at a normal weight. I live in Alaska and you really can't get around easily without a vehicle. I want to live in a place where I do not need a car and I can walk, bike or take public transportation everywhere. I don't want to be huffing and puffing.

I'd also like to become a runner, and another dream of mine is to teach a hula hoop dance class. I can already hula hoop dance, and I could teach a class but I'd feel 100% more confident if I weighed 180 or less.

But, I really feel like being fit will be the ultimate reward for being a normal weight. Taking stairs, riding a bike to the store, walking all over town...just stuff like that. I can do those things, but they are more difficult than they need to be.

Oh yes. All of this.

Mostly, I want to feel good in my body. I'd love to wear a swimsuit and have a good wardrobe of quality well fitting clothes that will last. I have never even one size long enough!

lucy adult cheerleading sounds awesome! I didn't know that even existed! Rock it!

katiebug jcrew!yes! I love their swim stuff! You'll get there!

Rei what kind of style do you want to rock? I can relate to the confidence part of style!

I would like to be able to wear knee high boots during the winter! They're so pretty but I can never get them to fit up my calves...even some of the ones made for wide calves.

I want to be able to wear sleeveless shirts. Everyone tells me my arms aren't as bad as I make them sound but in my head they are. I'm not confident enough to go sleeveless.

I want to be comfortable in what I'm wearing without pulling my shirt down before I sit down or having a pillow in front of me or something else to hide behind.

I don't ever care to wear a bikini but it would be nice to feel comfortable in even a one piece instead of wearing a t-shirt over it.

lucy: we are not tired of you saying anything!! that sounds awesome!

thewalrus: i wouldn't wait until you are "thin" to go teach in korea if that is your dream... i teach in japan and it's the same thing here. thin, pretty, fashionable girls everywhere you look. but you wanna know what? i am actually dealing with things much better than my skinnier friends. since i'm just like "well i'm SO much bigger! not bother worrying myself over" and just go on with my life, but my skinny friends, have soooo many body issues and keep comparing themselves to j-girls and they can never win. i have a friend who is TINY must wear a size 4, at most, and sometimes she can't fit into the pants here, and she is constantly telling me she should lose weight (and i wanna punch her in the face) and can never compare to j-girls... and that's just one of them. all my thin friends feel self-conscious here. so i'm just saying, it won't be any better for you when you're 160. you'll still feel like the big foreigner. so if this is your dream, go for it!!!

oh my gosh I have so many thing I want to do when I'm at goal weight.. or close to it..

I really really want to go horseriding.. desperately.
I want to be able to go to pilates class without feeling super self conscious
I want to go camping with friends without feeling like I'm slowing people down when we go hiking etc.

I think since moving to Spain and realizing that people are just a lot thinner t would be good to into a shop and not have to pick out XL and of course there are amazing beaches here so to be able to wear a bikini would be AMAZING. I want to improve my flexibility and endurance which is all part of the process. But secretly would love to be able to visit England this Summer and people to be really shocked. Instead of 'tubby C.' It will 'elegant slim C with a killer wardrobe! :-)'

It's hard to put words to really! I watched Pitch Perfect last week and Anna Kendrick's character in that pretty much had my style! Sort of like a rock-chick look but not too over the top. I've always liked blouses and shirts but my boobs have always been way too big to fit into them, I would look like I'm bursting out of it! I also like thinner cardigans and jackets but I always look a bit big in them because of my large chest too.

Yes, but I feel like having the accomplishment of having lost 100 lbs would make it easier. Besides, I know without a doubt I'll never be Korean sized. I'm just not physically able, I'm already 5'8, haha. I don't even expect to be able to buy pants there. Though I might be fine in some of their tops since I have small boobs and when I'm at a lower weight my upper body is pretty small.

But it's not the weight that really is driving me for that goal in Korea. I want to be more fit. I want to walk long distances and just feel better in general. I sweat a lot now, a lot more than I used to, and I get all huffy and puffy when I'm walking any significant distances. I want to be fit so I can comfortably venture out with the intention of just walking without worrying about my legs getting sore or my face and armpits sweating profusely.

I have many years until I will be done with my bachelor's anyways. At least 3, but probably 4 or 5. So I think 160 is an alright goal, especially since I finally came to terms with my BED and am now seeking proper treatment for it, instead of trying and failing repeatedly and then just assuming I'm broken.

I've come a long way in the last year alone, and so I think my goal is reasonable and it's something I want for myself very badly.

- wear a tiny bikini for my man on our honeymoon
- buy a cocktail dress
- buy fancy jeans with cute butt/leg detail
- SHORTS

Musical Astronaut: You may hate me for this, but you said you wanted to cosplay from Doctor Who, so I have to share. This is my room mates and I at Connecticon 2011. I'm on the right :P https://sphotos-b.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot..._4834842_n.jpg

thewalrus: Good luck with Korea...the kids would probably be the only ones to comment on weight, and that's just because they don't have filters yet...it really doesn't mean anything to them, they just like pointing out things that are different. My kids also beg me to tell them how I "made" my hair and eyes change color because it's "not fair that my eyes are a different color than everyone else's" and the older girls ask me where I "bought" my eyelashes (fake eyelashes are big here and I just happen to have really long, thick natural eyelashes). I'm all for the goal of wanting to be fit before coming to Asia (I probably bike around 10k a day with my errands), but I wouldn't stress too much about an actual scale number. In mostly homogeneous cultures, you'll stick out no matter what. In any case, KICK SOME BUTT. If you've got a few years, I'm sure you can make the 100 lb goal.

Kawaii and Rie: I have no idea what to do with myself in Tokyo either. Last time I was there I tried going shopping and ended up staring wistfully at things in Bodyline (completely impractical, but so pretty TT^TT...too bad you're not allowed to try things on) before just going to H&M (normal numbers were comforting to me).

Another "thing" I thought of...I'd like to do a photoshoot just for funsies and not feel super self-conscious. I have a few friends who do burlesque and pretty routinely go to these AMAZING themed pinup shoots...I would kill to get over my fear of cameras and do that...

thewalrus: oh, ok, i thought you were almost done and postponing your dream because you wanted to get skinny first in that case, that is a great goal. good luck with everything!

hotaru: ooooh, a photoshoot would be awesome!!! and btw, Bodyline has a plus-sized section... a bought my halloween costume there but yes, yay for H&M!!

Rie Ohhhhh Rocker Chick. Awesome! Do you have a pinterest? I am like constantly clipping pictures of my dream style for this very reason.

hotaru Oh yes Photos! I forgot about photos! Man...just changing my facebook profile picture would be awesome. Can't say I don't want my ex's (who are still FB friends) to eat their hearts out.

My actually has something to do with confidence. I want to be able to sit up straight and not fold my arms/hunch down in order to cover my stomach where I carry my weight. I dream of this day.

I want to be able to catch my reflection and not cringe, but stand up tall and be proud.

Love this thread!

-wear shorts/ bikini
-run a marathon or half marathon
-ride every coaster at Cedar Point! (haven't been in ages! Ive never been too big for a ride, but they are always quite snug, now I just don't ride them b/c I never want to not fit >_<)

- go out w/ my girlfriends and all the guys flirt w/ ME instead of them (shallow, i know)